Lecture # 5 1

RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

Dr. Muzaffar Ali

2

Solar Energy Calculations

 Solar Terminologies
3
4
5
6
 Solar Time and Local Standard Time
 7

 The system of standard time is based on two facts:

 The Earth completes a total rotation on its axis once every
twenty-four hours.
 There are 360° of longitude all the way around the Earth.

 The Earth turns 360° in 24 hours, or at a rate of 15° an hour.

 (360° in a day÷24 hours = 15° an hour)

 Each standard meridian is the center of a time zone.
 Each time zone is 15° wide.
 Solar Time and Local Standard Time
8

 The Greenwich Time Zone, for example, is centered on

the Prime Meridian

 This time zone is supposed to be 15° wide and extends from

7½° W to 7½°E.
 However, the boundaries of standard time don’t exactly run
along meridians. The boundaries have been changed to fit the
borders of countries and even smaller areas.
9
 Solar Time and Local Standard Time
10

The relationship between solar time and local standard time

is required to describe the position of the sun in local
standard time.
Local standard time is the same in the entire time zone
whereas solar time relates to the position of the sun with
respect to the observer.
That difference depends on the exact longitude where solar
time is calculated.
 Solar Time and Local Standard Time
11

 As the earth moves around the sun, solar time changes

slightly with respect to local standard time.
 This is mainly related to the conservation of angular
momentum as the earth moves around the sun.
 This time difference is called the equation of time and can
be an important factor when determining the position of the
sun for solar energy calculations.
 An approximate formula for the equation of time (Eqt) in
minutes depending upon the location of earth in its orbit
as following;
 Solar Time and Local Standard Time
12

 Eqt = - 14.2 sin [π (n + 7) / 111] for year day n between 1

and 106
 Eqt = 4.0 sin [π (n - 106) / 59) for year day n between 107
and 166
 Eqt = - 6.5 sin [π( n - 166) / 80) for year day n between 167
and 365
 Solar Time and Local Standard Time
13

 To adjust solar time for a longitude we have to add the value

resulted from the time equation and to add or subtract the
difference between the local time the clock time for the time
zone.

Tsolar = Tls + Eqt/ 60 ± (Longlocal – Longsm)/15 hours

Where Tsolar is the local solar time,

Tls is the local standard time,
Longlocal is the longitude of the observer in degrees and
Longsm is the longitude for the standard meridian for the observer's time
zone.
14
15
16
17
 Position of the Sun (view from Earth)
18 Source of Solar Energy
 Solar Declination (δ)
19

 Solar Declination is the angle between the Sun's rays and

Earth's equatorial plane.
(Technically, it is the angle between the Earth-Sun vector and
the equatorial plane.)
 Solar Declination
20

 The Declination angle is 23.5° during the Northern Summer

Solstice, and –23.5° during the Southern Summer Solstice. It is
between ±23.5° the rest of the year.
 Following equations could be used for calculating solar
declination angle δ

Where N is the day in the year

21
 Solar Declination
22

 For precise calculation the following equation could be

used

where
 Position of the Sun (view from Earth)
23 Source of Solar Energy
 Solar Declination (δ), Elevation (γ ) and
Zenith (ω)
24
 Solar Elevation (Sun height) Angle ( θ )
25

 The solar elevation angle is the elevation angle of the sun.

That is, the angle between the direction of the sun and the
(idealized) horizon.
 It can be calculated, to a good approximation, using the
following formula:

Where
θs is the solar elevation angle,
h is the hour angle of the present time ,
δ is the current sun declination and
Φ is the local latitude
 Solar hour angle (h)
26

 Since the earth rotates approximately once every 24 hours,

the hour angle changes by 15 degrees per hour and moves
through 360 degrees over the day.

 Typically, the hour angle is defined to be zero at solar noon,

when the sun is highest in the sky.

h = π * (12 - Tsolar) / 12 , radians

Where Tsolar is the local solar time
 Solar zenith angle (ωs)
27

 The zenith angle is the opposite angle to the sun height θs.
 ωs = ( 90° – θs).

 At a sun height of 90°, the sun is at the zenith and the zenith
angle is therefore zero.
28

There is a set of useful relationships among these angles.

Equations relating the angle of incidence of beam radiation on a
surface, , to the other angles are

The angle may exceed 90, which means that the sun is behind the surface.
 Position of the Sun (view from Earth)
29 Source of Solar Energy

Azimuth angle of the sun:

Often defined as the angle from due north in a clockwise direction. (sometimes from south)

Zenith angle of the sun:

Defined as the angle measured from vertical downward.
30

 Solar azimuth and altitude angles are used to describe

the sun’s location in the sky.
31

Array orientation can be described using azimuth and tilt

angles.
32

Energy production at certain times of the year can be

optimized by adjusting the array tilt angle.
 Solar Constant
33 Source of Solar Energy

 Amount of incoming solar radiation per unit area

incident on a plane perpendicular to the rays.
 At a distance of one 1AU (astronomical unit) from the

sun (roughly the mean distance from the Sun to the

Earth).
 Includes a range of wavelength (not just the visible

light).

Solar Constant
Entry point into atmosphere
Intensity ~ 1350W/m2
 Extraterrestrial Radiation (Solar constant)
34

 Solar constant ( Io ), is the radiation incident outside the earth's

atmosphere. On average, it is 1367 W/m2. This value varies
by ±3% as the earth orbits the sun.
Io = 1367 * (Rav / R)2 W/m2
 where (Rav) is the mean sun-earth distance and (R ) is the actual sun-earth distance
depending on the day of the year
2
 R AV  = 1.0011 + 0.034221 * cos( β ) + 0.00128 * sin( β ) +
 R
0.000719 * cos( 2 β ) + 0.000077 * sin( 2 β )
 Where β = 2 π n / 365 and n is the day of the year. For example, January 15 is
year day 15 and February 15 is year day 46.
 Solar Insolation
35

 The solar radiation received on a flat, horizontal surface at a

particular location on earth at a particular instant of time. W/m2
 Depend on;
 Daily variation
 Seasonal variation
 Atmospheric clarity
 latitude
 VARIATION OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL RADIATION
36
 Clarity Index
37

The ratio of the solar radiation arriving at the earth’s surface to

extraterrestrial radiation.

The monthly average clearness index is the ratio of monthly

average daily solar radiation at the surface to the monthly
average daily extraterrestrial radiation. KT varies from place
to place – from about 0.3 for very overcast climates to 0.8
for very sunny places.
 Factors affect the Solar intensity
38 Source of Solar Energy

 Latitude

 Altitude

 Atmospheric transparency

 Solar zenith angle

Solar Radiation Instruments
Types of solar radiation
 A Pyrheliometer is an instrument using a
collimated detector for measuring solar radiation
from the sun and from a small portion of the sky
around the sun (i.e., beam radiation) at normal
incidence.
 A Pyranometer is an instrument for measuring
total hemispherical solar (beam plus diffuse)
radiation, usually on a horizontal surface. If
shaded from the beam radiation by a shade ring
or disc, a pyranometer measures diffuse
radiation.
 In addition, the terms solarimeter and actinometer
are encountered; a solarimeter can generally be
interpreted to mean the same as a pyranometer,
and an actinometer usually refers to a
pyrheliometer.
Pyrheliometer
The water flow pyrheliometer, designed by Abbot in 1905, was
an early standard instrument.
This instrument uses a cylindrical blackbody cavity to absorb
radiation that is admitted through a collimating tube. Water
flows around and over the absorbing cavity, and measurements
of its temperature and flow rate provide the means for
determining the absorbed energy. The design was modified by
Abbot in 1932 to include the use of two thermally identical
chambers, dividing the cooling water between them and heating
one chamber electrically while the other is heated by solar
radiation; when the instrument is adjusted so as to make the
heat produced in the two chambers identical, the electrical
power input is a measure of the solar energy absorbed.
Pyrheliometer

The Abbot silver disc pyrheliometer, first built by

Abbot in 1902 and modified in 1909 and 1927, uses
a silver disc 38 mm in diameter and 7 mm thick as the
radiation receiver. The side exposed to radiation is
blackened, and the bulb of a precision mercury
thermometer is inserted in a hole in the side of the
disc and is in good thermal contact with the disc. The
silver disc is suspended on wires at the end of a
collimating tube, which in later models has dimensions
such that 0.0013 of the hemisphere is "seen" by the
detector.
 Pyrheliometer

Thus any point on the detector sees an aperture angle of

5.7". The disc is mounted in a copper cylinder, which in turn
is in a cylindrical wood box that insulates the copper and
the disc from the surroundings.
A shutter alternately admits radiation and shades the
detector at regular intervals; the corresponding changes in
disc temperature are measured and provide the means to
calculate the absorbed radiation.
 Pyrheliometer
In another modified instrument two identical blackened manganin
strips are arranged so that either one can be exposed to radiation at
the base of collimating tubes by moving a reversible shutter. Each strip
can be electrically heated, and each is fitted with a thermocouple.
With one strip shaded and one strip exposed to radiation, a current is
passed through the shaded strip to heat it to the same temperature as
the exposed strip.
When there is no difference in temperature, the electrical energy to
the shaded strip must equal the solar radiation absorbed by the
exposed strip. Solar radiation is determined by equating the electrical
energy to the product of incident solar radiation, strip area, and
absorptance.
 Pyranometer

Instruments for measuring total (beam plus diffuse) radiation are

referred to as pyranometers, and it is from these instruments that
most of the available data on solar radiation are obtained. The
detectors for these instruments must have a response independent
of wavelength of radiation over the solar energy spectrum.

In addition, they should have a response independent of the angle

of incidence of the solar radiation. The detectors of most
pyranometers are covered with one or two hemispherical glass
covers to protect them from wind and other extraneous effects;
the covers must be very uniform in thickness so as not to cause
uneven distribution of radiation on the detectors.
Pyranometer
The Eppley 180o pyranometer was the most common instrument
in the United States. It used a detector consisting of two
concentric silver rings; the outer ring was coated with
magnesium oxide, which has a high reflectance for radiation in
the solar energy spectrum, and the inner ring was coated with
Parson's black, which has a very high absorptance for solar
radiation. The temperature difference between these rings was
detected by a thermopile and was a measure of absorbed
solar radiation.
The Eppley precision spectral pyranometer (PSP) utilizes a
thermopile detector, two concentric hemispherical optically
ground covers, and temperature compensation that results in
temperature dependence of 0.5% from -20 to +40°C.
Pyranometer

The Moll-Gorczynski pyranometer uses a Moll thermopile to

measure the temperature difference of the black detector
surface and the housing of the instrument. The thermopile
assembly is covered with two concentric glass hemispherical
domes to protect it from weather and is rectangular in
configuration with the thermocouples aligned in a row (which
results in some sensitivity to the azimuth angle of the radiation).
 Pyranometers
Pyranometers are radiometers designed for
measuring the irradiance on a plane surface,
normally from solar radiation and lamps.

Pyrgeometers
Pyrgeometers are designed for IR (infrared)
radiation measurement, for both atmospheric
and material testing research applications.

Pyrheliometers
The pyrheliometer is designed for unattended
normal incidence direct solar radiation
measurement research.
Sun Trackers
The Sun trackers are all-weather, reliable and
affordable tracking and positioning instruments.
Either as a dedicated Sun tracker or as a
computer based Positioner.
Albedometers
The albedometers are double pyranometers
that measure both global and reflected solar
irradiance in one instruments.

UV Radiometers
Broadband scientific UV radiometers for ‘Total
UV’ and with a spectral response that is
adapted to UVA (long wave), UVB (short wave)
and the UVE (Erythemal) (sunburn) action
spectrum of the human skin.
 Net Radiometers
Net radiometers for the measurement of
incoming and outgoing short-wave (0.3 to 3 µm)
and long-wave (4.5 to >40 µm) radiation.

Horticultural Sensors
Radiometers specifically designed for
horticultural and agricultural applications to
measure PAR (photo synthetically active
radiation).
Sunshine Duration Sensors
Radiometers for the measurement of sunshine
duration. Sunshine duration is the time during
which the direct solar radiation exceeds the
level of 120 W/m2.

Laboratory Thermopile
With the thermopile radiant fluxes can be
measured. It is sensitive to radiation from 0.2 to
50 µm, and has a field of view of 10º.
Pyranometer (Total Radiation) Pyrheliometer (Beam/direct
Radiation)
 Radiometer (Short & long
wave Radiation) Tracking System
ISO Standards for Solar Radiation Measurements
Typical Meteorological year
 Assignment # 02 (2 weeks submission time)
60

 Calculation and validation of incident solar in

various cities of Pakistan by taking suitable
assumptions e.g. Azimuth Angle= zero (facing
south), title angle=33 deg. under summer and
winter solstice conditions….

 Solution of Examples (Chapter # 01 and 02)- given

in the book “Solar Thermal Processes” by Duffie
and Beckman
61

Thanks