Optimal sizing of photovoltaic systems in varied climates

The optimal utilization of solar cell modules in varied climates is of major economical importance. In many locations, especially in the rural areas and remote sites, the solar modules are often utilized non-economically because of the lack of solar irradiation and climatological data. In this work, using solar irradiation estimation and cloud cover data interpolation techniques, and incorporating the irradiation dependent efficiency function of the solar cells, the tilt angle of the modules is first optimized. The cloud cover data is then used to estimate the expected number of successive cloudy days in each month with the result applied for optimal sizing of the storage battery. This optimization technique has been applied to the varied climates of Iran. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.