The Sun's Apparent Position and The Optimal Tilt Angle

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com
Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener
The Suns apparent position and the optimal tilt angle

of a solar collector in the northern hemisphere
Tian Pau Chang *
Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Nankai University of Technology, Nantou 542, Taiwan
Received 23 January 2008; received in revised form 17 December 2008; accepted 26 February 2009
Available online 8 April 2009
Communicated by: Associate Editor David Renne
Abstract
In this paper, the Julian dating system is adopted to calculate the Suns apparent position. Both the sunshine duration and the optimal
installation angle of a xed solar collector are obtained for dierent time periods and latitudes in the northern hemisphere. To simulate
dierent operating environments, both kinds of radiation ux are considered, i.e. extraterrestrial radiation and the global radiation calculated using an empirical model. The results show that Julian dating system is precise enough to predict the Suns locus according to
analyses of the solar declination and the azimuth and elevation angles. The orientation that a solar collector must be installed at can be
roughly estimated by determining the sunshine duration. The majority of the Suns path lies in the southern sky over a year, and hence
the sunshine duration in the southern sky is longer, except for locations with latitudes below 1.5. The yearly optimal angles are positive
(approximately 0.91 and 0.76 multiplied by the latitude for extraterrestrial and global radiation, respectively), for latitudes below 65o.
Above this, the curves are atter, and the dierences between the two types of radiation ux become greater. The ratio of the yearly
irradiation captured by a collector installed at its yearly optimal angle to that captured by the ground surface increases with latitude,
and reaches a maximum of 1.71 and 1.35 near latitudes of 65 for extraterrestrial and global radiation, respectively. The eciency of
a solar collector decreases when operating in a cloudy environment. The amount of global radiation incident on the ground surface
is about 0.510.66 times that of extraterrestrial radiation throughout the hemisphere.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Julian date; Sunshine duration; Solar collector; Optimal angle
1. Introduction
Solar energy is a free and clean natural resource which
can be utilized anywhere in the world by using a collector
or photovoltaic (PV) cell (Fig. 1). Due to the recent shortage of fossil fuels, solar energy now plays a more important
role when considering our energy supply. The level of solar
radiation captured by a collector is mainly aected by the
installation azimuth and tilt angles. This is because both
of these angles inuence the angle of incidence of the solar
radiation upon the collector panel. Therefore, the choice of
orientation and tilt angle is a critical issue for the improve*
Fax: +886 49 2561408.

E-mail address: t118@nkut.edu.tw
0038-092X/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2009.02.009
ment of a collectors eciency. Generally speaking, the

optimal orientation is due south in the northern hemisphere. However, it may be due north during special time
periods depending on the relative position of the Earth
and the Sun. Thus, making a precise prediction of the Suns
movement locus is a major premise for the development of
solar energy applications.
There are many dierent methodologies for the calculation of the Suns apparent position. Durisch and Anglehart
(1987) as well as Schubnell and Ries (1990) used the time
counted since a new year as a variable, and combined it
with the mean angular velocity of the Earth to accurately
calculate the Suns position. However, many other papers
adopt the day number (dn) as a time variable (Tang and
Wu, 2004; Huang and Sun, 2007; Sakonidou et al., 2008),
T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284
1275
Nomenclature
a0, a1, k, r0, r1, rk constants of atmospheric transmittance, dimensionless
d
day of month, dimensionless
dn
day number of year, dimensionless
E
orbit eccentricity, dimensionless
GMST right ascension of Greenwich Mean Sidereal
Time, second
H
altitude of observer, kilometer
H
elevation angle of the Sun, degree
accumulated extraterrestrial radiation, J/m2
I0
Ic
clear sky radiation on horizontal surface, J/m2
Icb
clear sky beam radiation on horizontal surface,
J/m2
Icd
clear sky diuse radiation on horizontal surface,
J/m2
It
global radiation on tilted plane, J/m2
JC
Julian century, dimensionless
JD
Julian day, dimensionless
JD1
Julian time, dimensionless
JD2000 Julian day of GMT 0 on Jan. 1, 2000, dimensionless
LMST local mean sidereal time, hour
LT
local time, hour
M
mean anomaly of perihelion, degree
M
month of year, dimensionless
Rb
beam radiation ratio, dimensionless
Sc
solar constant, 1367 W/m2
which is counted from January 1st throughout the year (1

365), then calculate the solar declination (d), which is the
angle between the lines joining the centers of the Sun, the
Earth, and the equatorial plane. Subsequently, the zenith
(hz)) and azimuth angle (w) of the Sun can be determined.
For a day number dn, the angles are given by:
d 23:45 sin2p284 dn=365
cos hz sin d sin / cos d cos / cos x
cos w cos hz sin / sin d= sin hz cos /
where / is the latitude of the installation location, and x is

the solar hour angle, which changes by 15/h and is zero at
solar noon, negative in the morning and positive after
noon. The expressions listed above have been previously
adopted by other researchers (Braun and Mitchell, 1983;
Morcos, 1994; Chen et al., 2005; Huang and Sun, 2007;
Gunerhan and Hepbasli, 2007).
The Julian calendar is alternative counting method
invented by Joseph Scaliger, a French chronologist in the
16th century who named it after his father, Julius. The
exact number of days counted from noon on 31 December
4714 B.C. is called the Julian day; it is convenient for distinguishing time sequences among long term events that
happened during dierent eras or are even recorded with
TC
time transferring constant, 1.002738
TD
time dierence between LT and GMT, hour
Y
year A.D. , dimensionless
Greek letters
a
longitude of the Sun on equatorial plane, degree
k
longitude of the Sun on ecliptic plane, degree
X
latitude of the Sun on ecliptic plane, degree
f
angle between the ecliptic and equatorial plane,
degree
m
perihelion anomaly, degree
e
mean anomaly deviated from the vernal equinox
, degree
l
argument of perigee, degree
d
solar declination, degree
zenith of the Sun, degree
hz
w
azimuth of the Sun, degree
c
geographic longitude, degree
/
geographic latitude, degree
x
solar hour angle, degree
b
tilted angle of collector, degree
h
incident angle of direct beam to the collector,
degree
q
reection coecient (albedo), dimensionless
atmospheric transmittance of beam radiation,
sb
dimensionless
atmospheric transmittance of diuse radiation ,
sd
dimensionless
dierent calendar systems, and has popularly been applied

in the eld of astronomical and historical researches
Zenith
Sun
Normal
vector
Solar
collector
East
South
Fig. 1. Geometry of solar collector.
1276
(Farrell, 1988; Duet-Smith, 1988; Michalsky, 1988).

Using the Julian date system, Reda and Andreas (2004)
proposed a step by step procedure for calculating the solar
azimuth and zenith angles in the period from the year
2000 to 6000, with an uncertainty of only 0.0003. Shen
(2005) utilized the Julian date to calculate the Suns position as well as to determine the optimal installation angle
of a south facing solar panel. The electric power output
from a photovoltaic cell installed at various orientations
and tilt angles was estimated, but the accuracy of the Suns
calculated position was not discussed; furthermore, Shens
study is localized to Taiwan. In this paper, the Julian day is
used as a time variable for predicting the Suns position.
The validity of the methodology will be veried by using
concrete data, including the solar declination and instantaneous azimuth and elevation angles. Meanwhile, the time
duration of the Sun standing either in the southern or in
the northern sky will be accumulated for dierent time
periods. To make a detailed estimation for the installation
of a solar collector, in addition to the extraterrestrial radiation (i.e. solar radiation under air mass zero (AM0), suitable for outer space applications), the global radiation
(taking into account the direct beam, diusion, and reection from the ground) predicted using the empirical model
proposed by Liu and Jordan (1960, 1963) and Hottel
(1976), will be considered to simulate a dierent operating
environment. Although there are other empirical models
available in literature for calculating the global radiation
(Kasten and Czeplak, 1980; Bird and Hulstrom, 1981;
Muneer et al., 2000; Gueymard, 2003a,b), the one used in
the present study has been adopted by previous researchers
such as Morcos (1994), Huang and Sun (2007), and Chang
(in press). It is applicable to dierent latitudes and can be
treated as the worldwide average value of the global radiation. Subsequently, the optimal installation angle of a xed
solar collector for a particular period of time, e.g. 12
months, can be obtained throughout the northern hemisphere according to both radiation sources. This discussion
is unprecedented.
2. Suns apparent position by Julian date
JD1 JD JD2000
where
JC JD1=36525
10
The latitude of the Sun in the ecliptic coordinate system

(x) is 0 because the Suns motion always lies on the ecliptic plane. The actual perihelion anomaly (t) can be
obtained after expanding the Kepler equation in series as
below:
t M 360E sinM=p 900E2 sin2M=4p
180E3 sinM=4p
11
where
M el
12
E 0:01670862 0:00004204JC
e 280:466457 0:985647358JD1 0:000304JC
13
2
14
l 282:937348 0:00004707624JD1
0:0004569JC2
15
Here, M is the mean anomaly of the perihelion, E is the

orbit eccentricity, e is the mean anomaly deviation from the
vernal equinox, and l is the perigee argument. The longitude of the Sun in ecliptic coordinate (k) can thus be calculated using:
k t 360 l
16
The angle between the ecliptic plane and the equatorial

plane (f) is 23.4392o. The longitude of the Sun with respect
to the equatorial plane (a) is the same as that to the ecliptic
plane, i.e. a = k. The latitude of the Sun with respect to the
equatorial plane (d), (also known the solar declination), is
given as:
d sin1 sin X cos f cos X sin k sin f
For a date during the year y, month m, and day d, its

Julian day (JD) is dened as (Duet-Smith, 1988; Shen,
2005):
JD B C D d 1524:5
Note that the value of m and y must be replaced with

m + 12 and y 1, respectively, for January and February.
The operator Int() means that the output is an integer
value.
The Julian time (JD1) and Julian century (JC), which
are counted from the beginning of the Julian day at the
Greenwich Mean Time 0 on January 1, 2000 (JD2000),
are dened to be:
17
For a given local time (LT, in seconds) and geographic

longitude (c in seconds, 1 h/15), the right ascension of
the Greenwich Mean Sidereal Time (GMST, in seconds)
and local mean sidereal time (LMST, in seconds) can be
calculated using:
GMST 24110:4841 8640184:81266
B 2 A IntA=4
C Int365:25 y 4716
D Int30:6001 m 1
A Inty=100
JD1=36525:24
LMST GMST c LT TD TC
18
19
where TD (in seconds) is the time dierence between the

local time and the Greenwich mean time, and the constant
TC which is used for transferring the solar time to sidereal
time is 1.002738. Lastly, the Suns instantaneous azimuth

2000
r1
rk
Tropical
Mid-latitude summer
Sub-arctic summer
Mid-latitude winter
0.95
0.97
0.99
1.03
0.98
0.99
0.99
1.01
1.02
1.02
1.01
1.00
(w) and elevation (h) observed at a location with the geographic longitude c and latitude / are determined by the
following equations:
sinLMST a
w tan1
sin / cosLMST a cos / tan d
1800
1600
20
1400
120
1200
100
1000
80
800
60
600
40
20
200
21
Here, the elevation is the angle between the Suns direction and the horizontal plane, whose complement is the
zenith angle.
3. Global radiation on tilted collector by empirical model
According to the model developed by Liu and Jordan
(1963), the radiation incident on a south facing collector
tilted at an angle b to the horizontal surface, as shown in
Fig. 1, is made up of three components: the direct beam,
diusion, and reection from the ground. The sum of these
three terms is called global radiation (It):
I t I cb Rb I cd 1 cos b=2 I c q1 cos b=2
22
The tilt angle b is positive for collectors facing due south

but negative for due north and zero for the horizon. The
geometric factor, Rb, is the ratio of beam radiation on a
tilted surface to that on a horizontal surface and is given by:
Rb cos h= cos hz
10
12
14
10
5
0
-5
22
24
h cos1 sin hz cos w sin b cos hz cos b
24
q is the ground reection coecient (albedo), which is

about 0.7 for snow covered ground and 0.2 for snow free
ground. It was assumed to be 0.2 in this study (Yakup
and Malik, 2001; Cheng et al., 2006). The clear sky radiation on a horizontal surface, Ic, is the sum of Icb and Icd:
I c I cb I cd
25
2000
180
azimuth angle of the Sun
elevation angle of the Sun
extrat. radi. on tilted collector
extrat. radi. on horizon
global radi. on tilted collector
global radi. on horizon
1600
Instantaneous radiation (W/m2)
Solar declination (degree)
15
20
where h is the instantaneous angle between the direct beam

and the normal of collector, it can be calculated by:
1800
20
18
Fig. 3. The Suns instantaneous position and radiation observed in Taipei

on the vernal equinox day.
30
present study
general model
16
Hour of the vernal equinox day
23
25
140
400
h sin1 sin / sin d cos / cos d cosLMST a

90o hz
160
160
140
1400
120
1200
100
1000
80
800
Angle (degree)
ro
Climate type
180
Angle (degree)
Table 1
Radiation parameters for dierent climate types.
1277
60
600
-10
40
400
-15
-20
20
200
-25
0
-30
0
30
60
90
120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Day of year
Fig. 2. Solar declinations throughout a year in 2007.
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
Hour of the summer solstice day

on the summer solstice day.
where Icb is the clear sky beam radiation on a horizontal

surface which can be calculated using the expression derived by Hottel (1976):
2000
I cb I o sb cos hz
1600
1800
sb ao a1 expk= cos hz
ro ao ,
27
r1 a1
The constants ao
a1
and k rk k for a standard atmosphere with a visibility of 23 km can be calculated from the following relationship by assuming that
the observation altitude is less than 2.5 km:
ao 0:4237 0:008216:0 H
a1 0:5055 0:005956:5 H
160
140
1400
120
1200
100
1000
80
800
Angle (degree)
26
where sb is the atmospheric transmittance of beam radiation, and is equal to the ratio of the beam radiation on a
horizontal surface to the air mass zero (AM0) extraterrestrial radiation, it can be approached empirically (Hottel,
1976):
180
60
600
40
400
20
200
0
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
Hour of the autumnal equinox day
28

on the autumnal equinox day.
k 0:2711 0:018582:5 H 2
where H is the altitude of the observer in kilometers and is
assumed to be 0.006 km in this study. The correction
parameters, ro, r1 and rk are related to climate conditions
as summarized in Table 1. Note that the parameters suitable for higher latitude zones are not oered by the paper
of Hottel (1976), on the calculation these three parameters
are, respectively, set to the approximate values of 0.99, 0.99
and 1.00 for latitudes near the Arctic zone.The accumulated extraterrestrial beam radiation at AM0 for a period
of time can be obtained from the integral:
Z
29
I o S c 1 0:033 cos2pdn=365:25dt
where, Sc is the solar constant (1367 W/m2). The diusion
component of clear sky radiation on a horizontal surface,
Icd, can be estimated using the model developed by Liu
and Jordan (1960):
axis). For easy comparison, the azimuth is set to 0o at solar

noon and increases towards the dawn and dusk. Both the
azimuth and elevation are anticipated, and are symmetric
with respect to solar noon (however, they are not exactly
symmetric). Furthermore, these angles are consistent with
those calculated using Eqs. (2)(3); we can conclude that
the mathematical expressions introduced in this study are
sucient for predicting the Suns position.
In addition, the instantaneous solar radiation received is
plotted on these gures (the left ordinate axis). It can be
seen that the radiation incident upon a tilted collector at
its daily optimal angle is stronger than that upon a horizontal surface. The optimal tilt angle was calculated by
2000
30
1800
sd 0:2710 0:2939sb
31
1600
where sd is the atmospheric transmittance of diuse

radiation.
4. Results and discussions
Fig. 2 compares the solar declinations throughout a year
calculated using dierent expressions. The declination from
the present study obtained using the Julian date system and
sampled at solar noon everyday in 2007 matches the general model given by Eq. (1). The annual mean of the discrepancy between these two curves is about 0.3o.
To examine the appropriateness of the methodology
mentioned, Figs. 36 demonstrate the Suns apparent position observed in Taipei (c = 121.5o, / = 25.1o) during four
particular days in 2007 in terms of the instantaneous azimuth and elevation angles (referring to the right ordinate
I cd I o sd cos hz
180
160
140
1400
120
1200
100
1000
80
800
Angle (degree)
1278
60
600
40
400
20
200
0
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
Hour of the winter solstice day

on the winter solstice day.
1279
Table 2
Solar parameters for Taipei on four specied days in 2007.
Period
Radiation type
Optimal tilt angle (degree)
Irradiation on
horiz. surface (Wh/m2)
Irradiation on tilted
collector (Wh/m2)
Sunshine time in
south/north sky (hour)
Vernal equinox (3/21)
Extrat.
Global
24.5
25.0
9541
6309
10482
6842
11.85/0.13
Summer solstice (6/22)
Extrat.
Global
13.1
7.9
11213
7569
11511
7629
2.95/10.75
Autumnal equinox (9/23)
Extrat.
Global
25.4
25.9
9363
6183
10368
6745
11.95/0
Winter solstice (12/22)
Extrat.
Global
56.3
53.3
6274
3817
11296
5851
10.42/0
February
80
southern sky duration

northern sky duration
optimal angle (extra.)
optimal angle (global)
70
60
400
50
300
40
30
200
Monthly optimal tilt angle (degree)
500
20
100
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Latitude (degree, N)
Fig. 8. The monthly sunshine duration and optimal tilt angle of collector
in February.
90
600
90
600
Monthly sunshine duration (hour)
searching for the value at which the solar radiation upon

the collector is maximized for a specic period of time.
Table 2 summarizes the corresponding data for these days.
The optimal angles during the vernal equinox, autumn
equinox, and winter solstice days are positive values, irrespective of the type of solar radiation considered. This is
because the Suns apparent position is mostly in the southern sky. The collector must thus be installed facing south to
collect the maximum amount of solar energy. On the contrary, the optimal angle during the summer solstice is negative, implying that the collector can collect more energy if
it is installed due north. Indeed, this can be realized by the
fact that the Suns azimuth on the summer solstice day is
larger than 90o for most of the day, e.g. before 10:30 and
after 13:30 as shown in Fig. 4.
To investigate more characteristics regarding the installation of a solar collector, Figs. 718 show the variation in
sunshine duration with geographic latitude for all
12 months. The monthly optimal tilt angles of a solar
collector for both radiation sources are also shown. These
calculations were carried out for the entire northern hemi-
90
600
March
500
500
50
300
40
30
200
January
20
30
40
50
50
300
40
30
200
20
10
0
10
60
400
100
0
0
70
20

100
60
400
70
80
80
60
70
80
90
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in January.
in March.

80
600
April
50
40
30
300
20
200
10
60
400
40

500
June
70

500
50
600
30
20
400
10
300
0
-10
200
1280
-20
0
100
100
-30
-10
0
-20
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
-40
0
90
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in April.
in June.
sphere at a longitude of 120o east. We can see how the optimal angle depends on the Suns movement locus. As for the
northern hemisphere, most of the Suns locus lies in the
southern sky with some exceptions from April to September, especially in lower latitudes or in higher latitudes
inside the Arctic Circle. For January, February, October,
November, and December, the sunshine duration in the
northern sky is always 0.
Table 3 summarizes the correlations between the optimal tilt angle and the geographic latitude for a longitude
of 120o east for dierent periods obtained by nding the
line of best t, based on the least squares method. In order
to simplify the gures, the lines of best t are not shown.

The R-square determination coecients of linear regression are greater than 0.998, except for higher latitudes in
June (R-square = 0.958). In general, the slopes of the
regression line for the spring season are very similar to
those in autumn, i.e. about 0.96 and 0.91 for the extraterrestrial and global radiation, respectively. For example,
in March, as shown in Fig. 9, the duration when the Sun
is in the southern sky is longer than when it is in the northern sky, resulting in a positive tilt angle for both the extraterrestrial and global radiation. Furthermore, the angles
estimated from both radiation types are very close to each
60
600
May
50
500
20
300
10
200
30
400
50

40
500
July

40
30
400
20
10
300
0
200
-10
-10
60
600
-20
100
100
-20
-30
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in May.
-30
0
-40
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in July.

70
600
90
600
October
40
30
300
20
10
200
50
500
400
80

60

70
60
400
50
300
40
30
200
August
500
1281
20
0
100
100
10
-10
-20
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0
0
90
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in August.
in October.
other and increase with latitude. The characteristics during

September, as shown in Fig. 15, are quite similar to those
during March except for latitudes below 4o.
In summer, the curves reveal more complicated variations. For regions outside the Arctic Circle, the slopes of
the regression line are close to 0.91 and 0.85 for the extraterrestrial and global radiation, respectively. As shown in
Fig. 12, in June, the duration when the Sun is in the southern sky is zero for latitudes below 22o and increases gradually for latitudes greater than this. The duration when
the Sun is in the northern sky is longer than when it is in
the southern sky except for latitudes between 35o and
65o. Thus, the optimal tilt angles are negative for latitudes
below 35o but are almost positive for latitudes between 35o
and 65o. As for latitudes above 65o, the angles are negative
when we only consider the incidence of the direct beam, i.e.
the extraterrestrial radiation, whereas those angles are
positive if the diusion and reection components are
included. As we know, for regions at latitudes above 65o,
the Sun rarely sets down to the horizon in June. Its durations in the southern and northern sky are approximate,
and thus the orientation of the collector becomes less
important. This is why the optimal tilt angles estimated
using dierent types of radiation reveal a bigger discrep-
90
600
September
80
500
70
40
300
30
200
20
60
400
50
300
40
30
200
November
100
100
0
0
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
20

10
50
60
400
70
80

500
90
600
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in September.
in November.

90
600
90
6000
Yearly
80
500
50
300
40
30
200
December
20
30
40
50
50
3000
40
30
2000
20
10
10
0
10
60
4000
1000
0
0
70
20

100
Yearly sunshine duration (hour)
60
70
400
80

5000
Yearly optimal tilt angle (degree)
1282
60
70
80
90
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
in December.
Fig. 19. The yearly sunshine duration and optimal tilt angle of collector.
On the whole, the angles presented by the present study

are in agreement with those of Yakup and Malik (2001) as
well as Nijegorodov et al. (1994). Fig. 19 shows the results
from the calculations of an entire year. The sunshine duration in the southern sky is longer than in the northern sky
except for latitudes below 1.5o. The yearly optimal angles
present an obvious change near latitudes of 65o. Below this
latitude, the angles are about 0.91 and 0.76 times latitude
for extraterrestrial and global radiation, respectively.
Above 65o, the curves of both radiation types become atter and the dierences between them are larger.
Fig. 20 demonstrates the variation in yearly irradiation
throughout the hemisphere. The radiation incident on a col2
6000
Table 3
Correlations between the optimal tilt angle and the geographic latitude (/)
for dierent time periods.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Yearly
Optimal tilt angle

(extraterrestrial radiation)
Optimal tilt angle

(global radiation)
0:853/ 31:45o ; / 6 72o

0:898/ 20:62o ; / 6 82o
0:975/ 3:05o ; / 6 90o
0:997/ 15:81o ; / 6 90o
0:962/ 29:72o ; / 6 90o
0:841/ 33:86o ;/ 6 65o
0:964/ 87:43o ; otherwise
0:934/ 32:64o ; / 6 90o
0:864/ 28:17o ; / 6 72o

0:889/ 18:58o ; / 6 82o
0:923/ 3:99o ; / 6 90o
0:921/ 11:86o ; / 6 90o
0:857/ 23:17o ; / 6 90o
0:834/ 28:70o ; / 6 74o
0:860/ 26:40o ; / 6 79o
1:331/ 119:38o ; otherwise
0:908 / 16:51o ; / 6 90o
0:931/ 1:87o ; / 6 90o
0:900/ 13:95o ; / 6 86o
0:869/ 25:80o ; / 6 75o
0:865/ 30:78o ; / 6 68o
0:989/ 21:32 ; / 6 90
0:997/ 4:11o ; / 6 90o
0:920/ 15:20o ; / 6 86o
0:863/ 28:78o ; / 6 75o
0:849/ 34:30o ; / 6 68o
o
0:908/ 0:73 ; / 6 65
0:764/ 2:14 ; / 6 65
5000
Yearly irradiation (kWh/m2)
Period
extrat. irradi. on tilted collector

extrat. irradi. on horizon
global irradi. on tilted collector
global irradi. on horizon
irradi. ratio of tilted to horizon (extrat.)
irradi. ratio of tilted to horizon (global)
1.9
1.8
1.7
4000
1.6
1.5
3000
1.4
Irradiation ratio
ancy. In fact, according to the computation of the present

study, for most of the regions where / >65o, the irradiation
captured by a solar collector installed at its monthly optimal angle does not exceed the irradiation incident on a horizontal surface by even 1%.
In winter, the slope is only 0.86 for both radiation
sources. This is the smallest of the four seasons. As shown
in Fig. 18, in December, the duration in the southern sky
decreases with latitude and becomes zero for latitudes
greater than 68o whereas the duration in the northern sky
is always zero throughout the hemisphere. The optimal
angles estimated using the global radiation are less than
those estimated using the extraterrestrial radiation by
about 3o.
2000
1.3
1.2
1000
1.1
0
1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Latitude (N, degree)
Fig. 20. The yearly solar irradiations captured by tilted collector and by
horizontal surface as well as their ratios.
lector installed at its yearly optimal angle (as shown in

Fig. 19) is greater than the radiation incident on a horizontal surface for both types of radiation ux. The ratios of the
irradiation captured by a tilted collector to that captured by
a horizontal surface increase gradually with latitude, and
reach a maximum value near latitudes of 65o, i.e. 1.71 and
1.35 for the extraterrestrial and global radiation, respectively. As compared with the situation of AM0 (i.e. extraterrestrial radiation), the eciency of a collector decreases
when it operates in cloudy or polluted environments where
the diusion component (isotropic radiation) increases. On
the other hand, as shown in Fig. 20, the amount of global
radiation incident on a horizontal ground surface is about
0.510.66 times that of extraterrestrial radiation throughout the hemisphere. This is equivalent to the value of the
clearness index (the ratio of global radiation transmitted
to the ground surface to extraterrestrial radiation).
It is worth mentioning that, as stated in previous
researches (Yakup and Malik, 2001; Shu et al., 2006; Chang,
in press), the optimal tilt angle of a collector becomes smaller
(atter) when the sky clearness index decreases. However,
the clearness index changes from location to location and
it is very hard to produce a general expression to precisely
evaluate its level all over the world. According to the simulation results proposed by Chang (in press), the yearly optimal
angle in Taiwan increases by about 2o when the clearness
index rises by 0.1 in the range of 0.30.6.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, the validity of the Julian dating system is
examined and recommended for use in determining the
optimal tilt angle for a solar collector. Both the sunshine
duration and the optimal tilt angle of a xed solar collector
are obtained for dierent time periods and dierent latitudes in the northern hemisphere along the longitude of
120o east, simultaneously taking into account both the
extraterrestrial and global radiation. The conclusions are
summarized below:
(1) The Julian dating system introduced in this paper is
precise enough to predict the Suns movement path
based on the analyses, including the solar declination
and the azimuth and elevation angles.
(2) The orientation that a solar collector must be
installed at can be roughly estimated by determining
the sunshine duration to see whether the Suns locus
is mainly in the northern or southern sky.
(3) The majority of the Suns locus lies in the southern
sky with the exception of the period from April to
September in lower latitudes or in latitudes within
the Arctic Circle. For the months of January, February, October, November, and December, the sunshine duration in the northern sky is zero.
(4) The slopes of the regression line that best ts the optimal tilt angle in spring are close to those in autumn;
the slopes are about 0.96 and 0.91 for extraterrestrial
1283
and global radiation, respectively. The analogous

slopes in summer are 0.91 and 0.85 for latitudes outside the Arctic Circle for extraterrestrial and global
radiation, respectively. The slope in winter is the
smallest one among the four seasons. It is approximately 0.86 for both sources of radiation.
(5) For an annual period, the sunshine duration in the
southern sky is longer except for latitudes below
1.5o. For latitudes below 65o, the yearly optimal
angles are positive and are about 0.91 and 0.76 multiplied by the latitude for extraterrestrial and global
radiation, respectively. Above this, the curves are atter, and the dierences between the two radiation
types become larger.
(6) The ratios of the yearly irradiation captured by a collector installed with its yearly optimal angle to that
captured by a horizontal ground surface increase with
latitude. Near latitudes of 65o, the ratios have a maximum of 1.71 and 1.35 for extraterrestrial and global
radiation, respectively. As compared to the situation
of air mass zero (AM0), the eciency of a solar collector decreases when it operates in a cloudy environment. The amount of global radiation incident on the
ground surface is about 0.510.66 times that of extraterrestrial radiation throughout the hemisphere.
Acknowledgments
The author appreciate reviewers for their treasure comments, and deeply thanks Dr. Wu C.F., adviser of Central
Weather Bureau and Dr. Huang M.W., researcher of the
Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, for
their useful suggestions. This work was supported partly
by the Nankai University of Technology.
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The Sun's Apparent Position and The Optimal Tilt Angle

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Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

The Suns apparent position and the optimal tilt angle

Fax: +886 49 2561408.

ment of a collectors eciency. Generally speaking, the

T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

which is counted from January 1st throughout the year (1

cos hz sin d sin / cos d cos / cos x

cos w cos hz sin / sin d= sin hz cos /

where / is the latitude of the installation location, and x is

dierent calendar systems, and has popularly been applied

T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

(Farrell, 1988; Duet-Smith, 1988; Michalsky, 1988).

The latitude of the Sun in the ecliptic coordinate system

Here, M is the mean anomaly of the perihelion, E is the

The angle between the ecliptic plane and the equatorial

For a date during the year y, month m, and day d, its

Note that the value of m and y must be replaced with

For a given local time (LT, in seconds) and geographic

where TD (in seconds) is the time dierence between the

T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

The tilt angle b is positive for collectors facing due south

h cos1 sin hz cos w sin b cos hz cos b

q is the ground reection coecient (albedo), which is

Solar declination (degree)

where h is the instantaneous angle between the direct beam

Fig. 3. The Suns instantaneous position and radiation observed in Taipei

Hour of the vernal equinox day

h sin1 sin / sin d cos / cos d cosLMST a

Instantaneous radiation (W/m2)

120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

Fig. 2. Solar declinations throughout a year in 2007.

Hour of the summer solstice day

Fig. 4. The Suns instantaneous position and radiation observed in Taipei

T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

where Icb is the clear sky beam radiation on a horizontal

a1 0:5055 0:005956:5 H

Instantaneous radiation (W/m2)

Hour of the autumnal equinox day

Fig. 5. The Suns instantaneous position and radiation observed in Taipei

axis). For easy comparison, the azimuth is set to 0o at solar

where sd is the atmospheric transmittance of diuse

Instantaneous radiation (W/m2)

Hour of the winter solstice day

Fig. 6. The Suns instantaneous position and radiation observed in Taipei

T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

Optimal tilt angle (degree)

Vernal equinox (3/21)

Summer solstice (6/22)

Autumnal equinox (9/23)

Winter solstice (12/22)

southern sky duration

Monthly optimal tilt angle (degree)

Monthly sunshine duration (hour)

searching for the value at which the solar radiation upon

southern sky duration

Monthly sunshine duration (hour)

Monthly optimal tilt angle (degree)

Monthly sunshine duration (hour)

Monthly optimal tilt angle (degree)

T.P. Chang / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 12741284

Monthly sunshine duration (hour)

southern sky duration

a1 0:5055 0:005956:5 H