DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR SUN ALTITUDE AND AZIMUTH ORIENTATION

ABSTRACT The rapid determination of sun position in relation to the earth with computer programming is pivotal in optimizing solar radiation collected by solar panels. Programming is the process of writing and testing computer program to project information through rapid analysis and documentation. Software for rapid determination of Altitude and Azimuth angles was developed using predictive models for solar panels orientation. Java programming language was used to developed the software named Computer Aided Altitude and Azimuth Orientation (CALAZO 2015). The results from validation show that sun’s angles for appropriate panel orientation varies dependently on the time, day and also the year. The software developed also serves as a foundational platform for holistic approached in optimizing solar energy reception.