Question

An electrician is installing 1 m-square solar panels on the

roof of an apartment building. The roof is flat and
measures 29 m wide in the north-south direction. As
shown in the figure, the panels are installed at an angle of
53° and must be separated by 0.2 m in the north to south
direction to avoid shadowing. With these specifications,
how many panels will fit along the 29 m side?

Answer 1

29 panels will fi along the 29 m side

How to find the number of panel

To find the number of panel, we first solve for x, using trigonometry

cos 37 = x / 1

x = 1 * cos 37 = 0.8

x + spacing of 0.2 m gives the allowance for each panel

= 0.8 + 0.2

= 1.0 m

For a total length of 29 m, the number of panels are

= 29 / 1.0

= 29 panels