Introduction to Types of Renewable Energy

The world currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. Fossil
fuels are non-renewable, that is, they draw on finite resources that will eventually
dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to retrieve. In
contrast, the many types of renewable energy resources-such as wind and solar
energy-are constantly replenished and will never run out.
Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun. Sunlight,
or solar energy, can be used directly for heating and lighting homes and other
buildings, for generating electricity, and for hot water heating, solar cooling, and a
variety of commercial and industrial uses.
The sun's heat also drives the winds, whose energy, is captured with wind
turbines. Then, the winds and the sun's heat cause water to evaporate. When this
water vapor turns into rain or snow and flows downhill into rivers or streams, its
energy can be captured using hydroelectric power.
Along with the rain and snow, sunlight causes plants to grow. The organic matter
that makes up those plants is known as biomass. Biomass can be used to produce
electricity, transportation fuels, or chemicals. The use of biomass for any of these
purposes is called bioenergy.
Hydrogen also can be found in many organic compounds, as well as water. It's the
most abundant element on the Earth. But it doesn't occur naturally as a gas. It's
always combined with other elements, such as with oxygen to make water. Once
separated from another element, hydrogen can be burned as a fuel or converted
into electricity.
Not all renewable energy resources come from the sun. Geothermal energy taps
the Earth's internal heat for a variety of uses, including electric power production,
and the heating and cooling of buildings. And the energy of the ocean's tides come
from the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun upon the Earth.
In fact, ocean energy comes from a number of sources. In addition to tidal energy,
there's the energy of the ocean's waves, which are driven by both the tides and
the winds. The sun also warms the surface of the ocean more than the ocean
depths, creating a temperature difference that can be used as an energy source.
All these forms of ocean energy can be used to produce electricity.

Characteristics of Renewable and Non-renewable Energy

Renewable energy:
• comes from the sun, the wind, the waves and the heat deep down in the earth

• the energy is free, does not bring a bill

• keeps coming back next day even if you use as much as you can today

• doesn't cause pollution

• doesn't emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas (note that burning of biomass

is carbon-neutral i.e. the carbon dioxide released when burning biomass is

exactly equal to that consumed when biomass grows)
Non-renewable energy:
• comes from coal, oil and natural gas

• won't last for ever

• gives off carbon dioxide when burns, and other polluting chemicals

• contributes to greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, increasing global warming

Disadvantages of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy resources are typically intermittent in nature. Their availability
varies with time of the day or season. Hence they require energy storage
components for their application. The design or sizing of Renewable Energy
Technologies is more complicated and often require great deal of stochastic
prediction and computer simulation.
1. SOLAR RADIATION PHYSICS
1.1 The Sun as a Source of Energy
The sun is the source of the life on our planet Earth and, directly or indirectly, is
the fuel for most renewable systems. Photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, as
well as solar thermal power stations, convert solar irradiation directly into useable
energy. Indirectly, solar energy is responsible for the hydrological cycle and
therefore for hydropower energy. It is the differential heating of the earth’s regions
that causes wind to flow- wind power. Biomass is derived from green plants whose
energy for growth comes from the sun. Even fossil coal may eventually be traced
to biomass, hence is also linked with solar energy.
For an idea of the Sun's life expectancy, astronomers look to clusters of stars, such
as one named Messier 67, which is about the same age as our Sun. By simulating
the life cycles of these stars on a computer, astronomers have ascertained how
long stars live. They predict that the Sun will be able to fuse hydrogen into helium
in its core at about the same rate for another 5 billion years. Therefore, as far as
human life is concerned, the sun is a perpetual RENEWABLE ENERGY source.
1.2 The Sun’ Radiation
 All of the energy available on Earth is derived from the sun. We can model the
sun's surface as a blackbody. At a specific temperature, approximately 5777K
for the sun, a blackbody emits energy with a unique radiation spectrum (Table
1).

Table 1: Solar Radiation Spectrum[1]

Ultraviolet Visible Infrared

Wavelength ( m) 0 - 0.38 0.38 - 0.78 0.78 - Inf

Fraction in Range 0.064 0.480 0.456

Energy in Range (W/m2) 87 656 623

The spectrum is divided into three broad ranges classified as ultraviolet, visible
and infrared which transmit radiation at varying intensities.
The highest intensities are found within the visible spectrum, peaking at a
wavelength close to 0.5um.
Averaged over the entire surface, the power density of the sun is found to be
approximately 63 x 106 W/m2.
These facts can be shown by applying the radiation laws, Wein’s displacement
law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
Wein’s Displacement law

According to Wien's Law, established in 1893 by Wilhem Franz Wien, the peak
wavelength of a continuous spectrum emitted by a blackbody multiplied by its
temperature (in kelvin) is equal to a constant (λ peak T = 2.898x10-3 m·K). The
formula also shows that peak wavelength is inversely proportional to temperature.
Rearranging Wien's law reveals that

λ peak = (2.898 × 10-3m·K)/(T in kelvin), for a blackbody radiator

Therefore, for the sun with T = 5777, λpeak= 2.898 X 10-3/5777 = 0.5 µm
Stefan-Boltzmann Law
The intensity of radiation emitted by a black body integrated over all wavelengths
is given by the Stefan-Boltzmann law:
 𝑬𝑬 = 𝝈𝝈𝑻𝑻𝟒𝟒
Where E is the emitted power density [W/m2], σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant
(5.67 x 10-8 W/m2/K4 and T is the temperature of the black body [Kelvin].
Therefore, for the sun with temperature 5777 K, the emissive power density is
H sun = 6.3 x 107 W/m2
For the entire surface of the sun, of diameter 1.39 x 109 m, the emissive power is
Φsun = 4π(R sun )2 H sun = 3.83 x 1026 Watts

1.3 Earth-bound Sun’s Radiation

The sun emits radiation in all directions, however only a portion of this energy is
intercepted by the Earth. The intercepted radiation for any body in space is
defined as follows:
H o = (R sun 2 / D2) H sun
Where H o is the intercepted power density
H sun is the power density of the sun
D is the distance between the sun and body of interest

For Earth, the distance to the sun is about 1.495 x 1011m. This provides an Earth
intercepted value of around 1367 W/m2- the official value of the Solar
Constant.

The solar constant, G sc , is the energy from the sun, per unit time, received on a
unit area of surface perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the radiation,
at mean sun-earth distance, outside the earth’s atmosphere.

1.4 Terrestrial Radiation

Terrestrial radiation, that is radiation hitting the Earth's surface, varies widely with
geographical location, local atmospheric conditions, time of day and time of year.
Some regions are more suspect to variability in terrestrial radiation than others,
depending on the amount of weather fluctuations experienced. For example,
desert regions tend to demonstrate consistent weather patterns thereby providing
relatively consistent values of terrestrial radiation.
As the radiation passes through the atmosphere the following mechanism
(ATTENUATION OF SOLAR RADIATION) determine the amount of radiation that
will reach the Earth's surface:

Absorption – Certain molecules in the atmosphere posses high photon

absorption properties. For example, water vapour (H 2 O) and CO 2 absorb far
infrared radiation and ozone (O3 ) absorbs ultraviolet radiation. Energy that is
absorbed here is unavailable for use by solar panels.
Reflection – In addition to absorption, radiation can also be reflected off of
particles in the atmosphere. Radiation that is reflected a number of times before
eventually reaching the Earth's surface is known as diffuse radiation. A portion of
the incoming radiation may also be lost completely by reflection back into space.

No Interaction – About 70% of the incoming radiation will pass through the
atmosphere undisturbed. This is known as beam or direct radiation.
 Figure 2: Beam and Diffuse Radiation

As mentioned above, radiation can reach the Earth's surface as beam/direct

radiation or diffuse radiation (Figure 2). Beam radiation is defined as solar
radiation that has been received from the sun without any scattering by the
atmosphere. Diffuse radiation is solar radiation that has been received from the
sun after its direction has been changed by scattering. Diffuse radiation is
typically accounted for by adding 10% to the measured beam radiation [3].

The losses due to atmospheric effects do not cause any major dips in the
radiation spectrum. Rather, the impact is an overall reduction in the intensity of
the entire spectrum. Depending on the time of the day, the sun's apparent
position in the sky changes and as a result the length of atmosphere that the
radiation must travel through also changes. When the sun is directly overhead,
this length is referred to as the air mass (AM1). Moving away from this overhead
position, the travel distance required to hit the collecting surface increases.
Figure 3 is simple schematic showing this effect.

A simple calculation can be performed to quickly determine the air mass:

Figure 3: Air Mass as Sun Moves Across the Sky

AM = 1 / cos
In order to account for the curvature of the atmosphere the following formula
can be applied:
AM = 1 / [cos + 0.50572 (96.07995 – ) - 1.6364] [3]

The air mass effect can also be visually understood by noting that the sun
appears white (high intensity) when it is directly overhead and much
redder (low intensity) during the morning and evening hours. If the air
mass is known, then the resulting radiation intensity on a clear sky can be
calculated as follows:

I D = 1.353 [(1 - 0.14h) 0.7(AM^0.678) + 0.14h][3]

I G = 1.1 I D
*where h is the height above sea level

The variability in the radiation received at the Earth's surface requires the
identification of a standard to allow for fair testing and comparison of solar
energy systems. This is has been defined as AM1.5 and is representative of
the total radiation hitting the Earth's surface, which is found to be
approximately 1000W/m2 (beam + diffuse). This value is often used to perform
preliminary calculations for predicting how a system will perform. The AM1.5
spectrum is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Global Radiation Spectrum AM1.5

Accounting for the losses discussed above, the amount of energy reaching the
Earth's surface every hour is still greater than the amount of energy used by the
world's population in an entire year. Herein lies the motivation to design and
implement solar thermal and solar PV systems.
2. SUN-EARTH ASTRONOMICAL RELATIONS
2.1. Sun-Earth Distance
The earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit with the sun at one of the
foci. The amount of solar radiation reaching the earth is inversely proportional to
the square of the distance from the sun. An accurate value of the sun-earth
distance is therefore important. The mean sun-earth distance r o is called one
astronomical unit (AU):
1 AU = 1.496 x 1011 m
The reciprocal of the square of the radius vector of the earth, called the
eccentricity correction factor of the earth, Eo is given by:
𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑜 2 360𝑛𝑛
𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 = � � = 1 + 0.033𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 � �, where n is the day number of the year ranging
𝑟𝑟𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 365
from 1 on 1st January to 365 on 31st December.
e.g. On October 16 the day number n = 289
𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑜 2 360×289
𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 = � � = 1 + 0.033𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 � � = 1.0086 ⇒ 𝑟𝑟𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 = 0.996 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
𝑟𝑟𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 365
Solar radiation reaching the top of the earth’s atmosphere is proportional to the
eccentricity correction factor. The extraterrestrial radiation measured on a plane
normal to the radiation on the nth day of the year is given by:
360𝑛𝑛
𝐺𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 × 𝐺𝐺𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 𝐺𝐺𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 �1 + 0.033𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 � [W/m2], where G SC is the solar constant
365
.
The solar constant is the energy from the sun, per unit time, received on a
unit area of surface perpendicular to the direction of propagation of
radiation, at mean sun-earth distance, outside the atmosphere.
Figure 2.1.1 shows the variation of extra-terrestrial solar radiation, Gon , with time
of the year.
Figure 2.1.1: Variation of extraterrestrial solar radiation with time of the year.

2.2 Solar Declination Angle, δ

The plane of revolution of the earth around the sun is called the elliptic plane. The
earth itself rotates around an axis called the polar axis, which is inclined
approximately 23.5 degrees from the normal to the elliptical plane. The earth’s
rotation around its axis causes diurnal changes in radiation income (day or night).
The position of the axis relative to the sun causes seasonal changes in solar
radiation.
The angle between the polar axis and the normal to the elliptical plane however
remains unchanged, i.e. the angle between the earth’s equatorial plane and the
elliptical plane remains unchanged (23.5 degrees). But the angle between the
line joining the centers of the sun and earth to the equatorial plane changes
everyday, in fact every instant. This angle is called the declination angle, δ.
𝛿𝛿 = 0 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒

= ±23.45 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

The declination angle is positive in summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) or winter
in the Southern hemisphere. It is negative in summer (in the Southern Hemisphere)
or winter in the Northern hemisphere. It has a value of -23.5 degrees and 23.5
degrees at the winter and summer solstices, respectively (December 21 and June
21 thereabout). It has a value of zero degrees at autumnal and vernal equinoxes
(March 21 and September 21).
Figure 2.2.1: Celestial sphere showing the declination angle, δ
The declination angle can be described by drawing a celestial sphere with the earth
at the centre and the sun revolving around it. In the celestial sphere the celestial
poles are the points at which the earth’s polar axis, when produced, cuts the
celestial sphere. Similarly, the celestial equator is the outward projection of the
earth’s equatorial plane on the celestial sphere. The intersection of the plane of
the equator with the plane of the sun’s revolution, the elliptic, makes an angle of
23.5 degrees. At any time given time, the position of the sun relative to the celestial
equator describes the solar declination.
δ is given by:
360
𝛿𝛿 = 23.45 sin � (𝑛𝑛 + 284)� (2.2.1)
365

Exercises
i) Calculate the declination angle on April 30. In which hemisphere is the sun
over on April 30?
ii) Find the days of the year when the declination angle is (a) zero degrees
and (b) ± 23.45 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
iii) Plot the declination angle (in degrees) over 365 days of the year. (see
Figure 3.2.1)
Figure 2.2.1: Variation of declination angle with day number of the year

3.3. Equation of Time

The time based on the apparent angular motion of the sun across the sky is
called solar time. Solar time is based on the rotation of the earth about its polar
axis as well as its revolution around the sun. A solar day is the interval of time
(not necessarily 24 hours) when the sun appears to complete one cycle about
a stationary observer on earth.
The solar day varies in length throughout the year. The two principal factors for
variance are the following:
(i) The earth sweeps out unequal areas on the elliptical plane as it revolves
around the sun (the earth’s orbit is not perfectly circular) and
(ii) The earth’s polar axis is tilted with respect to the elliptic plane
Why the days are of different lengths
These differences arise from two quite separate causes. The first is that the
plane of the Equator is not the same as the plane of the Earth's orbit around the
sun, but is offset from it by the angle of obliquity.

The second is that the orbit of the Earth around the sun is an ellipse and not a
circle, and the apparent motion of the sun is thus not exactly equal throughout
the year. The sun appears to be moving fastest when the Earth is closest to the
sun.
In simple terms, this means that an observer on earth facing the equator (facing
North in the Southern Hemisphere) today sets a clock (running at uniform rate)
at 12 noon, when the sun is directly over the local meridian (i.e. due north or
south), then after a month or so at 12 noon (on the clock) the sun may not appear
exactly over the local meridian. A discrepancy of as much as 16 minutes is
possible. This discrepancy is called the equation of time.
The Equation of Time can be given by:
𝐸𝐸 = 229.2 (0.000075 + 0.001868𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − 0.032077𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 − 0.014615𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐2𝐵𝐵 −
0.04089 sin 2𝐵𝐵)
(2.3.1)
360
Where 𝐵𝐵 = (𝑛𝑛 − 1) and n is the day number of the day number of the year.
365
Thus 1 ≤ 𝑛𝑛 ≤ 365. In equation 3.3.1 the second right-hand term in parenthesis
represents E in radians and the multiplier 229.2 converts it into minutes.
Or it may be approximated in minutes as:
360(𝑛𝑛−81)
𝐸𝐸 = 9.87𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠2𝛽𝛽 − 7.5𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − 1.5𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 , where 𝛽𝛽 = . (3.3.2)
364

Figure 3.3.1 shows the variation of the Equation of Time with day number of the
year.
Figure 2.3.1: Variation of Equation of Time over the year
Solar radiation data are often recorded or reported in terms of solar time (local
apparent time). In fact solar time is used in all sun-angle relationship
calculations. On the other hand, some meteorological data necessary in solar
energy performance evaluations, like ambient temperature and wind speed are
often recorded in terms of clock time. In many solar energy studies it is usually
necessary to obtain the radiation, temperature and wind speed data for the same
instant. Therefore it is desirable to be able to convert local standard time (clock
time) to local apparent time (solar time).
To carry out this conversion, it is necessary to know the standard meridian for
the local zone. All international standard meridians are multiples of 15o E or W
of Greenwich, England. Therefore, all standard times are hour multiples ahead
or behind the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 4(𝐿𝐿𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 − 𝐿𝐿𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 ) + 𝐸𝐸 (3.3.3)
L st is the standard meridian of the local zone and Lloc is the longitude (meridian)
of the location in degrees West.
Exercise
At Victoria Falls longitude 25.9 East what is the solar time corresponding to
10:30 am clock time on February 3.
Solution
At Victoria Falls L loc = -25.9o and L st = -30o (nearest multiple of 15o), Equation
3.3.3 gives:
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 4(−30 − (−25.9)) + 𝐸𝐸
= 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 − 16.4 + 𝐸𝐸
On February 3, n= 34 and from Equation 3.3.3 or figure 3.3.1, E is -13.5 minutes.
Therefore the correction to standard time is -29.9 minutes. Thus 10:30 am
standard time is about 10 am (actually 10:00:06 am).
2.4 Direction of Beam Radiation
The geometric relationships between a plane of any particular orientation
relative to the earth at any time (whether the plane is fixed or moving relative to
the earth) and the incoming beam solar radiation, that is, the position of the sun
relative to that plane, can be described in terms of several angles (some of the
angles are shown on Figure 2.4.1).
The angles are as follows:
φ Latitude, the angular position north or south of the equator, north positive;
−90° ≤ ∅ ≤ 90° .
δ Declination, the angular position of the sun at solar noon with respect to the
respect to the equatorial plane i.e. the angle between the line joining the
centers of the earth and sun to the equatorial plane; north positive; −23.45° ≤
𝛿𝛿 ≤ 23.45°.
 θz

Figure 2.4.1: A fixed aperture with its orientation defined by the tilt angle and
the aperture azimuth angle . The aperture normal N and sun position
vector S are also shown.

β Slope, the angle between the plane of the surface in question and the
horizontal; 0 ≤ 𝛽𝛽 ≤ 180°.
γ Surface azimuth angle, the deviation of the projection on a horizontal plane
of the normal to the surface from the local meridian, with zero due south, east
negative and west positive; −180° ≤ 𝛾𝛾 ≤ 180°.
ω Hour angle, the angular displacement of the sun east or west of the local
meridian due to rotation of the earth on its axis at 15o per hour. ω is zero at
solar noon, when the sun is above the local meridian, 𝜔𝜔 = 15(𝑡𝑡 − 12); morning
negative, afternoon positive.
θ Angle of incidence, the angle between beam radiation on a surface and the
normal to the surface.
Additional angles are defined that describe that describe the position of the sun
in the sky:
θz Zenith angle, the angle between the vertical and the line to the sun, i.e. the
angle of incidence of beam radiation on a horizontal surface
αs Solar altitude angle, the angle between the horizontal and the line to the
sun, i.e. the compliment of the zenith angle.
 γ s Solar azimuth, the angular displacement from south of the projection of beam
radiation on the horizontal. Displacements west of south are positive and east
of south negative.

There are a set of useful relationships between these angles. Equations relating
the angle of incidence of beam radiation on a surface, θ, to the other angles are:
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 +
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 (2.4.1)

And 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 + 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝛾𝛾𝑠𝑠 − 𝛾𝛾) (2.4.2)

Exercise
Calculate the angle of incidence of beam radiation on a surface located at Harare,
latitude 17.8o South, at 10:30 (solar time) on June 11, if the surface is tilted at 25o
from the horizontal and pointed 15o east of north.
Special Cases
There are several commonly occurring cases for which Equation 2.4.1 is simplified.
i) For a horizontal surface, β=0, the second, fourth and fifth terms drop out
and the angle of incidence on the horizontal is actually the zenith angle, θz .
The resulting equation is:

𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐. (2.4.2

The sunset/sunrise hour angle on the horizontal surface (on the horizon
actually) is determined by realizing that = 𝜃𝜃𝜃𝜃 = 90° , 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 = 0 and 𝜔𝜔 =
𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 , the sunset hour angle. Thus, after rearranging Equation 2.4.2 we get:

𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 = −𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 or 𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 (−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 ) (2.4.3)

2 2
The number of daylight hours is thus: 𝑁𝑁𝑑𝑑 = 𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 (−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 )
15 15
(2.4.4)
 At the equinoxes, δ = 0 and ω s = 90o, N d =12 hours irrespective of location
(latitude). At the equator, ϕ = 0, and ω s = 90o, N d =12 hours irrespective of
season (declination).

ii) For a collector located in the Southern hemisphere and facing north
(equator-facing ), the surface azimuth, γ = 180o (by the sign convention used
for Equation 2.4.1) and Equation 2.4.1 becomes:
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜑𝜑 + 𝛽𝛽 ) + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐(𝜑𝜑 + 𝛽𝛽 )𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 (2.4.5.1)
This is just like equation for the zenith angle for a collector located at latitude
𝜑𝜑 + 𝛽𝛽.

iii) Similarly for a collector located in the Northern hemisphere and facing south
(equator-facing ), the surface azimuth, γ = 0o (by the sign convention used
for Equation 2.4.1) and Equation 2.4.1 becomes:
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜑𝜑 − 𝛽𝛽 ) + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐(𝜑𝜑 − 𝛽𝛽 )𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐,
(2.4.5.1)
which is just the zenith angle equation for a collector located at latitude 𝜑𝜑 −
𝛽𝛽.
The sunset angle, ω’ s , for the above collector orientations can be obtained
by setting 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = 0.
Therefore,
𝜔𝜔′𝑠𝑠 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 �−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡(𝜑𝜑 + 𝛽𝛽 )�, for a north-facing collector in the S.H and
𝜔𝜔′𝑠𝑠 = 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 �−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡(𝜑𝜑 − 𝛽𝛽 )�, for a south-facing collector in the N.H.
However, it is not physically possible for the sunset hour angle on an
inclined surface to be greater than that on the horizontal surface (horizon),
as the above expressions at times return. It is thus necessary to write the
expression for the sunset angle on the tilted surface as:

𝜔𝜔′𝑠𝑠 = 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀�𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 �−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡(𝜑𝜑 + 𝛽𝛽 )�, 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 (−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡)� for S.H. case

(2.4.6.1)
And
𝜔𝜔′𝑠𝑠 = 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀�𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 �−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡(𝜑𝜑 − 𝛽𝛽 )�, 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 (−𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡)� for N.H. case
(2.4.6.2),
where the MIN operator returns the less of the expressions separated by
comma in parentheses.
iv) Angle of incidence at noon: At noon, 𝜔𝜔 = 0, by definition. Therefore the
angle of incidence on a horizontal surface (zenith angle) at noon is given
by: 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧,𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = cos(𝜑𝜑 − 𝛿𝛿)
(2.4.7)

𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧,𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = |𝜑𝜑 − 𝛿𝛿 |
In the tropics, it is possible for the sun to be exactly overhead at times. For
this situation Equation 2.4.7 gives 𝛿𝛿 = 𝜑𝜑.

For an equator-facing surface, the conditions for normal incidence at noon

are;
𝜃𝜃𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = |𝛿𝛿 − 𝜑𝜑 − 𝛽𝛽 | = 0 in the southern hemisphere and
𝜃𝜃𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = |𝛿𝛿 − 𝜑𝜑 + 𝛽𝛽 | = 0 in the northern hemisphere. (2.4.8)

Exercise
1. Determine the 2 days of the year when the sun is overhead (at zenith) at
noon at Gweru latitude 19.45 South.
 2. Determine the tilt angle required for a collector surface facing the equator
in order to have normal beam radiation incidence at noon on June 11 at
Gweru (latitude 19.45 S).

v) For a surface a surface that is continually tracking about two axes to

minimize the angle of incidence (two axis tracker)
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 1 (2.4.9)

2.5 Ratio of Beam Radiation on a Tilted Surface to that on a Horizontal

Surface, R b
For purposes of solar process design and performance calculations, it is often
necessary to calculate the hourly radiation on a tilted surface of a collector to that
on a horizontal surface. The most commonly available solar radiation data is hours
or days on a horizontal surface, whereas the need is for beam and diffuse radiation
on the plane (tilted) of the collector.
The geometric factor Rb, which is the ratio of beam radiation on a tilted surface to
𝐺𝐺𝑏𝑏,𝑇𝑇
that on a horizontal surface ( the ratio ) is given by:
𝐺𝐺𝑏𝑏
 𝐺𝐺𝑏𝑏,𝑇𝑇 𝐺𝐺𝑏𝑏,𝑛𝑛 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑅𝑅𝑏𝑏 = = = (2.5.1)
𝐺𝐺𝑏𝑏 𝐺𝐺𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧

2.6 The Solar Azimuth Angle, γ s .

The second angle which describes the position of the sun in the sky relative to an
observer on earth (besides the zenith angle or its complement the altitude angle)
is the solar azimuth angle, γ s .
It is the angular displacement from south of the projection of beam radiation
on a horizontal plane. Displacements east of south are negative and west of
south are positive.

The solar azimuth angle, γ s can have values in the range -180o to 180o. For north
and south latitudes between 23.45o and 66.45o, γ s is between -90o and 90o for days
less than 12 hours long. For days that are more than 12 hours long γ s will be
greater than 90o and less than -90o early or late in the day when the sun is north
of the east-west line in the northern hemisphere or south of the east-west line in
the southern hemisphere. For tropical latitudes, γ s can have any value when (δ-φ)
is positive in the northern hemisphere or negative in the southern hemisphere.
Thus to calculate γ s we need to know in which quadrant the sun will be. This is
determined by the relationship between the hour angle ω and the hour angle ωEW ,
when the sun is exactly due east or west. The general formulation of γ s is given by
Braun and Mitchell (1983) and is conveniently written in term of γ′ 𝐬𝐬 ; a pseudo-
azimuth angle in the first or fourth quadrant:
1−𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2
𝛾𝛾𝑠𝑠 = − �𝐶𝐶1 𝐶𝐶2 𝐶𝐶3 𝛾𝛾 ′ 𝑠𝑠 + 𝐶𝐶3 � � 180� (2.6.1a)
2
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
Where 𝛾𝛾𝑠𝑠 = (2.6.1b)
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧

𝐶𝐶1 = 1 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 |𝜔𝜔| < 𝜔𝜔𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸

= −1 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (2.6.1c)
𝐶𝐶2 = 1 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝜑𝜑(𝜑𝜑 − 𝛿𝛿 ) ≥ 0
= −1 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (2.6.1d)
 𝐶𝐶3 = 1 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝜔𝜔 < 0
= −1 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (2.6.1e)
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜔𝜔𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 = (2.6.1f)
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡

𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
If > 1the sun is never due east or west of the observer. In this case set
𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕
C 1 = -1.

Alternative formula for γ s

By realising that γ s is negative when the hour angle is negative and positive when
the hour angle is positive, a more user-friendly formula for the solar azimuth angle
is:
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠−𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
𝛾𝛾𝑠𝑠 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜔𝜔) �𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −1 � �� [2.6.2]
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

The sign function in the above equation is equal to +1if ω is positive and is equal
to -1if ω is negative:
Exercise
Calculate the solar azimuth angle at Harare, latitude 17.8 South on 10 December
at:
i) 9.30 am
ii) 3.30 pm
iii) At sun-rise
2.7 SHADING
Three types of shading problems occur so frequently that methods are needed to
cope with them.
1. Shading of a collector, window, or other receiver by nearby trees, buildings,
other obstructions
2. Inter-row shading in multi-row collector arrays
3. Shading of windows by overhangs and wing walls
At any point in time and at a particular location, φ, δ and ω are fixed. From our
previous knowledge, the solar zenith angle, θz, or the solar altitude angle, αs and
the solar azimuth angle, γs can be calculated. A plot of θz or αs versus γs is called
the SOLAR POSITION CHART or SUN-CHART. An example of a solar position
plot is shown on Figure 2.3 for the average day of each month.
 90
12 NOON
Feb-16 17-Jan
Nov-14
80 Oct-15
Dec-10
1 PM Mar-16 11 AM
70
Sep-15
Apr-15
2 PM 60 10 AM
Aug-
Solar Altitude Angle(deg)

May-15 16
50
9 AM
3 PM
40

4PM Jul-17 Jun-11 8 AM

30

5PM 20
7 AM

10
6 PM 6 AM
0
-160 -140 -120 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Solar Azimuth Angle (deg)

Figure 2.3: Solar Position Diagram for Harare, latitude 17.83 degrees South.

The plot shows the position of the sun at each time (the altitude and azimuth
angle). Lines of constant declination are labeled by dates or mean days of the
months. Lines of constant hour angles are also shown.
For shading analysis, the angular positions of obstructions such as buildings, trees,
wing walls and overhangs can be entered on the same plot. If a building or other
obstruction of known dimensions and orientation is located at a known distance
from the point of interest (i.e., the receiver, collector or window), the angular
positions corresponding to altitude and azimuth angles of points on the obstruction
(the object altitude angle, α o , and azimuth angle, γ o ) can be calculated from
trigonometric considerations. This is illustrated in the following example.
Example
A proposed collector site at Harare (lat. 17.8 S) at S is 6 m to the south of a long
wall that shades it when the sun is low in the sky. The wall is of uniform height 5
m high above the center of the proposed collector area. Show this wall on a solar
position chart with the wall:
a) Oriented east-west and
b) The wall oriented on a southeast to northwest axis displaced 20o from east-
west.
 S
D
30o

30o 30o

C B A

NORTH

a) Take four points indicated by A, B, C and D on the diagram, with A located

to the south of point S and B, C and D with object azimuth angles as shown
on the diagram. Points B’, C’ and D’ are taken to the west of A with the same
object altitude angle and with object azimuth angles changed only in sign.

For point A the object azimuth angle is 0o. The object altitude angle is
5
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝛼𝛼𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = , 𝛼𝛼𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 39.8°
6
At point B the object azimuth angle is 30o and the object altitude angle is given by:
5𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐30
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 = , 𝛼𝛼𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 = 35.8°
6
At point C the object azimuth angle is 60o and the object altitude angle is given by:
5𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐60
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 = , 𝛼𝛼𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 = 22.6°
6
At point D the object azimuth angle is 90o and the object altitude angle is 0o.
For B’, C’ and D’, the object altitude angles are similar but the object azimuth
angles change only in sign.
The object azimuth angles are shown on table below.
Point Object azimuth angle Object altitude angle
D’ -90 0
C’ -60 22.6
B’ -30 35.8
A’ 0 39.8
B 30 35.8
C 60 22.6
D 90 0

This can be plotted on the solar position diagram.

 90
12 NOON
17-Jan
Feb-16
Nov-14 80 Oct-15
Dec-10

1 PM Mar-16 11 AM
70
Sep-15

Apr-15
2 PM 60 10 AM
Aug-16
Altitude Angle(deg)

May-15

50
9 AM
3 PM

40
Jun-11
4PM Jul-17 8 AM

30

5PM
20 7 AM

10
6 PM 6 AM

0
-160 -140 -120 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Azimuth Angle (deg)

2.8 Modeling Hourly Radiation from Daily Radiation
The most commonly available solar data is in the form of monthly average daily
radiation on a horizontal plane, but it is useful to know the radiation on hourly basis
since the sun’s position, which is used for solar energy calculation, varies hourly
(in fact from instant to instant).
Lui and Jordan (1966) and Colares-Pereira and Rabl (1979) developed models for
resolving monthly average daily horizontal irradiation to hourly values.
The hourly fraction of daily diffuse radiation, 𝑟𝑟𝑑𝑑 , is given by:
𝐼𝐼𝑑𝑑 𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐−𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠
𝑟𝑟𝑑𝑑 = = 𝜋𝜋 [2.8.1]
𝐻𝐻𝑑𝑑 24 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 − 𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠
180

and the global radiation counterpart is given by:

𝐼𝐼ℎ
𝑟𝑟ℎ = = (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏)𝑟𝑟𝑑𝑑 , [2.8.2]
𝐻𝐻ℎ
where
𝑎𝑎 = 0.409 + 0.5016𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 − 60)
𝑏𝑏 = 0.6609 − 0.4767𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝜔𝜔𝑠𝑠 − 60)

2.9 Total Radiation Available on a Tilted Surface

In order to determine the solar radiation available on a tilted surface, various
models called “sky models” or “tilted plane” models may be used. A simple model
for the hourly radiation on a tilted surface is:
𝐼𝐼𝑑𝑑
𝐼𝐼𝑇𝑇 = 𝐼𝐼𝑏𝑏 𝑅𝑅𝑏𝑏 + [2.9.1]
𝐶𝐶

Where 𝐼𝐼𝑇𝑇 is the hourly irradiation on the tilted surface; 𝐼𝐼𝑏𝑏 is the beam radiation on
a horizontal surface; 𝑅𝑅𝑏𝑏 is the ratio of beam radiation on a tilted surface to that on
a horizontal surface; and 𝐼𝐼𝑑𝑑 is the diffuse radiation.
𝐴𝐴𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
C is the concentrating ratio 𝐶𝐶 =
𝐴𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟

For a flat plate collector C= 1 and for concentrating solar collector C is much larger
than 1.
Usually, the fractions of total radiation that are beam and diffuse are not known.
However, the ratio of daily diffuse radiation to total (global) radiation has been
shown to be strongly correlated to the ratio of daily global radiation to the daily
extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal plane- the clearness index.
3.0 Daily extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal plane
The extraterrestrial solar radiation on a horizontal plane, Goh is given by:
𝐺𝐺𝑜𝑜ℎ = 𝐺𝐺𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 [3.1]
Where 𝐺𝐺𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 is the solar constant, 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 is the eccentricity correction factor and 𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 is
the zenith angle.
To get the daily extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal plane, we need to
integrate equation [3.1] with respect to time from sunrise to sunset. That is:
𝑡𝑡
𝐻𝐻𝑜𝑜 = 𝐺𝐺𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 ∫𝑡𝑡 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝜃𝜃𝑧𝑧 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 [3.2]
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

𝑡𝑡
𝐻𝐻𝑜𝑜 = 𝐺𝐺𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 ∫𝑡𝑡 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 [3.3]
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠

Now t (in seconds) can be written in terms of the hour angle ω (in radians) as:
12
𝑡𝑡 = 3600 × � 𝜔𝜔 + 12� [3.4]
𝜋𝜋
 12
Such that 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = 3600 × 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 and the limits of integration may be changed from 0
𝜋𝜋
to t ss to 0 to ω s after realizing that the day is symmetrical about solar noon. That
is:
𝐺𝐺𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐸𝐸𝑜𝑜 ×24×3600 𝜔𝜔
𝑠𝑠
𝐻𝐻𝑜𝑜 =
𝜋𝜋
∫0 (𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 + 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 [3.5].
Therefore:

𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 × �𝟏𝟏 + 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 � �� × 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 × 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝝅𝝅
𝑯𝑯𝒐𝒐 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 � 𝝎𝝎 𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔 + 𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝝎𝝎𝒔𝒔 �
𝝅𝝅 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝒔𝒔
[3.6]

We can also use the same principle to derive the extra-terrestrial solar irradiation on a horizontal plane
during a period of one hour; between hour angle ω1 and ω2.

That is:
𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏×�𝟏𝟏+𝟎𝟎.𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎� ��×𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏×𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝝅𝝅
𝑰𝑰𝒐𝒐 =
𝝅𝝅
𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑
�𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 (𝝎𝝎𝟐𝟐 − 𝝎𝝎𝟏𝟏 )𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔 + 𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄[𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔(𝝎𝝎𝟐𝟐 ) −
𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐬(𝝎𝝎𝟏𝟏 ]� [3.7]
Clearness Index
Many solar radiation models are based on the so-called clearness index. The clearness
index K is defined as
𝐻𝐻ℎ
𝐾𝐾 = [3.7]
𝐻𝐻𝑜𝑜

Where H h is the daily global (horizontal) terrestrial radiation.

Now, the ratio of daily diffuse radiation to global radiation (daily total radiation on a
𝐻𝐻𝑑𝑑
horizontal plane), , is known to be strongly correlated to clearness index, K. In
𝐻𝐻ℎ
Zimbabwe, Hove and Gottsche (1999) derived the following correlation, suitable for
the Zimbabwe solar climate. The Hove and Gottsche diffuse-ratio correlation is:
𝐻𝐻𝑑𝑑
= 1.0294 − 1.14𝐾𝐾 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝐾𝐾 ≤ 0.75
𝐻𝐻ℎ

𝐻𝐻𝑑𝑑
= 0.175 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝐾𝐾 > 0.75 [3.8]
𝐻𝐻ℎ
Therefore, the hourly solar radiation available on a tilted surface can be obtained
from knowledge of only the monthly average daily radiation on a horizontal plane by
using equations 2.81 to 3.8, and by applying Klein’s average days of the month.

Klein (1978)’s Average Day of the Month

Month Average Day (date) Day Number
January 17 17
February 16 47
March 16 75
April 15 105
May 15 135
June 11 162
July 17 198
August 16 228
September 15 258
October 15 288
November 14 318
December 10 344
Exercise
Determine the average irradiation received for the month of October during the hour
10 to 11 am on a north-facing collector with tilt 25o and located at Gweru (latitude
19.45o South). The long-term monthly average daily irradiation on a horizontal
surface (global radiation) in October is 7.2 kWh/m2.