Fixed-Tilt Arrays - PlantPredict

Summary

Fixed-tilt arrays maintain a constant orientation throughout the year. PlantPredict assigns the user-defined tilt (

\beta_m

) and azimuth (

\gamma_m

) angles directly—no calculations or optimizations are performed. These constant values are used for all timesteps in the prediction.

Inputs / Outputs

Name	Symbol	Units	Description
Module Tilt Angle	$\beta_m$	degrees	Angle of module surface from horizontal (0° = horizontal, 90° = vertical)
Module Azimuth Angle	$\gamma_m$	degrees	Direction the module faces, clockwise from North (0° = N, 90° = E, 180° = S, 270° = W)

If

\beta_m = 0°

, a small offset of

0.001°

is applied so that the module surface has a definable azimuth (at exactly 0° the surface is horizontal and its azimuth is undefined). The , which determines how much direct beam irradiance reaches the module surface, is calculated separately (see Incidence Angle).

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