Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Data bank

Global solar radiation measurements

in Maceió, Brazil
José Leonaldo De Souzaa,*, Rosilene Mendonça Nicáciob,
Marcos Antonio Lima Mouraa
a
Laboratory of Agrometeorology and Solar Radiometry, Department of Meteorology,
Federal University of Alagoas, Campus A.C. Simões, BR 104-North, Km 97,
Tabuleiro of Martins, Maceio, AL CEP: 57072-970, Brazil
b
Departament of Geosciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Campus A.C. Simões,
BR 104-North, Km 97, Tabuleiro of Martins, Maceio, AL 57072-970, Brazil
Received 18 June 2003; accepted 27 September 2004
Available online 16 December 2004

Abstract
This work focuses on the variability of the global solar radiation over the area of Maceió (9840 0 S,
35842 0 W, 127 m), located in Northeastern State of Alagoas, Brazil, during the1997–1999 period.
Solar radiation variability was evaluated on 5 min, hourly, daily, monthly and seasonal scales. The
results showed that the maximum values of the hourly global solar irradiation, Hgh , in the dry
(September–February) and rainy (March–August) seasons were 3.18 and 2.50 MJ mK2, respect-
ively. The peaks of the hourly average, H hg , for both periods were 2.79 MJ mK2 and the daily average
of the global solar irradiation, H dg , was 19.89 MJ mK2. The daily clearness index, Ktd , was found to
be 0.53 (rainy period) and 0.59 (dry period). In clear, partially cloudy (the most frequent) and
overcast days, the daily averages of global solar irradiation were 25.20, 19.00 and 8.00 MJ mK2,
respectively. On an annual scale the global solar irradiation changed from 15.00 MJ mK2 by August
to 24.04 MJ mK2 by November.
q 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: Global solar irradiation; Clearness index

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: jls@ccen.ufal.br (J.L. De Souza).

0960-1481/$ - see front matter q 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2004.09.013
1204 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

1. Introduction

The distribution of solar radiation around the world determines the planet’s mean
climate variation resulting from the thermal balance of the Earth–atmosphere system
and establishes the atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Therefore, the
knowledge of the local solar radiation variability is the basis of any climatic study and
its application to meteorology, industry, agriculture, engineering, architecture, water
resources, etc.
The influence of the radiative energy on photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, spreading
of diseases and agricultural pests and environmental comfort of animals and plants have
been widely reported [2,4,21,26,29,30]. Solar radiation data are also used in the validation
of general circulation models [5,7,15]. Studies on solar radiation have become an
important issue for renewable energy issues stemming from petroil crises, global warming
and other environmental problems, thus increasing the need of reliable measurements of
surface solar radiation [3,11,12,22,24].
Several researchers have used a sky clearness index (overcast, partially cloudy and
clear) to quantify surface global solar irradiance [8,16]. One of the most accurate methods
to evaluate the surface solar radiation uses pyranometer measurements. The world
network that monitors surface solar radiation using pyranometer is still very limited. This
limitation is particulary noticed in tropical regions since satellite estimates are subject to
large errors due to convective activity and frequent cloud cover. Pyranometer
measurements of solar irradiance with automatic acquisition datalogger have become a
routine practice [6,25]. Pyranometer measurements of solar radiation in Brazil are
relatively sparse [14,20,33], particularly in the Northeast Brazil (NEB) region [18,27,32].
This paper shows global solar radiation and clearness index, measured from 1997 to 1999
in Maceió (9840 0 S, 35842 0 W, 127 m above mean sea level), located in Alagoas State NEB
(Fig. 1).

2. Material and methods

2.1. Climatological regional aspects

The study area has a hot and semi-humid climate with a rainy period between March
and August (78% of the annual total precipitation occurs in this period) and a dry
period from September to February [13,17,31]. It is also influenced by tropical
maritime air masses brought by the trade winds, Intertropical Convergence Zone and
tele-connection effects of El Niño/Southern Oscillation that influence the general
northeast climate, in addition to local weather systems such as sea/land breezes [1,9,10,
19,23]. The air temperature varied annually from 19.3 8C in August to 31.7 8C in
January during the period of 1972–1999, with an annual average of 25.4 8C. The
monthly means of relative humidity shows values above 70% and mean annual rainfall
is 1818 mm, with a minimum total of 41 mm in December and a maximum of 294 mm
in July [28].
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1205

Fig. 1. Mapa of Northeastern Brazil showing the state of Alagoas and its capital, Maceió, where the radiation
measurements were made.

2.2. Radiation observation

The results showed in this work were obtained for the period of January 1997 to
December 1999, using a Kipp and Zonen pyranometer, Model CM5, that sensed the global
solar irradiance (Rg) continuously. The instrument was connected to a data acquisition
system, Microllogger 21XL Campbell Scientific Inc which was programmed to yield
information every ten seconds and store averages values every 5 min. The instrument was
installed at the top of a building far from any obstructing structure.
The terminology used in this work is based on Iqbal [8] and includes the following terms:
irradiance (indicating the rate of solar energy arriving at the surface per unit time and unit
area, in W mK2) and irradiation (refering to the quantity of solar energy arriving at the
surface during a given period of time, in J mK2). The curves of solar radiation shown in this
study are based on the standard time of Brazil (Brası́lia—Maceió difference is of 37 min).

2.3. Calculation of extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface

The extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface, R0, was calculated as a

function of the solar constant, S0Z1367 W mK2, eccentricity correction factor of
1206 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

the Earth’s orbit, E0, local latitude (f), solar declination (d) and hour angle (h) according to
the expression given in Iqbal [8] as:
R0 Z S0 E0 cos q (1)
where
 
2pdn
E0 Z 1 C 0:033 cos (2)
365
with dn being the sequential day of the year and q the solar zenithal angle given by
cos q Z sin f sin d C cos f cos d cos h (3)
In Eq. (3), the solar declination (d) is expressed as:
 
360
d Z 23:45 sin ðd C 284Þ (4)
365 n
where the hour angle (h) is
h Z 15ðt K MÞ C ðll K lp Þ (5)
in which, t is the local standard time, M is the noon time, ll is the local longitude and lp is
the standard longitude (meridian of 458W).

2.4. Daily and hourly global irradiation

The solar irradiance data collected every 5 min, were arranged in tables and
integrations of the irradiance curves were performed using a trapezoidal method, thus
generating the hourly and daily data from which the seasonal and annual energy curves
were calculated. The integrations were performed using a program developed in Visual
Basic language. Hourly, daily, monthly and seasonal averages of the global irradiation and
the extraterrestrial solar irradiation on a horizontal surface were also calculated.
The hourly and daily clearness index ðKth Þ and ðKtd Þ, respectively, were derived using
the ratio of the hourly and daily global solar irradiation to the corresponding
extraterrestrial solar irradiation on a horizontal surface. The data series were sorted out
in dry (September–February) and rainy (March–August) periods, in order to evaluate the
variation of global solar irradiation and hourly clearness index for each of those periods.
Diagrams of the monthly variability of the global solar irradiation and clearness index
were also elaborated.

3. Results

3.1. Daily global irradiance

The irradiance variation over the studied area is mostly influenced by cloudiness
conditions. On cloudy days ðKtd % 0:30Þ during the dry season (Fig. 2a) it was observed
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1207

Fig. 2. Daily variations of extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface (R0) and global (Rg), for (a)
07.26.1998 and (b) 02.18.1997, in Maceió, under overcast sky conditions.

a maximum global irradiance of 278.46 W mK2 and a daily total energy of 5.50 MJ mK2.
In the rainy period (Fig. 2b), it was observed a maximum of Rg of 654.00 W mK2 and daily
irradiation of 6.00 MJ mK2. The related clearness index (Kt) and cloudiness conditions
showed changes of 0.10–0.33 and 0.15 for the daily total energy (Fig. 3a). It was also
noticed a larger variation in Kt (Fig. 3b) due to an approximately 2 h reduction in
cloudiness, reaching maximum values of 0.55 for the irradiance and 0.29 for the daily solar
irradiation.
Partly cloudy conditions cause conspicuous oscillations in solar irradiance (Fig. 4a),
marked by a maximum of Rg near the irradiance along the horizontal surface at the top
of the atmosphere (R0). This fact is attributed to multiple reflections by nearby cloud
layers [3,6]. The daily global solar irradiation during this cloudiness condition was
12.38 MJ mK2. The morning period showed a tendency to be partly cloudy (Fig. 4b)
and the afternoon showed less cloudiness. The daily global solar irradiation was
16.20 MJ mK2. The 5 min clearness index (Fig. 5a) for partly cloudy conditions reached a
maximum of 0.98 and the daily clearness index, Ktd ; was 0.40. In another period (Fig. 5b),
the atmosphere transfer radiative characteristics revealed a Kt around 0.50 (0.42 for the
integrated daily energy).
The reduction in cloudiness between dry and rainy seasons, for clear sky ðKtd O 0:65Þ,
presented a small variation in the global solar irradiance (Figs. 6 and 7). The variation
of Rg is attributed to the sun elevation. The Rg maxima were 939.61 and 1020.64 W mK2,
1208 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

Fig. 3. Daily variations of index of clearness (Kt), for (a) 07.26.1998 and (b) 02.18.1997, in Maceió, under
overcast sky conditions.

Fig. 4. Daily variations of extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface (R0) and of the global irradiance
(Rg), for (a) 07.23.1997 and (b) 11.12.1998, in Maceió, under partially cloudy sky conditions.
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1209

Fig. 5. Daily variations of index of clearness (Kt), for (a) 07.23.1997 and (b) 11.12.1998, in Maceió, under
partially cloudy conditions.

Fig. 6. Daily variations of extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface (R0) and of the global irradiance
(Rg), for (a) 06.25.1997 and (b) 12.05.1997, in Maceió, under clear sky conditions.
1210 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

Fig. 7. Daily variation of the index of clearness (Kt) for (a) 06.25.1997 and (b) 12.05.1997, in Maceió, under clean
sky conditions.

and the corresponding daily solar irradiation were 20.65 and 27.63 MJ mK2. The morning
clearness index for the former condition (Fig. 7a) showed a large oscillation, yielding a
daily global solar irradiation of about 70% of the extraterrestrial solar irradiation on a
horizontal surface. The latter condition (Fig. 7b) showed an increase in Kt during the early
morning hours and kept this level during the afternoon (KtZ0.75). The clearness index for
the daily total energy was 0.71.

3.2. Hourly global irradiation

The average hourly variation of the global solar irradiation showed similar
behavior for the morning and afternoon periods (Fig. 8a), with a maximum value of
2.79 MJ mK2. The average clearness index presented a small variation and a maximum
of 0.62 (Fig. 8b).
The rainy and dry seasons showed maximum average hourly of global solar irradiation
with values of 2.50 and 3.18 MJ mK2, respectively (Figs. 9 and 10). The seasonal
difference was of 0.68 MJ mK2. For the two seasons, the hourly solar irradiation is larger
in the afternoon, with a difference between the morning and afternoon higher in the dry
season, with a mean deviation for H hg of 24.30%, produced by sea breezes and intensity
changes in the trade winds. The contrast between the maximum mean clearness index in
rainy and dry seasons was of 0.58 and 0.62, respectively. These results agree with seasonal
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1211

Fig. 8. Hourly average variations of: (a) extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface ðH h0 Þ and global
solar irradiation ðH hg Þ, (b) index of clearness ðK ht Þ, in Maceió, between 1997 and 1999.

Fig. 9. Hourly average variations of: (a) extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface ðH h0 Þ and global
solar irradiation ðH hg Þ, (b) index of clearness ðK ht Þ, in Maceió, during the rainy season.
1212 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

Fig. 10. Hourly average variations of: (a) extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface ðH h0 Þ, global solar
irradiation ðH hg Þ, (b) index of clearness ðK ht Þ, in Maceió, during the dry season.

variations in cloudiness (the higher the attenuation of solar radiation, the lower rate of
transference) as verified during March till August. The daily mean monthly global solar
irradiation and the clearness index were, respectively: 17.41 MJ mK2 and 0.53 for
the rainy season and 22.92 MJ mK2 and 0.59, for the dry season, thus resulting in a
seasonal difference in H dg of 5.51 MJ mK2.
The average hourly of global solar irradiation, H hg , (Fig. 11a) and the clearness index,
K t , (Fig. 11b) for January and March are practically identical. The maximum in H hg was
 h

3.23 MJ mK2, observed in January/February. The mean hourly clearness index is similar
for January and March, with peaks of 0.65 around noon time. The total hourly average of
global solar irradiation is higher in April (Fig. 12a) than in May and June, with respective
values of 2.27 and 2.20 MJ mK2.
The clearness hourly average index for May and June (Fig. 12b) has a similar pattern,
with maximum values of 0.55 and 0.57, respectively. The atmospheric transference
conditions due to the clearness index on April is almost the same that of May and June,
differing only in the afternoon, by a maximum of 0.64.
The hourly average energy for July–September showed similar values for the periods of
July and August (Fig. 13a), with a maximum in H hg of 2.17 and 2.44 MJ mK2, respectively.
At the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere spring, (September), it was observed
an increase in irradiation, with a difference of 0.70 MJ mK2 between the almost
identical July–August peaks. This result agrees with those from the early dry season
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1213

Fig. 11. Hourly average variations of: (a) global solar irradiation, (b) index of clearness, for the months of
January, February and March, in Maceió.

Fig. 12. Hourly average variations of: (a) global solar irradiation, (b) index of clearness, for the months of April,
May and June, in Maceió.
1214 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

Fig. 13. Hourly average variations of: (a) global solar irradiation, (b) index of clearness, for the months of July,
August and September, in Maceió.

(which coincides with the beginning of Southern Hemisphere spring), when a reduction of
cloud cover yields higher solar radiation and the role of the gaseous atmosphere
constituents becomes increasingly dominating. The clearness index is also similar to that
of the July and August period (Fig. 13b), with a value of 0.54 and a maximum clearness
index of 0.66 in September.
The hourly mean solar irradiation and clearness index (Fig. 14a and b) are similar in
October and December with maximum values of 3.20 MJ mK2 and 0.70, respectively
(Fig. 14b). The maximum difference between the rainy and dry monthly average daily
global irradiation was about 1.0 MJ mK2. This difference is related to the apparent path of
sun during Southern Hemisphere winter and summer.

3.3. Clearness index hystogram

The daily clearness index ðKtd Þ distribution increased up to 0.65, with a frequency of
25.4% followed by a decrease (Fig. 15). The high frequency (85.7%) for the clearness
index was 0:5% Ktd % 0:70 and the low conditions were Ktd O 0:7 (1.8%) and ktd ! 0:4.
Therefore, the days were classified as partly cloudy when daily average global solar
irradiation was of 18.19 MJ mK2. Clear sky and cloudy days presented values of 8.00 and
25.20 MJ mK2, respectively.
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1215

Fig. 14. Hourly average variation of: (a) global solar irradiation, (b) index of clearness, for the months of October,
November and December, in Maceió.

3.4. Monthly daily average of global irradiation and clearness index

The average global solar irradiation recorded daily during the months ðH m
g Þ varies from
14.84 MJ mK2 in July to 24.02 MJ mK2 in November The annual daily average of global
solar irradiation was of 20.16 MJ mK2 (Fig. 16). The clearness index varies from
approximately 0.50 in May, July and August to 0.61 in November, with an annual mean of

Fig. 15. Histogram of frequency of the daily index of clearness, for Maceió, Brazil, between 1997 and 1999.
1216 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220

Fig. 16. Monthly daily average variations of: (a) extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal surface ½H m
0  and
global solar irradiation ½H m m
g , (b) index of clearness ½K t , in Maceió, Brazil, between 1997 and 1999.

0.56. Only a small part of the annual variation of the solar radiation is attributed to the sun
declination, that is, the cloudiness between the rainy and dry seasons is the major cause of
the high variation in solar irradiation. Monthly data of global solar irradiation and
clearness index during the three years of observations are grouped in Tables 1 and 2.

4. Conclusions

A low variation in solar irradiance for cloudy days during both dry and rainy seasons
when the daily energy for the dry season was only 7% larger than that for rainy
conditions was observed. For partly cloudy sky condition, the global solar irradiance was
found to be close to the values for the top of the Earth’s atmosphere. There is a difference
of 4.00 MJ mK2 between the daily global solar irradiation for rainy and dry periods (for
value of clearness index of 0.40). For clear sky days ðKtd Z 0:70Þ the variation of global
solar irradiation between the rainy and dry periods was 25%. The annual global solar
irradiation had a higher contribution from the variation of sky cover than the solar
declination. The clearness index frequency distribution indicates that the Maceió region
is typically dominated by partly cloudy days. The frequencies of clear and cloudy days
are small.
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220
Table 1
Monthly daily average of global solar irradiation, in MJ mK2, in Maceió, Brazil, between 1997 and 1999

Year January February March April May June July August September October November December
1997 22.51 20.52 20.28 17.35 14.93 15.33 13.36 15.33 22.22 22.50 23.82 23.65
1998 21.77 23.25 23.20 20.57 16.61 15.30 15.17 17.59 19.64 22.50 24.09 24.06
1999 24.54 22.85 22.69 21.10 15.76 15.27 15.86 17.38 – 20.88 24.17 22.82
Average 22.94 22.20 22.06 19.68 15.77 15.30 14.80 16.77 20.93 21.96 24.03 23.51

1217
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J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220
Table 2
Monthly daily average of the index of clearness in Maceió, Brazil, between 1997 and 1999

Year January February March April May June July August September October November December
1997 0.58 0.53 0.54 0.49 0.47 0.52 0.46 0.46 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.54
1998 0.55 0.59 0.61 0.59 0.52 0.51 0.50 0.53 0.55 0.58 0.62 0.64 0.56
1999 0.63 0.58 0.60 0.61 0.51 0.53 0.53 0.56 – 0.57 0.62 0.58 0.57
Average 0.59 0.58 0.58 0.57 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.61 0.56
 J.L. De Souza et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 1203–1220 1219

Acknowledgements

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Alagoas—FAPEAL, Conselho de

Desenvolvimento Cientı́fico e Tecnológico—CNPq and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoa-
mento de Pessoal de Nı́vel Superior—CAPES.
To Marco M. Lemes, Heliene Ferreira and Luiz C. Molion for their help reviewing text.

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