Collector tilt and azimuth

The SolarPaces and NREL Troughnet websites are both good starting points for researching information about CSP systems.

In general, you can use the default tilt and azimuth values of zero for the CSP models unless you have a reason to change them. Those values represent a system with horizontal collectors oriented N-S so that they rotate from east in the morning to west in the evening.

Best regards,
Paul.

For the parabolic trough models, you can use the tilt and azimuth variables to specify a field with collectors that are oriented E-W. After running simulations, you can plot graphs of the solar angles and collector incidence angle to see the effects of different collector orientations: On the results page, click Base Case Time Series and choose the type of graph and variables to plot.

Best regards,
Paul.

Dear Franilena,

For the parabolic trough models, a collector azimuth angle value of zero (on the Solar Field page) is for a N-S field. To rotate the field by 90 degrees, you would change the azimuth angle to either 90 degrees or -90 degrees. If you use a tilt angle of zero, it should not matter which way you rotate the field. If the tilt angle is not zero, then for an azimuth angle of zero, the lower end of each collector is nearest the equator, and for 90 degrees, the lower end is nearest the western horizon.

Best regards,
Paul.