Solenergi: FENG2021/FENT2021/FENA2021

Lecture 5: Solar radiation types

Shiplu Sarker, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Dept. of manufacturing and Civil Engineering
NTNU, Gjøvik.
Email: shiplu.sarker@ntnu.no
Lecture aims
▪ What is the difference between solar radiation and irradiation?
▪ Types of irradiation.
▪ Calculate the solar irradiation falling on solar panels.
Solar radiation vs. Solar irradiation
▪ Solar radiation

✓ It is the solar power per unit area received from the sun in the form of
electromagnetic radiation (W/m2).

400 kW
Loads
 Solar radiation vs. Solar irradiation
▪ Solar irradiation

✓ It is the integration of the solar radiation over a given time in (Joule/m2) or

(kWh/m2) .

• 5 hours of solar radiation

Energy consumed = 2000 kWh
• 5 hours of heavy clouds
5 working hours per day
• 14 hours of darkness during the night

400 kW
Loads
Solar radiation vs. Solar irradiation

Solar radiation
Radiation

6 AM 12 PM 6 PM

Time
Solar radiation types
▪ Direct horizontal radiation (GB)

✓ Radiation that moves through the atmosphere in a

straight line without being scattered, reflected or

Direct radiation
Direct radiation
absorbed by particles in the air.
▪ Diffuse horizontal radiation (GD)

✓ Radiation which is being scattered, reflected or

absorbed by the particles while passing through the
atmosphere but ultimately reaches the earth’s
Diffused
surface. radiation Global horizontal
radiation
▪ Global horizontal radiation (G)

✓ The total amount of direct and diffusion radiation

received from above by a horizontal surface.
Types of solar irradiation
▪ Global horizontal radiation (G)

Angle Verticle rays

increases Only at peak
up to 90° times

Equator
Angle = 0°

Angle
increases
up to 90°
 ✓ Pyrheliometer is used
to determine the GB

Solar radiation
measurement ✓ Pyranometer is used
to determine the G

Pyrheliometer Pyranometer Pyranometer with

shading assembly

Pyranometer components

Figure: An example of a diurnal variation of irradiance on a clear sky day Source: NASA
Variation of irradiance

Figure: An example of a diurnal variation of irradiance on a mostly cloudy day

 Solar radiation types
▪ Global tilted radiation (Gt)

✓ The total amount of direct and

diffuse radiation received from
above by a tilted surface.

Ground level
 Types of solar irradiation Solar panels at the
amazon, Ecudaor

▪ Global tilted radiation (Gt)

beta = 90°

Beta
increases
up to 90°
At the Equator G = Gt
beta = 0°
Beta
increases
up to 90°

Solar panels at Piteå,

Sweden

✓ Solar design is made according to Gt not G

 Determining the GBt value
GB = GBn × sin α GB × sin (α+β)
GBt =
GBt = GBn × sin (α+β) sin(α)
radiation, GB in W/m2
Direct horizontal

GB
α
Angle β in degrees β

α β Ground level
Determining the GBt value
𝐺𝑡 = 𝐺𝐵𝑡 + 𝐺𝐷𝑡 + 𝐺𝐺𝑡 Approach 2
Global = Direct normal * Cos (Ф) + Diffuse
𝐺𝐵𝑡 = 𝐺𝐵𝑛 cos(θ) G × sin (α+β) GB× sin (90°) GB × sin (90°)
GBt = B = =
𝐺𝐵 = 𝐺𝐵𝑛 cos(Ф) sin(α) sin(90°−L + δ) sin(90°− L + δ)
Cos (Ф) = 8/18
GB × sin (90°) W
𝐺𝐵𝑡 cos(θ) GBt = =900 ×1.306=1171.44 W/m2
𝑅𝐵 = = sin(50.2°) m2
𝐺𝐵 cos(Ф) 18 dots 8 dots

𝐺𝐵𝑡 = 𝐺𝐵 𝑅𝐵

Incident angle
θ

Shorizontal
Approach 1 Ф
Zenith angle

α β Ground level
What does GBt mean?
Radiation × hours
For the solar system it depends on the
panels capacity

Replaced by the panels power GBt

✓ Net number of hours for the panel to be exposed to the solar irradiation.

Night Cloud Rain Net maximum irradiation

Peak sun hours (P. S. H.)
An assumption of having
peak value all the time

Radiation

Added areas

Shared area

Cancelled areas

6 AM 9 AM 12 PM 3 PM 6 PM Time
Tilt angle β
GBt = GBn × sin (α+β)

GBt = GBt × sin (α+β)

sin (α+β) = 1
(α+β) = 90°

β = 90° - α
Ground level α β
Solar irradiation on earth and PV energy

✓ 1 sun hour = 1 kWh/m2 =

1000 W/m2 × 1 hour
✓ Nominal power module
100 Wp (power
generated under 1000
W/m2, AM 1.5)

Estimated output per day in sunny part of Norway:

100 Wp × 2 sun hours/day = 200 Wh/day = 73 kWh/year
Diffuse radiation on tilted surface
Total radiation on a flat surface 𝐺 = 𝐺𝐵 + 𝐺𝐷 + 𝐺𝐺
Total radiation on a tilted surface 𝐺𝑡 = 𝐺𝐵𝑡 + 𝐺𝐷𝑡 + 𝐺𝐺𝑡

▪ Isotropic assumption for diffuse radiation

✓ The strength of the diffuse radiation is assumed to be the same from the whole
sky, and accordingly the diffuse radiation can be approximated as:

𝐺𝐷𝑡 = 𝐺𝐷 × 0.5 × (1 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠β)

Figure: Isotropic assumption for diffuse radiation on a tilted surface.

Only half the radiation can be used in a case of a vertically standing
solar module
Reflected radiation on tilted surface
▪ Reflected radiation
✓ A part of the global radiation is reflected from the ground and can act as an additional
radiation contribution to the solar module.
✓ However, every ground material reflects differently, and the so-called albedo value
(ALB) describes the resulting reflection factor.
▪ Isotropic assumption for reflected radiation 𝐺𝐺𝑡 = 𝐺 × 0.5 × 𝐴𝐿𝐵
Reflected radiation, GGt in

Different ALB values for different materials!

W/m2

Angle β in degrees

Figure: Reflected radiation as an example of lawn and fresh snow Figure: Radiation situation with tilted surfaces: the radiation
for various degrees of tilt of the solar module (G = 1000 W/m2) is made up of the direct, diffused and reflected radiation
Recap questions
➢ Differentiate between solar radiation and solar irradiation.
➢ Differentiate between different solar radiation types. How are they measured?
➢ Under which factors the intensity of radiation falling on a solar module varies?
➢ What can be the maximum benefit from a solar panel achieved in the equator?
➢ Why the solar panel’s tilt angle depending on the location varies? Compare the tilt
angle between a solar panel located in Trondheim and Rome.
➢ What are the peak sun hours? Why are they so important in determining PV energy
production?
➢ Give the relation between tilt and altitude/elevation angle.
➢ Define albedo with respect to solar radiation.