Solar Availability

• Solar Power
• Calculating Sunlight reaching the Earth
• Calculating Power reaching the Earth
• Calculating Sunlight transmittance through the Earth’s
atmosphere
• Daily Solar Resource
• Calculating Daily Solar Resource Area
• Directionality of Sunlight
• Effect of Tilt Angle
• Direction of the Collector
• Solar Tracking System
 What is Solar Availability?
• Solar availability is the measure of how much solar energy can be
captured and utilized with respect to the area available, the
technology used, time of day, direction of the PV panel and some
other factors
• With some simple geometry and knowledge of the total solar
output, it's easy to calculate just how much solar power reaches
Earth
• However first we need to understand the amount of light reach
the Earth and the Earth’s solar collecting area
 Solar Power
• Sunlight radiates outward from the Sun in all directions, so if we put a
light collecting sphere around the Sun, that sphere would absorb the same
amount of sunlight regardless of the sphere's diameter
• Since the total power output of the Sun must be constant, this means that a
larger sphere (with a larger area) would be absorbing sunlight at lower
intensity
Psun = constant = Asphere x Isphere
 Calculating the Sunlight that reaches Earth
• Sunlight is measured in the intensity of light
• By using the power from the Sun is approximately 3.85×1026 W,
we can calculate the intensity of sunlight at a distance of 1.5 x
1011m from the Sun (Distance from Sun to the Earth)
ISUN = Psun / Asphere
ISUN = Psun / 4πrSE2
​ ISUN = 3.85×1026 W / 4π x (1.5 x 1011)2
ISUN = 1361.66 W/m2

• Here, ISUN is the intensity of the sunlight above the Earth’s

atmosphere
 Power reaching the Earth

• The power reaching the Earth’s from

the Sun is dependent upon the
collecting area of the Earth
• It is also important to know the light
collecting area of the Earth. For this
calculation we don't need to know
Earth's surface area, but rather its
projected area
• The projection of a sphere is a circle:
this is why a sphere casts a circular
shadow onto a surface that is normal
to the direction of the incident light
Calculating the power reaching the Earth
•We can then calculate the power reaching the
Earth by simply multiplying the solar
intensity of the Sun and the surface collecting
area of the Earth.

PE = ISUN x πrE2
PE = 1361.66 x π x (6.37×106)2
PE = 1.74 x 1017 W

•The total power consumption of humans on

Earth is approximately 1 x 1013W, which is
way less than the amount of sunlight reaching
Earth!
Sunlight transmittance through Earth’s atmosphere
To find the intensity of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface, we need to
consider two things; the intensity of sunlight reaching the top of Earth's
atmosphere and the approximate transmittance value of sunlight through
the atmosphere. Given below is the transmittance of difference
wavelengths of sunlight:
•The average transmittance can be calculated as:
τavg = /
τavg 
τavg  0.675 = 67.5 %
•So the average transmittance of sunlight through the Earth’s atmosphere is
67.5%, approximately 70%
•The intensity of sunlight at the top of Earth’s atmosphere is 1366.66 W/m2.
Using the average transmittance of sunlight through the Earth’s atmosphere
(70%), we can calculate the intensity of sunlight on Earth’s surface as follows:
Isurf = 1366.66 x 0.70  1000 W/m2

where Isurf is the intensity of sunlight on the Earth’s surface

 Daily Solar Resource
•The daily solar resource can be defined to calculate how much
collection area is needed to meet a certain demand
•The daily solar resource is the amount of solar energy captured per area
per day in a particular place
•Intensity and daily solar resource both have the same dimensions:
energy per area per time
•However, they are typically measured in different units: intensity is
measured in W/m2 while daily solar resource is measured in kWh/(m2d)
•We can convert from intensity to daily solar resource by multiplying the
intensity by 24 h/1 d and 1 kW/1000 W, which are valid conversion
factors since 24 h = 1d and 1 kW = 1000 W
 Daily Solar Resource at Earth’s Surface
•The average daily solar resource at the Earth's surface is the total solar energy
reaching the Earth's surface each day, divided by the total surface area of the Earth
in one day
•The total solar energy reaching the Earth's surface over a day can be found by
multiplying the intensity at the Earth's surface with the projected area of the Earth
and one day, given by Isurf × πRE2 × 1d
•The total surface area of the Earth is given by 4πRE2
•The average daily solar resource at the Earth's surface is therefore given by:
​ Average daily solar resource = Isurf × πRE2 × 1d / 4πRE2 x 1d
= Isurf W/m2
​ Average daily solar resource = Isurf x kWh/m2d
 As Isurf  1000 W/m2,
Average daily solar resource = x 1000 x kWh/m2d
Average daily solar resource = 6 kWh/m2d

•This means that on average, devoting one square meter of surface area to
solar energy collection will allow us to collect 6 kWh of solar energy each
day
 Calculating Daily Solar Resource Area
• Daily Solar Resource Area is the area required to collect enough power to
fulfill a certain demand in one day
• Dividing the total demand by the electricity output from our collector yields
the total collector area required

Let's imagine a generic solar collector, which is able to convert 25% of the
sunlight incident on it into electricity
If Pakistan wants to meet their entire electricity demand of 25 GWh/d =
2.5×107 kWh/d) using solar power, how much collection area would be
required?
• Assume that the daily solar resource at the Earth's surface to be 6 kWh/(m2d)
• Hint: Since our collector is 25% efficient, that means it can provide
6kWh/(m2d) x 25% = 1.5 kWh/(m2d)
•Dividing the total demand by the electricity output from our collector
yields the total collector area required calculated as:

2.5x107 kWh/d / 1.5 kWh/(m2d) = 1.66x107 m2

•This means that only 16 km2 is required to meet electricity demand of

Pakistan! Therefore, it should be possible for Pakistan to meet their entire
electricity demand with solar energy.
 Angle of the Collector
• These calculations are true for areas lying on or near the equatorial line
• For locations far from the equator, a collector oriented horizontally on the
Earth's surface won't be able to collect the full solar flux
• Because the Sun never appears directly overhead at far Northern and far
Southern latitudes, the solar flux reaching a collector there would be
weaker
• Instead of using the average solar resource, it is useful to interpret the
average daily solar resource as a function of latitude angle ϕ
 Solar Resource at an Angle

• The expression for solar resource at an angle is given by the

expression:
Isurf x

Pakistan sits at a latitude of about 33∘ North. What is the collector area
required to meet its electricity needs?
• Assume we are using the same 25% efficient solar collector as before
• Hint: The solar resource at an angle will be less than the solar
resource at the Earth’s surface
Daily available solar resource = 1000 x x kWh/(m2d) x 0.25
Daily available solar resource = 1.66 kWh/(m2d)

The total electricity demand of Pakistan is 2.5x107 kWh/d

Dividing the total demand by the electricity output from our collector
yields the total collector area required calculated as:

2.5x107 kWh/d / 1.66 kWh/(m2d) = 15x106 m2  15 km2

 Directionality of Sunlight
•Because the Sun is so small in the sky,
the sunlight that reaches Earth has an
almost uniform direction: its
orientation is the same as the vector
pointing from the Sun to the Earth
•Sunlight only deviates from this
direction by 0.27∘ at most
•While sunlight has an almost uniform
direction, due to the Earth’s orbit, tilt
and rotation, the Sun’s apparent
position in the sky is always changing
 Intensity at a Latitude

If the solar altitude is 45∘ then the intensity reaching a horizontal solar collector
when the can be given as
Isurf = Ibeam sinα

Where Ibeam is the solar intensity in the direction normal to the Sun
Plugging in α = 45∘ and Ibeam = 1000 W/m2 gives
Isurf = 707 W/m2
 Effect of the Tilt Angle
• In order to maximize the energy collected by our collector, we want to
maximize its projected area with respect to the direction of the sun
• At a latitude of 40∘N, sunlight will appear to come from ∼ 40∘ south of
overhead (this will change depending on the season, but will average out
to 40∘)
To align the collector so it is as close to normal with the incident sunlight as
possible, it should be tilted 40∘ to the South
 Direction of the Collector
• When sunlight reach the Earth's surface with a large incidence angle,
it reduces the solar resource, since the same amount of sunlight is
spread over a larger surface area compared to the case of normal
incidence
• The reduced solar resource at higher latitudes can be addressed by
tilting solar collectors towards the equator
• In the northern hemisphere, collectors can be tilted south
• In the southern hemisphere, collectors can be tilted north
• By tilting a collector in this way, sunlight no longer has a large
incidence angle on the collector
 Solar Tracking System
•Suppose we decide a stationary collector doesn't collect enough energy, so
we decide to give it an upgrade: we raise the collector onto a tracking
system that can rotate the collector so it always points towards the Sun
•The energy that the new and improved system be able to collect on the
equinox (the day which is exactly 12 h long, at all latitudes) can be
calculated
• Because the collector that has been upgraded to track the Sun always faces
towards the Sun, that means the power incident on it is always 24
kWh/(m2d) (as long as Sun is above the horizon)
• On the equinox, there are 12 h (or equivalently 0.5 d) of daylight, so the
total energy collected is simply given by

24 kWh/(m2d) × 0.5 d × 1 m2 = 12 kWh

• Tracking the Sun allows us to collect more solar energy with the same amount of
collector area
• This is because a collector facing towards the Sun always sees the direct solar
intensity, rather than a reduced value
End of 3 Class
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