Solar Irradiance

An Introduction to Solar Radiation is an introductory text on solar radiation, with emphasis on the methods of calculation for determining the amount of solar radiation incident on a surface on the earth. Topics covered include the astronomical relationship between the sun and the earth; thermal radiation; the solar constant and its spectral distribution; and extraterrestrial solar irradiation. This book is comprised of 12 chapters and begins with an overview of the trigonometric relationships between the sun-earth line and the position of an inclined surface, followed by a discussion on the characteristics of blackbody radiation. The next chapter focuses on the solar constant and its spectral distribution, paying particular attention to extraterrestrial solar spectral irradiance and the sun's blackbody temperature. Subsequent chapters explore extraterrestrial and radiation incident on inclined planes; the optics of a cloudless-sky atmosphere; solar spectral radiation and total (broadband) radiation under cloudless skies; and solar radiation arriving at horizontal surfaces on the earth through cloudy skies. The ground albedo and its spectral and angular variation are also described, along with insolation on inclined surfaces. The last chapter is devoted to instruments for measuring solar radiation, including pyrheliometers and pyranometers. This monograph will serve as a useful guide for energy analysts, designers of thermal devices, architects and engineers, agronomists, and hydrologists as well as senior graduate students.

Forecasting plays an indispensable role in grid integration of solar energy, which is an important pathway toward the grand goal of achieving planetary carbon neutrality. This rather specialized field of solar forecasting constitutes both irradiance and photovoltaic power forecasting. Its dependence on atmospheric sciences and implications for power system operations and planning make the multi-disciplinary nature of solar forecasting immediately obvious. Advances in solar forecasting represent a quiet revolution, as the landscape of solar forecasting research and practice has dramatically advanced as compared to just a decade ago. Solar Irradiance and Photovoltaic Power Forecasting provides the reader with a holistic view of all major aspects of solar forecasting: the philosophy, statistical preliminaries, data and software, base forecasting methods, post-processing techniques, forecast verification tools, irradiance-to-power conversion sequences, and the hierarchical and firm forecasting framework. The book’s scope and subject matter are designed to help anyone entering the field or wishing to stay current in understanding solar forecasting theory and applications. The text provides concrete and honest advice, methodological details and algorithms, and broader perspectives for solar forecasting. Both authors are internationally recognized experts in the field, with notable accomplishments in both academia and industry. Each author has many years of experience serving as editors of top journals in solar energy meteorology. The authors, as forecasters, are concerned not merely with delivering the technical specifics through this book, but more so with the hopes of steering future solar forecasting research in a direction that can truly expand the boundary of forecasting science.

Solar radiation data is important for a wide range of applications, e.g. in engineering, agriculture, health sector, and in many fields of the natural sciences. A few examples showing the diversity of applications may include: architecture and building design, e.g. air conditioning and cooling systems; solar heating system design and use; solar power generation; evaporation and irrigation; calculation of water requirements for crops; monitoring plant growth and disease control; skin cancer research.

This book is a resource of information that is used in the solar power generation field. This would encompass residential, commercial and utility systems that are connected to the utility grid. It is a comprehensive collection of notes, diagrams, pictures and charts for a rapidly growing world of solar photovoltaic power generation technology. This book is illustrated in color.

Written by a leading scientist with over 35 years of experience working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Solar Radiation: Practical Modeling for Renewable Energy Applications brings together the most widely used, easily implemented concepts and models for estimating broadband and spectral solar radiation data. The author addresses various technical and practical questions about the accuracy of solar radiation measurements and modeling. While the focus is on engineering models and results, the book does review the fundamentals of solar radiation modeling and solar radiation measurements. It also examines the accuracy of solar radiation modeling and measurements. The majority of the book describes the most popular simple models for estimating broadband and spectral solar resources available to flat plate, concentrating, photovoltaic, solar thermal, and daylighting engineering designs. Sufficient detail is provided for readers to implement the models in assorted development environments. Covering the nuts and bolts of practical solar radiation modeling applications, this book helps readers translate solar radiation data into viable, real-world renewable energy applications. It answers many how-to questions relating to solar energy conversion systems, solar daylighting, energy efficiency of buildings, and other solar radiation applications.

The cost of operating a building far exceeds the cost of constructing it, and yet until recently little attention was paid to the impact of solar radiation on the costs of heating, cooling and ventilation. And now that there has been a surge in interest in energy efficiency and solar design, architects and designers need a practical guide to the modelling and application of solar energy data. There are many different models and techniques available for calculating the distribution of solar radiation on and in buildings, and these algorithms vary considerably in scope, accuracy and complexity. This book demonstrates which of these predictive tools gives the best results in different circumstances, including explaining which models can be best used in different parts of the world. The author has had over twenty-five years of experience of dealing with solar energy data from four continents and has used that experience in this book to show the development not just of knowledge but also the growing sophistication of the models available to apply it.