plot(times,solarRad,times,panelRad)
selectedDate.Format = 'MMMM dd yyyy';
title('Solar and Panel Radiation for ' + string(selectedDate))
xlabel('Hour of Day');
ylabel('Radiation, kW/m^2')
legend('Available Solar Radiation','Solar Radiation on Panel', 'Location','South')
Power Generation
So far, the calculations assume that all of the radiation reaching the panel is available to generate
power. However, solar panels do not convert 100% of available solar radiation into electricity. The
efficiency of a solar panel is the fraction of the available radiation that is converted. The efficiency of
a solar panel depends on the design and materials of the cell.
Typically, a residential installation includes 20m 2 of solar panels with an efficiency of 25%. Modify the
parameters below to see how efficiency and size affect panel power generation.
eff =
;
% Panel efficiency
pSize =
;
% Panel size in m^2
radiation = sum(panelRad(1:end-1)+panelRad(2:end))/2;
dayPower = eff*pSize*radiation;
% Panel electric output in kW
selectedDate.Format = 'dd-MMM-yyyy';
disp('Expected daily electical output for ' + string(selectedDate) + ' = ' + num2str(dayPower) +
19 Live Scripts and Functions
19-74