Conclusion
The intent of this experiment was to see which solar panel angle would allow the solar panel to collect the maximum amount of energy. The hypothesis was that the solar panel angle of 45 degrees will collect the most amount of energy. When the solar panel was on the edge of the sun’s angle it collected the least amount of energy. The data does not support the hypothesis because a 60 degree angle collected the highest amount of energy with a mean of 23.91 DCV (Direct Current Voltage) which was more than what a 45 degree angle of the solar panel collected (23.87 DCV).
The findings compared somewhat well with previous knowledge. The hypothesis was that 45 degrees would collect the most energy because it was directly in the middle of 0 and 90 degrees which would make it able to collect the most energy all the time. However, the sun is at around a 60 degree angle in the sky. If the angle of the sun had been factored in 60 degrees would face the sun most directly and therefore collect the most energy. For all of the angles, the ones that faced more directly to the sun collected more than the ones that faced away from the sun. This experiment, however, could have some errors. Since there were clouds, they could have blocked some of the sun’s rays therefore causing the current angle being tested to collect a low amount of energy. Also the angles of each test were not exact which could slightly sway the results.
A number of things could have been done to improve this investigation and reduce possible errors. There could be a stand that is set to the correct angle. That would make the angle exact and not a few degrees off which could disrupt the energy being collected. Also to improve the experiment there could only be experiments on clear days with almost no clouds to stop clouds from changing the results. To further study what angle of a solar panel would work best there could be multiple solar panels set to different angles. The solar panels would then be left out all day and then see which angle collected the highest amount of energy after 24 hours.
The findings compared somewhat well with previous knowledge. The hypothesis was that 45 degrees would collect the most energy because it was directly in the middle of 0 and 90 degrees which would make it able to collect the most energy all the time. However, the sun is at around a 60 degree angle in the sky. If the angle of the sun had been factored in 60 degrees would face the sun most directly and therefore collect the most energy. For all of the angles, the ones that faced more directly to the sun collected more than the ones that faced away from the sun. This experiment, however, could have some errors. Since there were clouds, they could have blocked some of the sun’s rays therefore causing the current angle being tested to collect a low amount of energy. Also the angles of each test were not exact which could slightly sway the results.
A number of things could have been done to improve this investigation and reduce possible errors. There could be a stand that is set to the correct angle. That would make the angle exact and not a few degrees off which could disrupt the energy being collected. Also to improve the experiment there could only be experiments on clear days with almost no clouds to stop clouds from changing the results. To further study what angle of a solar panel would work best there could be multiple solar panels set to different angles. The solar panels would then be left out all day and then see which angle collected the highest amount of energy after 24 hours.