THE PROFESSIONAL PV MOUNTING SYSTEM
Fact Sheet Yield optimisation
SUNBEAM light-weight mounting systems cleverly
optimise the maximum yield for a given roof surface area.
Installing solar panels on a flat roof inevitably leads to several
dilemmas. The most important criterion is to maximise the yield of
a solar panel. An often quoted ‘ideal’ angle of 30 degrees results
in the highest output for an individual panel. But on a flat roof,
solar panels are arranged in rows, and inevitably cast shadows
on neighbouring panels, thereby reducing their output. For this
reason it would be best to install
the panels far apart. Doing this,
however, limits the amount of pa-
nels you can fit on your roof, resulting in a sub-optimal roof surface
area utilisation.
Systematic comparisons
During the development of SUNBEAM we systematically inves-
tigated all factors influencing a system’s yield, with unexpected
results. We found that the output at a panel angle of 15 degrees
is not much lower than the output at an angle of 30 degrees, and
that the loss due to shading is much smaller than commonly assu-
med. Taking these findings into
account, we were able to design
a compact system with a much better roof surface area utilisation
than a standard system.
The figure on the left shows the relative yield (kWh/kWp). The grey
bar corresponds to a generic system with an angle of 30 degrees
and a row pitch of 2.2 metres. The blue bar corresponds to a
SUNBEAM Universal system (15 degrees, row pitch 1.5 m).
As you can see, the relative difference in yearly yield is only -3%.
Advantages of a compact system
The figure on the right shows the improvement in roof surface area
utilisation, measured in Wp/m2. Thanks to the smaller row pitch,
the yield of the system using SUNBEAM Universal is 47% higher
for the same surface area. In other words, one can fit 1.5 times
the number of modules on the same roof. The loss due to inter-row
shading can be further reduced through the use of micro inverters /
power optimizers with the solar panels.
www.sunbeam-pv.com
The advantages of Symmetrical systems
Symmetrical systems such as SUNBEAM Symmetrical carry solar
panels on both legs of the mounting frames, which extend at a
10-degree angle. Typically, one row is oriented towards the east
and the other row towards the west, which is why such a system is
sometimes called an ‘east-west’
system. This kind of system
always catches the sunlight,
while hardly ever suffering from
inter-row shading. It turns out
that the total yearly yield of a
symmetrical system is about 9%
per KWp less than the yield of a
system using the most common
orientation, which is towards the south. This sounds like a significant
difference, but keep the following in mind:
• The 9% difference is for a comparison with a system that is orien-
ted perfectly towards the south. In all other cases the difference
will be less pronounced. The yield of a symmetrical system is
practically independent of its orientation.
• While having a yield that is up to 9% lower than a south-oriented
system, symmetrical systems boast an up to 30% more effective
roof area utilisation (Wp/m2, see also the examples on the left)
resulting in a much higher number of solar panels finding room on
your roof.
• Having more solar panels on the roof also results in significantly
lower per-panel expenses for the support structure, cabling,
installation labour and so on.
• The wind load is lower, and the panels themselves make up more
of the total weight of the installation, which results in greatly
reduced additional ballast requirements.
• A system with a yield that is 9% lower than the yield of another
system takes 9% longer to pay back for itself. If, for example,
a south-oriented system financially breaks even after 6 years, a
symmetrical system would take 6.5 years. After those 6.5 years,
however, the financial advantage of a symmetrical system is
much higher than that of a south-oriented system, making the
lifetime return on investment (typically calculated over a life span
of 20 years or so) many times higher.
The prices of solar panels have been dropping continuously over the
last few years, making it advantageous to maximise the number of
solar panels on a roof.
Besides, using a lower panel angle and a smaller row pitch has
additional advantages. The panels are less susceptible to wind, the
more compact design requires less materials and the probability of
being able to fit an extra row of panels at the roof’s edge or in front
of an obstacle is increased at the same time.
Note: The true absolute output of a solar panel array depends on many factors such as its
location, the type of solar panels used, inverters and cabling, its orientation, and so on.
For this reason the numerical values presented in this fact sheet are relative numbers.
Fact Sheet Yield optimisation — December 2014