The Effect of Pitch on Solar Panel Voltage Output
The purpose of this experiment was to see if solar panels oriented at 37°, 42° and 47°, with respect to the horizon, produce different voltage outputs. We made three wood stands, one for each angle, and mounted 4 solar panels on each stand. We placed the stands on the roof of the school facing due south. We wired the solar panels down to the room below them using a computer for each stand to collect voltages. We spent 5 days collecting voltage outputs using the physics program Logger Pro. From the collected data we calculated two, 2 sample T-tests. These T-tests showed that there was a significant difference between the 37° sensors and the 42° sensors, but no difference between the 42° sensors.
Research Done By:
Brian McCormick
Sterling
David Yruma
Cousino
Warren Consolidated Schools