Category: Solar Energy

Calculations required to set up a solar system.

Solar Energy

Calculation of Solar Panel Spacing for India (New Dehli)

I have been asked many times that what is the area required for a solar array with a particular rating (such as 20 KW) and I have given a simple calculation method in one of my earlier post. But real life is never so simple. There are a bunch of inputs that we need to get an exact answer. In particular we want to know what is the required spacing between solar panels so that they are not in shade for a particular part of the day (typically 5 or 6 hours) and for this we need a number of […]

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Fundamentals, LTE, Solar Energy, WiMAX

Sizing Up a Solar System for a Cellular Base Station

Many operators are thinking of moving from the main grid to alternative energy sources such as wind and solar. This is especially true in third world countries where electricity is not available 24/7 and is also very expensive. This has forced operators to switch their base stations to diesel generators (which is also a costly option). In this article we do a rough estimation of the size a solar system required to run a cellular base station. We start with the assumption that 20 Watts of power are transmitted from a single antenna of base station. For a 3 sector […]

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Fundamentals, Solar Energy

Calculate Solar Panel Tilt

1. Find the direction of magnetic North and consequently magnetic South. 2. Adjust for magnetic declination to find exact true South. 3. Point solar panels towards true South. 4. Find optimum tilt angle based on the latitude and the season. Enter the value of latitude below to find the panel tilt in degrees. Winter Latitude *+ = Degrees Spring and Fall Latitude *– = Degrees Summer Latitude *– = Degrees   Note: 1. The result above is the angle in degrees from the horizontal. 2. If you do not know the latitude of your city you can look it up […]

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