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HomepageEurope OSM location
summary facing east facing south facing west
summary facing east facing south facing west
monthly solar PV data for Bergen using PVGIS 5.2

Summary of different orientations of free standing solar PV panels, using optimal inclinations versus ideal two axis tracking



Table 1: quarterly normalized energy distribution for different free standing solar PV orientations in Bergen
BergenkWh/yearQ1+Q4Q2+Q3Q1Q2Q3Q4
Two axis tracking97218.3%81.7%12.2%47.4%34.2%6.2%
Facing east, slope 0.0°62814.0%86.0%9.4%49.3%36.7%4.5%
Facing south, slope 39.0°74419.8%80.2%13.0%45.4%34.8%6.8%
Facing west, slope 0.0°62814.0%86.0%9.4%49.4%36.7%4.5%
Source: energy.at-site.be/pvgis52, non-commercial use permitted
Data source: PVGIS 5.2 © 2001-2023 European Communities - PVcalc tool
Two axis tracking and Free standing with optimized fixed slope - Radiation model: PVGIS-SARAH2 - Loss=14%

Quarters: Q1 = Jan + Feb + Mar; Q2 = Apr + May + Jun; Q3 = Jul + Aug + Sep; Q4 = Oct, Nov, Dec

East facing free standing solar PV, for different inclinations



Table 2: normalized cumulative and monthly energy distributions for different free standing solar PV inclinations oriented to the east in Bergen
BergenkWh/kWpeakJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Facing east; slope 0.0°; cumulative distribution6280.4%2.6%9.4%22.0%40.0%58.8%75.6%88.2%95.5%99.0%99.8%100%
Facing east: slope 0.0°; monthly distribution6280.4%2.2%6.8%12.5%18.1%18.8%16.8%12.6%7.3%3.5%0.8%0.2%
Facing east; slope 0.0°; cumulative distribution6280.4%2.6%9.4%22.0%40.0%58.8%75.6%88.2%95.5%99.0%99.8%100%
Facing east: slope 0.0°; monthly distribution6280.4%2.2%6.8%12.5%18.1%18.8%16.8%12.6%7.3%3.5%0.8%0.2%
Facing east; slope 30.0°; cumulative distribution5990.4%3.1%10.1%22.7%40.6%58.5%74.8%87.4%94.8%98.8%99.8%100%
Facing east: slope 30.0°; monthly distribution5990.4%2.6%7.1%12.6%17.8%18.0%16.3%12.6%7.4%4.0%0.9%0.2%
Facing east; slope 60.0°; cumulative distribution5200.4%3.3%10.6%23.3%41.1%58.5%74.4%87.0%94.5%98.8%99.8%100%
Facing east: slope 60.0°; monthly distribution5200.4%2.9%7.3%12.7%17.8%17.4%15.8%12.6%7.5%4.4%1.0%0.2%
Facing east; slope 90.0°; cumulative distribution3750.4%3.5%11.0%23.9%41.7%58.7%74.1%86.6%94.1%98.8%99.9%100%
Facing east: slope 90.0°; monthly distribution3750.4%3.1%7.5%12.9%17.9%17.0%15.3%12.5%7.6%4.7%1.1%0.1%
Data source: PVGIS 5.2 © 2001-2023 European Communities - PVcalc tool

South facing free standing solar PV, for different inclinations



Table 3: normalized cumulative and monthly energy distributions for different free standing solar PV inclinations oriented to the south in Bergen
BergenkWh/kWpeakJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Facing south; slope 39.0°; cumulative distribution7440.4%4.2%13.0%26.0%42.4%58.4%73.0%85.0%93.2%98.7%99.8%100%
Facing south: slope 39.0°; monthly distribution7440.4%3.8%8.8%13.0%16.4%16.0%14.6%12.0%8.2%5.5%1.2%0.2%
Facing south; slope 0.0°; cumulative distribution6280.4%2.6%9.4%22.0%40.0%58.8%75.6%88.2%95.5%99.0%99.8%100%
Facing south: slope 0.0°; monthly distribution6280.4%2.2%6.8%12.5%18.1%18.8%16.8%12.6%7.3%3.5%0.8%0.2%
Facing south; slope 30.0°; cumulative distribution7390.4%3.9%12.4%25.3%42.0%58.5%73.5%85.6%93.6%98.7%99.8%100%
Facing south: slope 30.0°; monthly distribution7390.4%3.5%8.5%12.9%16.7%16.5%15.0%12.1%8.0%5.1%1.1%0.2%
Facing south; slope 60.0°; cumulative distribution7070.4%4.8%14.3%27.5%43.2%58.2%72.0%83.8%92.3%98.5%99.9%100%
Facing south: slope 60.0°; monthly distribution7070.4%4.4%9.6%13.2%15.7%15.0%13.8%11.8%8.5%6.2%1.3%0.1%
Facing south; slope 90.0°; cumulative distribution5360.4%5.8%16.7%30.2%44.6%57.7%70.1%81.6%90.8%98.3%99.9%100%
Facing south: slope 90.0°; monthly distribution5360.4%5.4%10.9%13.4%14.4%13.2%12.4%11.4%9.2%7.5%1.6%0.1%
Data source: PVGIS 5.2 © 2001-2023 European Communities - PVcalc tool

West facing free standing solar PV, for different inclinations



Table 4: normalized cumulative and monthly energy distributions for different free standing solar PV inclinations oriented to the west in Bergen
BergenkWh/kWpeakJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Facing west; slope 0.0°; cumulative distribution6280.4%2.6%9.4%22.0%40.0%58.8%75.6%88.2%95.5%99.0%99.8%100%
Facing west: slope 0.0°; monthly distribution6280.4%2.2%6.8%12.5%18.1%18.8%16.8%12.6%7.3%3.5%0.8%0.2%
Facing west; slope 0.0°; cumulative distribution6280.4%2.6%9.4%22.0%40.0%58.8%75.6%88.2%95.5%99.0%99.8%100%
Facing west: slope 0.0°; monthly distribution6280.4%2.2%6.8%12.5%18.1%18.8%16.8%12.6%7.3%3.5%0.8%0.2%
Facing west; slope 30.0°; cumulative distribution6000.4%2.3%9.4%21.9%40.0%58.9%75.8%88.4%95.8%99.1%99.8%100%
Facing west: slope 30.0°; monthly distribution6000.4%2.0%7.0%12.5%18.1%18.9%16.9%12.6%7.4%3.4%0.7%0.2%
Facing west; slope 60.0°; cumulative distribution5210.3%2.1%9.4%22.1%40.3%59.2%75.9%88.5%96.0%99.3%99.9%100%
Facing west: slope 60.0°; monthly distribution5210.3%1.8%7.3%12.7%18.3%18.9%16.7%12.6%7.5%3.3%0.5%0.1%
Facing west; slope 90.0°; cumulative distribution3760.2%1.8%9.4%22.3%40.8%59.6%76.1%88.7%96.4%99.5%100%100%
Facing west: slope 90.0°; monthly distribution3760.2%1.6%7.5%12.9%18.5%18.8%16.6%12.6%7.6%3.2%0.4%0.1%
Data source: PVGIS 5.2 © 2001-2023 European Communities - PVcalc tool

Acknowledgement: many thanks to the PVGIS team for open access to PVGIS 5.2 PVcalc tool. Source - "Photovoltaic Geographic Information System (PVGIS)", European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC). Online tool available at re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis.html - PVGIS Ⓒ European Communities, 2001-2023.

Methods: in this work, monthly data for various solar panel orientations is combined. An explanation of PVGIS data sources and calculation methods is available in [1]. Papers [2][3][4][5] provide additional background on the PVGIS methods and references [6][7][8][9] detail the used solar radiation models. In this work we use the proposed (default) solar radiation model per region of PVGIS and we use city names to refer to specific coordinates on the world map. Ocean locations are not modelled in the PVGIS tool, hence we limit ourselves to the land mass of the planet. Both free standing and building integrated (rooftop) solar panels are simulated, with a slope of 0 a horizontal panel and a slope of 90 degrees a vertical oriented panel, for example to mount on a wall. The used PVcalc simulation does not take into account detailed local shadowing effects. Also the invertor is not modelled in detail, and grid saturation is not taken into account as well as dirt on the panels. All these aspects can decrease the effective yield of the PV solar panels. A limitation of PVGIS5.2 is that the optimal inclination of a solar panel is not correctly computed for building integrated solar panels facing west.

References:

[1]
Overview of PVGIS data sources and calculation methods.
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/pvgis-photovoltaic-geographical-information-system/getting-started-pvgis/pvgis-data-sources-calculation-methods_en
[2]
Huld, T.; Müller, R.; Gambardella, A. A new solar radiation database for estimating PV performance in Europe and Africa. Solar Energy 2012, 86, 1803-1815.
doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2012.03.006
[3]
Gracia Amillo, A.; Huld, T.; Müller, R. A New Database of Global and Direct Solar Radiation Using the Eastern Meteosat Satellite, Models and Validation. Remote Sensing 2014, 6, 8165-8189.
doi:10.3390/rs6098165
[4]
Huld, T.; Gracia Amillo, A. Estimating PV Module Performance over Large Geographical Regions: the role of Irradiance, Air Temperature, Wind Speed and Solar Spectrum. Energies 2015, 8, 6, 5159-5181.
doi:10.3390/en8065159
[5]
A.M. Gracia Amillo, N. Taylor, A.M. Martinez, E.D. Dunlop, P. Mavrogiorgios, F. Fahl, G. Arcaro, I. Pinedo (2021): Adapting PVGIS to Trends in Climate, Technology and User Needs, Proc. 38th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, p. 907-911
doi:10.4229/EUPVSEC20212021-5BO.6.1
[6]
Müller, Richard; Pfeifroth, Uwe; Träger-Chatterjee, Christine; Cremer, Roswitha; Trentmann, Jörg; Hollmann, Rainer (2015): Surface Solar Radiation Data Set - Heliosat (SARAH) - Edition 1, Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring.
doi: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/SARAH/V001
[7]
Pfeifroth, Uwe; Kothe, Steffen; Trentmann, Jörg; Hollmann, Rainer; Fuchs, Petra; Kaiser, Johannes; Werscheck, Martin (2019): Surface Radiation Data Set - Heliosat (SARAH) - Edition 2.1, Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring
doi: 10.5676/EUM_SAF_CM/SARAH/V002_01
[8]
Hersbach, H, Bell, B, Berrisford, P, et al. The ERA5 global reanalysis. Q J R Meteorol Soc. 2020; 146: 1999– 2049.
doi: 10.1002/qj.3803
[9]
Manajit Sengupta, Yu Xie, Anthony Lopez, Aron Habte, Galen Maclaurin, James Shelby, The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB), Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 89, 2018, Pages 51-60.
doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2018.03.003

Additional PVGIS publications are available at: ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/PVGIS/about/who.


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