Clarify AOI-minimizing principle in tracking.singleaxis docstring - #2869
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cwhanse
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Sep 28, 2026
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@chenyi6758-source you can add your GH tag to the contributors at the bottom of the whatsnew file.
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| The rotation angle is chosen to minimize the angle of incidence (AOI) of | ||
| the sun's beam onto the panel, thereby maximizing the use of direct | ||
| normal irradiance (DNI). When backtracking is enabled, the rotation is | ||
| adjusted away from this AOI-minimizing angle to avoid row-to-row shading. | ||
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| See [1]_ and [2]_ for details about the equations. Backtracking may be | ||
| specified, in which case a ground coverage ratio is required. |
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| The rotation angle is chosen to minimize the angle of incidence (AOI) of | |
| the sun's beam onto the panel, thereby maximizing the use of direct | |
| normal irradiance (DNI). When backtracking is enabled, the rotation is | |
| adjusted away from this AOI-minimizing angle to avoid row-to-row shading. | |
| See [1]_ and [2]_ for details about the equations. Backtracking may be | |
| specified, in which case a ground coverage ratio is required. | |
| The rotation angle is chosen to minimize the angle of incidence (AOI) of | |
| the sun's beam onto the panel, thereby maximizing the use of direct | |
| normal irradiance (DNI). Backtracking may be specified, in which case | |
| a ground coverage ratio is required. When backtracking, the rotation is | |
| adjusted away from the AOI-minimizing angle to avoid row-to-row shading. | |
| See [1]_ and [2]_ for details about the equations. |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | ||
| * Clarified in :py:func:`pvlib.tracking.singleaxis` that the tracker | ||
| rotation minimizes the angle of incidence (AOI) to maximize the use of | ||
| direct normal irradiance (DNI). (:issue:`2314`) |
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| direct normal irradiance (DNI). (:issue:`2314`) | |
| direct normal irradiance (DNI). (:issue:`2314`) (:pull:`2869`) |
RDaxini
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Sep 28, 2026
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | ||
| * Clarified in :py:func:`pvlib.tracking.singleaxis` that the tracker | ||
| rotation minimizes the angle of incidence (AOI) to maximize the use of | ||
| direct normal irradiance (DNI). (:issue:`2314`) (:pull:`2869`) |
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| direct normal irradiance (DNI). (:issue:`2314`) (:pull:`2869`) | |
| direct normal irradiance (DNI). (:issue:`2314`, :pull:`2869`) |
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The docstring for pvlib.tracking.singleaxis describes the coordinate system and rotation conventions in detail, but never states the underlying principle: the rotation angle is chosen to minimize the angle of incidence (AOI) of the sun's beam onto the panel, thereby maximizing the use of direct normal irradiance (DNI).
This PR adds that explanation to the docstring, including a note that backtracking adjusts the rotation away from the AOI-minimizing angle to avoid row-to-row shading. Also adds a whatsnew entry.
Closes #2314.
docs/sphinx/source/referencefor API changes.docs/sphinx/source/whatsnewfor all changes. Includes link to the GitHub Issue with:issue:`num`or this Pull Request with:pull:`num`. Includes contributor name and/or GitHub username (link with:ghuser:`user`).remote-data) and Milestone are assigned to the Pull Request and linked Issue.