Hello from a new solar power convert.
I originally posted this in the general-discussion forum, but then discovered that the most recent posting there was in 2007! So I decided to also post here, where activity seems to be a bit more lively.
My wife, Louise, and I are in the process of installing 4KW of PV panels and an 8KW Outback Radian inverter for backup and emergency use. We're not planning to go off-grid at this time.
During the planning phase, I wrote a little program to calculate and display hourly sun position and PV production. This program proved to be very helpful, so I'm making it freely available to all. The Sun Angle Calculator (SAC) has these features:
* User-specified latitude, local horizon, and PV characteristics (number of panels, watts per panel, azimuth, tilt).
* Graphs hourly sun positions and PV power relative to a local horizon on a specified month and day.
* Calculates hourly sun position and PV power relative to the local horizon on a specified day over 12 months, and produces a detailed report.
* Reduces available PV power by a user-specified factor when the sun is shining through leafless trees or is obscured completely by leaves.
* Calculates the optimum PV azimuth and tilt for one month or an average for all 12 months.
* Northern hemisphere only.
You can learn more about SAC, see a screen shot, read the 16-page PDF user manual, and download the ZIP file on our family website <http://house.mdodd.com/update_solar.html#SAC>. The program is free for all to use.
I hope folks find this software useful. Comments are welcome.
