1/30/2021

PHYS 3158
Fundamentals of Renewable Energy

30-Jan-21

Latitude,
season and
daily
insolation
The daily insolation H is
the total energy per unit
area received on a surface
in one day from the Sun:
=

(Twidell and Weir 2015, 45)

1
 1/30/2021

(Twidell and Weir 2015, 47)

(a) For the collector surface

 Slope : the angle between the plane surface in question and the
horizontal.
 In either hemisphere: for a surface facing towards the 0< <
90 , for a surface facing away from the 90 < < 180 .
 Surface azimuth angle : projected on the horizontal plane, the
angle between the normal to the surface and the local longitude
meridian.
 In either hemisphere, for a surface facing due south = 0° ; due north =
180° ; westwards = 0° 180°; eastwards = 0° − 180°. For any
horizontal surface, = 0° .
 Angle of incidence θ: angle between solar beam and surface
normal.

2
 1/30/2021

(b) For the solar beam

 (Solar) zenith angle : angle between the solar beam and the
vertical.
 Note that and are not usually in the same plane.
 Solar altitude as = 90° − : the complement to the (solar)
zenith angle; angle of solar beam to the horizontal.
 Sun (solar) azimuth angle : projected on the horizontal plane, the
angle between the solar beam and the longitude meridian.
 Sign convention as . So, on the horizontal plane, the angle between the
beam and the surface is − .
 (Solar) hour angle : is the angle that the Earth has rotated since
solar noon (i.e. when = 0 in the northern hemisphere).

Angle between beam and collector

cos = # − $ sin ' + ) sin + (+ + ) cos cos '

where
# = sin ∅ cos
$ = cos ∅ ./0 cos
) = sin cos
+ = 1 . ∅ cos
= ./0 ∅ ./0 cos

cos = cos cos + sin sin cos −

3
 1/30/2021

Solar collectors

Surfaces that are intended to collect solar energy, such as the

absorber surfaces of solar collectors, are desired to have high solar

absorptivity but low emissivity values to maximize the absorption

of solar radiation and to minimize the emission of radiation.

Optimum orientation of a collector

The insolation 2 received is the sum of the beam and diffuse

components:
∗
2 = 3 cos + 5

In general, the collector orientation is facing the Equator with a

slope approximately equal to the latitude.

The altitude of solar noon varies, during a calendar year, therefore

the ‘fixed’ collector slope should be adjusted accordingly.

(Twidell and Weir 2015, 49)

4
 1/30/2021

Average Distribution of Incoming Solar Radiation

Source: http://www.phschool.com/atschool/earth_science/powerpoints/PHESCh16.ppt Accessed 22.09.2020

Estimate of the Earth’s annual and global mean

energy balance.

Source: Le Treut et al. 2007. FAQ 1.1, Figure 1.

5
 1/30/2021

How is solar radiation measured?

 active cavity radiometers

Piarco

 Pyranometers

 pyroheliometer

UFS

Solar water heaters

6
 1/30/2021

Solar energy systems

 Passive

 Active

Photo © iStockphoto.com | AlSimonov

Source: https://ensia.com/features/solar-water-heaters-israel-renewable-energy-thermal-photovoltaic/ Accessed 30 Jan 2021

Heat is defined as the energy transferred to the system across the

boundary without moving the surface.
If the temperature of the surroundings is higher than that of the
system, the heat is transferred to the system, which is denoted as
positive.

Temperature is defined by the zeroth law of thermodynamics, which

asserts as follows:
When two systems are in thermodynamic equilibrium with a third
system, the two systems are in thermodynamic equilibrium with each
other, and all three systems have the same temperature.

Chen 2011

7
 1/30/2021

Energy conversion
Chen (2011) describes how Max Planck physics teacher taught the
concept of energy.

“A construction worker lifted a brick and put it at the top of the

building. His work increased the energy of the brick. But the increase
of energy was in the form of potential energy and not explicit. One
day, the brick fell down from the top. As it almost reached the ground,
the brick moved fast, which had an explicit kinetic energy. Finally, the
brick hit the ground and converted the energy to heat.”

∆ = 7 = 89ℎ

;= 29ℎ

1
∆ = 8; = = 89ℎ
2

8
 1/30/2021

First Law of Thermodynamics

The internal energy >? of a system tends to increase if energy is
added as heat @ and tends to decrease if energy is lost as work
7 done by the system.

∆ >? = >? ,B − >? ,> =@ −7

>? = @ − 7

Halliday, Resnick and Walker 2013, 531

Review of thermodynamics
Energy in the form of heat @ is linked with the heat flow @C
@= @C

Every temperature change ∆ also causes a heat change ΔQ. The

change in heat can be calculated with the specific heat capacity c and
the mass m of the affected material:
∆@ = 1 · 8 · ∆

9
 1/30/2021

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

If a process occurs in a closed system, the entropy of the system
increases for irreversible processes and remains constant for
reversible processes. It never decreases.

∆E ≥ 0

Carnot Cycle

Halliday, Resnick and Walker 2013, 602

Reference
 Twidell, JW and Weir, AD. Renewable Energy Resources. 2015.
London: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
http://www.shahrsazionline.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/01/Renewable_Energy_Resourceswww.shah
rsazionline.com_.pdf

 Principles of Environmental Physics by Monteith and Unsworth 4th

Edition

 Halliday, Resnick and Walker, 2013. Fundamentals of Physics

Extended-Wiley (2013)

10