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2.________________________________
The Sun's Energy
The sun, our singular source of renewable energy, sits at the center of the solar system and emits
energy as electromagnetic radiation at an extremely large and relatively constant rate, 24 hours
per day, 365 days of the year.

The rate at which this energy is emitted is equivalent to the energy coming from a furnace at a
temperature of about 6,000 K (10,340ºF). If we could harvest the energy coming from just 10
hectares (25 acres) of the surface of the sun, we would have enough to supply the current energy
demand of the world.

However, there are three important reasons why this cannot be done: First, the earth is displaced
from the sun, and since the sun’s energy spreads out like light from a candle, only a small fraction
of the energy leaving an area of the sun reaches an equal area on the earth. Second, the earth
rotates about its polar axis, so that any collection device located on the earth’s surface can receive
the sun’s radiant energy for only about one-half of each day. The third and least predictable factor
is the condition of the thin shell of atmosphere that surrounds the earth’s surface. At best the
earth’s atmosphere accounts for another 30 percent reduction in the sun’s energy. As is widely
known, however, the weather conditions can stop all but a minimal amount of solar radiation from
reaching the earth’s surface for many days in a row.

The rate at which solar energy reaches a unit area at the earth is called the "solar irradiance" or
"insolation". The units of measure for irradiance are watts per square meter (W/m2). Solar
irradiance is an instantaneous measure of rate and can vary over time. The maximum solar
irradiance value is used in system design to determine the peak rate of energy input into the
system. If storage is included in a system design, the designer also needs to know the variation of
solar irradiance over time in order to optimize the system design.

The designer of solar energy collection systems is also interested in knowing how much solar
energy has fallen on a collector over a period of time such as a day, week or year. This summation
is called solar radiation or irradiation. The units of measure for solar radiation are joules per square
meter (J/m2) but often watt-hours per square meter (Wh/m2) are used. As will be described below,
solar radiation is simply the integration or summation of solar irradiance over a time period.

In this chapter we discuss the characteristics of the sun’s radiation first outside the earth’s
atmosphere and then on the earth’s surface. We then develop analytical models that may be used
by the designer to estimate the solar irradiance at a specific site.

For system design optimization studies, it is considered better to use actual recorded weather
databases. Following the discussion of analytical models, we show how weather databases can
be incorporated into system models such as our SIMPLES model developed in Chapter 14.

In outline form, this development is described as follows:

Extraterrestrial Radiation Characteristics

The Solar Constant
Extraterrestrial Solar Spectrum
Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation

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Extraterrestrial Solar radiation on a Surface

Ground Level Solar Irradiance
Atmospheric Effects
Measurement
Solar Spectrum
Sunshape
Measurement of Solar Irradiance
Direct Normal Solar Irradiance
Global Solar Irradiance
Diffuse Solar Irradiance
Solar Radiation Data Bases
Analytical Models of Solar Irradiance
A Simple Half-Sine Model
A Clear-Day Model

The system designer must know how much solar irradiance is available in order to predict the rate
of energy that will be incident on a solar collector aperture. To do this, the position of the sun
relative to a collector that is not parallel to the surface of the earth must be found. These
techniques are developed in Chapter 3. Combining the amount of solar irradiance falling on the
collector, with the orientation of the collector relative to the sun, the designer then knows the rate
of solar energy being input into that collector.

2.1 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation Characteristics

The sun, our ultimate source of energy, is just an average-sized star of average age, located in
one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy as simulated in Figure 2.l. To astronomers, it is a
main sequence star of spectral class G. This means that it has an apparent surface temperature
around 6,000K (10,340ºF) and is of average brightness. Other known main sequence stars have
luminosities up to 1,000 times greater and 1,000 times less and temperatures ranging from 3,000K
(4,900ºF) to 16,000K (28,300ºF).

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Figure 2.1 A galaxy (Andromeda) thought to be similar to our Milky Way galaxy in which the approximate location of
where our sun would be is noted (photo courtesy of NASA).

At the center of the sun it is presumed that hydrogen nuclei are combining to form helium nuclei in
a thermonuclear fusion process where the excess binding energy is released into the body of the
sun. This energy is released at the rate of 3.83 × 1026 W.

Most of the electromagnetic radiation reaching the earth emanates from a spherical outer shell of
hot dense gas called the photosphere. When we "see" the sun, this is the "surface" we see as
shown in Figure 2.2. This region has a diameter of approximately 1.39 × 109 m (864,000 miles) and
appears as a bright disc with some "limb darkening" (brighter near the center) since radiation
coming to us from the outer edges comes from higher and cooler layers of gas. Observations of
sunspot movement indicate that the sun does not rotate uniformly. The region near its equator
rotates with a period of about 27 days, whereas the polar regions rotate more slowly, with a period
of about 32 days.

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Figure 2.2 The sun as viewed from Skylab (photo courtesy of NASA).

Beyond the photosphere are the chromosphere and the corona. These regions are characterized
by low-density gases, higher temperature, and timewise variations in energy and diameter.
Because of the low density and thus minimal energy emission from these regions, they are of little
significance to earth-based solar thermal applications. They do, however, produce uniform cyclic
variations in the X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) components of the solar spectrum, having
approximately 11-year periods, coincident with the sunspot cycles. Table 2.1 summarizes the
important characteristics of the sun.

Table 2.1. Characteristics of the Sun

Present age: 4.5 × 109 years

Life expectancy: 10 × 109 years

Distance to earth:

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mean 1.496 × 1011 m =

1.000AU

variation 1.016735 to 0.98329 AU

Diameter (photosphere) 1.39 × 109 m

Angular diameter (from earth): 9.6 × 10-3 radians

Variation ±1.7%

Volume (photosphere): 1.41 × 1027m3

Mass: 1.987 × 1030 kg

Composition:

hydrogen 73.46%

helium 24.85%

oxygen 0.77%

carbon 0.29%

iron 0.16%

neon 0.12%

nitrogen, silicon, magnesium, sulfur, <0.1%

etc.

Density:

mean 14.1 kg/m3

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center 1,600 kg/m3

Solar radiation:

entire sun 3.83 × 1026 W

unit area of surface 6.33 × 107 W/m2

at 1 AU (i.e. the solar constant) 1,367 W/m2

Temperature:

center 15,000,000 K

surface (photosphere) 6,050 K

chromosphere 4,300-50,000 K

corona 800,000-3,000,000 K

Rotation:

solar equator 26.8 days

30º latitude 28.3 days

60º latitude 30.8 days

75º latitude 31.8 days

Energy source:

Rate of mass loss: 4.1×109 kg/s

SOURCE: Abridged from Eddy (1979).

2.1.1 The Solar Constant

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The radiation intensity on the surface of the sun is approximately 6.33 × 107 W/m2. Since radiation
spreads out as the distance squared, by the time it travels to the earth (1.496 × 1011 m or 1 AU is
the average earth-sun distance), the radiant energy falling on 1 m 2 of surface area is reduced to
1367 W as depicted in Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3 The divergence of energy from the sun to the earth.

The intensity of the radiation leaving the sun is relatively constant. Therefore, the intensity of solar
radiation at a distance of 1 AU is called the solar constant Isc and has a currently accepted of 1367
W/m2 value (Fröhlich and Brusa, 1981, and Iqbal, 1983).

When converted to other units used in the solar literature, the solar constant has the values listed
in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 The Solar Constant in Units Commonly Used in Solar Literature

Isc = 1367 W/m2

Isc = 136.7 mW/cm2

Isc = 0.1367 W/ cm2

Isc = 1.367 x 106 erg/cm2 s

Isc = 127.0 W/ft2

Isc = 0.03267 cal/ cm2 s

Isc = 1.960 cal/ cm2 min.

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Isc = 1.960 Ly/min. (thermochemical cal/cm2

min.)a

Isc = 1.957 Ly/min. (mean cal/cm2 min.)a

Isc = 433.4 Btu/ft2 hr

Isc = 0.1204 Btu/ft2 s

a
The langley (Ly) was originally defined in terms of the mean gram calorie rather than the more common
thermochemical gram calorie. However, current literature suggests that the thermochemical calorie be
used to define the langley (Delinger, 1976). The langley unit has been dropped in the SI system of units.

Other values for the solar constant are found in historical literature with the value 1,353 W/m 2
appearing in many publications. It is now generally believed that most of the historical
discrepancies have been due to instrument calibration error (White, 1977). Recent satellite and
rocket data (Duncan et al., 1982) and (Hickey et al., 1982) have confirmed that the 1,353 W/m 2
value was low. Also, these data confirm that there are daily and monthly variations, believed to be
not over ±0.25 percent and changes over the 11-year sunspot cycle of by about 1 percent.

Although none of these variations are of prime importance to the design of a solar energy system,
studies are continuing to help explain the potential impact of these variations on our climate. It has
been estimated that a drop of only 1 percent in the sun’s output of radiation would decrease the
earth’s mean global temperature by more than 1ºC. The entire earth would be covered with ice if
the sun’s radiation decreased by only 6 percent.

The apparent angular size of the solar disc may be calculated from the diameter of the
photosphere and the earth-sun distance. At 1 AU, this is 9.3 mrad (0.553 degrees). As the
earth-sun distance varies over the year, the apparent size of the sun varies by ±1.7 percent.

2.1.2 Extraterrestrial Solar Spectrum

The spectrum of the sun’s radiation just before it passes through the earth’s atmosphere is shown
in Figure 2.4. Plotted along with the solar spectral irradiance for comparison is the spectral
irradiance from a blackbody at 6,050 K (10,430º F). Also shown in Figure 2.4 is the integrated
value of the spectral solar flux density, showing the cumulative amount of energy radiated at
wavelengths between the shortest wavelength and the abscissa value. These data are based on
an earlier value of the solar constant (1,353 W/m2).

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Figure 2.4 Standard extraterrestrial solar spectral irradiance curve. The area under the curve is based on an earlier solar
constant of 1353 W/m2 (Thekaekara, 1976).

It is interesting to note that about 45 percent of the sun’s energy comes to us at wavelengths in
the visible spectrum, (nominally between 0.3 and 0.7 micrometers). Also, note that only a little
more than 1 percent of the sun’s energy at shorter wavelengths (UV and X-solar radiation) and the
rest (54 percent) is in the infrared (IR) region. The spectrum of the sun’s radiation changes slightly
as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere, as is discussed in the following section.

Knowledge of the relative amount of energy contained in sunlight of different wavelengths permits
the engineer to evaluate the impact of wavelength phenomena on total energy collection.

Example: Consider a certain collector concept that uses a glass cover on it s receiver aperture that transmits 90 percent
of the sun 's energy at wavelengths below 1 micrometer and no energy at longer wavelengths. By consulting Figure 2.4
one can determine that 69.5 percent of the energy coming from the sun is coming at wavelengths shorter than 1
micrometer. A simple calculation will show that the glass receiver cover mentioned previously will pass 62.5 percent of
the sun’s energy into the receiver.

For consideration of wavelength-dependent parameters (i.e., glass transmittance, surface

absorptance, or photocell response) it is often visually helpful to plot these parameter versus a
scale representing the percentage of energy contained in sunlight at that and shorter
wavelengths. The area under this curve then represents the total percentage of energy integrated
over all wavelengths. A second, nonlinear scale representing wavelength may be included, on the
basis of the relationship between solar energy and wavelength shown in Figure 2.5. This is done
so that wavelength dependent parameters may be presented visually.

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Figure 2.5 Example of a distorted wavelength scale plot. The relative spectral response of a silicon photovoltaic cell is
shown, indicating that it can utilize 58 percent of the sun’s energy.

Example: Figure 2.5 shows the relative response of a silicon solar cell (sometimes used to measure solar irradiance).
Visually one can see that the cell responds to only 58 percent of total solar spectrum, losing 11 percent of the shorter-
wavelength energy and 31 percent of the solar energy at longer wavelengths.

2.1.3 Extraterrestrial Solar Irradiance

Because the earth’s orbit is slightly elliptical, the intensity of solar radiation received outside the
earth’s atmosphere varies as the square of the earth-sun distance. Solar irradiance varies by ±3.4
percent with the maximum irradiance occurring at the perihelion i.e. earth closest to the sun
(January 3-5) and the minimum at the aphelion (July 5). This variation may be approximated by:

(2.1)

where Io is the extraterrestrial solar irradiance outside the earth’s atmosphere and N is the day
number (starting at January 1).

An instructional concept, and one often used in solar irradiance models, is that of the
extraterrestrial solar irradiance falling on a horizontal surface. Consider a flat surface just outside

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the earth’s atmosphere and parallel to the earth’s surface below. When this surface faces the sun
(normal to a central ray), the solar irradiance falling on it will be Io , the maximum

possible solar irradiance. If the surface is not normal to the sun, the solar irradiance falling on it
will be reduced by the cosine of the angle between the surface normal and a central ray from the
sun.

This concept is described pictorially in Figure 2.6. It can be seen that the rate of solar energy
falling on both surfaces is the same. However, the area of surface A is greater than its projection;
hypothetical surface B, making the rate of solar energy per unit area (i.e. the solar irradiance),
falling on surface A less than on surface B.

Figure 2.6 The cosine effect as it relates to the concept of extraterrestrial horizontal irradiance.

The extraterrestrial solar irradiance falling on a surface parallel to the ground is

(2.2)

where Io is the extraterrestrial solar irradiance, and the angle between the two surfaces, which is
the solar zenith angle which will be further defined in Chapter 3. Reduction of radiation by the
cosine of the angle between the solar radiation and a surface normal is called the cosine effect.
The cosine effect is an extremely important concept in optimizing the orientation of solar collectors
and is discussed extensively in Chapter 4.

Because of the cosine effect, the extraterrestrial solar irradiance on a horizontal varies cyclically as
the earth spins on its axis. The amount of solar radiation received on a horizontal surface outside
the atmosphere forms an upper limit to the amount of radiation that will fall on a horizontal surface
below the earth’s atmosphere. It also describes the cosine effect without the complication of air
mass and cloud cover.

Values of Io,h above a specified location on a given day at a particular time may be found from
Equation (2.2) by applying Equations (3.17) and (3.8) to determine the zenith angle and Equation
(2.1) to determine the extraterrestrial radiation.

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2.1.4 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation on a Surface

The total amount of energy deposited on a surface over a period of time is found by integrating (or
summing) solar irradiance over that period of time. This sum is called the solar radiation and has
the units of energy per unit area (J/m2 or Btu/ft2). Solar radiation is given the symbol H in this text.

Often it is of interest to determine the total amount of energy that has fallen on a surface over a
full day outside the earth’s atmosphere. The daily extraterrestrial solar radiation on a horizontal
surface Ho,h may be calculated from the instantaneous values of extraterrestrial solar irradiance

(2.3)

where the time t (in seconds) is evaluated from sunrise to sunset.

Using concepts developed in Chapter 3 to describe the angle between a surface parallel to the
earth and the sun, we can develop the expression below for the daily extraterrestrial solar radiation
falling on a surface parallel to the earth.

(2.4)

The angles (latitude and declination) are described in Section 3.1. The hour angle of
sunset, is calculated in Equation (3.19) as a function of these angles, and must have the units
of ‘radians’ in this equation. Since the constant 86,400 has the implied units of "seconds", the
units of the extraterrestrial solar irradiance, Io must be watts per square meter (W/m2).

Values of the daily extraterrestrial solar radiation on a horizontal surface calculated over a year at
three latitudes using Equation (2.4) are plotted in Figure 2.7. This figure shows a number of
interesting points about our solar energy input. Note that the greatest amount of energy incident in
one day occurs at the northernmost latitude. This high solar radiation value occurs during the
summer, when the sun never sets.

Also, note that at the equator, the highest solar radiation occurs in the spring and fall (at the
equinoxes), not in the summer as one might expect. A summer maximum occurs only at latitudes
above 23.5 degrees. The total amount of energy accumulated over a year is shown as the average
solar radiation in Figure 2.7. As one might expect, the sum over a year of the daily solar radiation
on a horizontal surface is highest at the equator. Surfaces in the higher (polar) latitudes lose much
of the available energy as a result of the cosine effect discussed above.

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Figure 2.7 Seasonal variation of the daily extraterrestrial solar radiation (irradiation) incident on a horizontal surface
outside the earth’s atmosphere in the northern hemisphere.

If a surface is always pointed toward the sun (but still outside of the earth’s atmosphere), the daily
extraterrestrial solar radiation on the surface will vary as shown in Figure 2.8. As latitude increases
to the north, there is more energy available in the summer and less in the winter.

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Figure 2.8 Seasonal variation of the daily extraterrestrial solar radiation incident on a surface always pointed normal to
the sun’s rays outside the earth’s atmosphere in the northern hemisphere.

The interesting result shown by Figure 2.8 is that the yearly total solar radiation on a surface
maintained normal to the sun’s rays is essentially the same regardless of the latitude. This is so
because anywhere on the earth there are 4,380 hours of daylight; or, taken over a year, the
average length of daylight is 12 hours. Therefore, except for the slight difference caused by the
winter extraterrestrial solar irradiance being about 6 percent greater than the summer solar
irradiance, the total yearly extraterrestrial normal solar irradiance is essentially the same anywhere
on the earth.

Note also that the yearly average of the daily normal solar radiation values is very close to the
product of 12 (the average length of daylight) times the solar constant, which gives 59.1 MJ/m 2.
Note also, in comparing Figure 2.7 (a horizontal surface) with Figure 2.8 (a normal surface), that
over the year the cosine effect reduces solar radiation on a horizontal surface by 39 percent at the
equator, whereas the solar radiation is reduced by 52 percent at 40 degrees latitude and by 74
percent at 80 degrees latitude.

This understanding of extraterrestrial solar radiation on hypothetical surfaces above the earth’s
atmosphere has been discussed here to give the reader some idea of the solar energy resource
and the effects of the mechanics of the earth-sun system. In the section below we discuss the
additional effects of the earth’s atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, clouds, smog,
particulates) on the solar radiation perceived below the atmosphere.

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2.2 Ground-Level Solar Radiation Characteristics

As solar radiation passes through the earth 's atmosphere, it is absorbed (the reason for some
atmospheric heating), reflected (the reason astronauts can see the earth from outer space),
scattered (the reason one can read this book in the shade under a tree), and transmitted directly
(the reason there are shadows). At the surface of the earth, the sun has a lower intensity, a
different color, and a different shape from that observed above the atmosphere.

2.2.1 Atmosphere Effects

The atmosphere causes a reduction of the extraterrestrial solar input by about 30 per cent on a
very clear day to nearly 90 percent on a very cloudy day. Figure 2.9 gives an indication of the
range of the absorption and scattering (forward and backward) caused by different components of
the atmosphere.

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Figure 2.9 Nominal range of clear sky absorption and scattering of incident solar energy. Values are typically for one air
mass (Watt, 1978).

On the surface of the earth, we perceive a beam or direct solar irradiance that comes directly from

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the disc of the sun and a diffuse or scattered solar irradiance that appear to come from all
directions over the entire sky. In this text we will use the term direct to signify solar irradiance
coming directly from the sun’s disc, and the term diffuse to indicate solar irradiance coming from
all other directions. We use the traditional subscript b to represent the direct component of solar
irradiance and the subscript d to indicate the diffuse component. The sum of direct and diffuse
solar irradiance is called the global or total solar irradiance and is identified by the traditional
subscript t. In this book we will use the term global to indicate this sum.

On a clear day, direct solar irradiance represents about 80 or 90 percent of the total amount of
solar energy reaching the surface of the earth. Local blockage of the direct component of solar
irradiance produces shadows. On a cloudy or foggy day when "you can’t see the sun," the direct
component of solar irradiance is essentially zero and there are no shadows. The direct component
of solar irradiance is of the greatest interest to designers of high-temperature solar energy systems
because it can be concentrated on small areas using mirrors or lenses, whereas the diffuse
component cannot.

The diffuse or scattered component of solar irradiance is what permits us to see in the shade. If
there was no diffuse component of solar irradiance, the sky would appear black as at night and
stars would be visible throughout the day. The first astronauts vividly described this phenomenon
to us from the moon where there is no atmosphere to scatter the solar radiation.

As depicted on Figure 2.9, diffuse radiation is the result of downward scattering of solar irradiance
by nitrogen, oxygen, and water molecules, water droplets, and dust particles in the atmosphere.
The amount of this scattering depends on the amount of water and dust in the atmosphere and
the altitude of the observer above sea level.

Since diffuse solar irradiance cannot be concentrated, only flat-plate (non-concentrating) solar
collectors and some low-temperature types of concentrators (having wide acceptance angles) can
collect diffuse solar irradiance. Few of the collectors used in industrial applications can utilize the
diffuse component of solar radiation.

The variation of these factors, especially that of water droplets (i.e. clouds) as they attenuate the
direct component and change the diffuse component, is the major unknown parameter in the
design of systems to collect solar energy. Consequently, a considerable amount of effort has been
and is being spent in measuring, cataloging, and developing analytical models to predict these
effects.

2.2.2 Solar Spectrum

The spectrum of solar radiation has been described in section 2.1.2. In addition to a reduction in
intensity, the spectrum of solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth is also modified as it
passes through the atmosphere. The processes taking place include Rayleigh and particulate
(dust and water) scattering and absorption by ozone, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. All of these
processes depend not only on the temporal condition of the atmosphere, but also on how much of
the atmosphere the sunlight passes through.

This latter factor is measured in terms of the air mass, which is simply the ratio of the distance that
solar radiation travels through the earth’s atmosphere (path length), to the distance (path length) it
would travel if the sun were directly overhead.

Radiation coming from directly overhead, therefore, is said to pass through an air mass of 1.0 at
sea level. Solar irradiance coming from a zenith angle of 60 degrees, would pass through

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approximately twice the perpendicular path length and hence an air mass of 2.0. The following
expression to approximate air mass at any zenith angle has been developed by Kasten and
Young (1989)

(2.5)

where the zenith angle is given in degrees. At sunset ( = 90º), this expression has a value of
37.92 and that is why there is very little solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface at sunset.

For altitudes other than sea level, the air mass calculated above is reduced by the ratio of the local
atmospheric pressure to standard sea-level atmospheric pressure.

The effect on the earth’s atmosphere on the solar radiation spectrum is shown in Figure 2.10 from
Thekaekara (1976) for different air masses of very clear, sea level air. Terrestrial solar spectrum
data sets are available on the NREL internet site cited at the end of this chapter

Figure 2.10 Solar spectral irradiance for different air mass values assuming the U.S. Standard atmosphere, 20
millimeters of perceptible water vapor, 3.4 millimeters of ozone, and very clear air (Thekaekara, 1976).

Note in Figure 2.10 the effects of the strong water vapor and carbon dioxide absorption bands in
the IR region (wavelength > 0.7 micrometers). Also note the reduction in blue and violet light
(wavelength 0.3-0.4 micrometers) due to particulate and Rayleigh scattering and the reductions in
the UV light (wavelength < 0.3 micrometers) due mostly to the ozone content of the upper
atmosphere. This is why the sunrises and sunsets appear to be red, since the sunlight at these
times must pass through more than 30 air masses. For small air mass values (in the mountains
near noontime), there is an abundance of UV and short-wavelength visible light. This explains the
need for strong eye and sunburn protection in the mountains and why photographs taken at high
altitudes have a bluish tint.

2.2.3 Sunshape

Considering the energy coming from the direction of the sun, two factors must be considered

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when using highly concentrating collectors: (1) there is an intensity variation across the disc of the
sun (limb darkening), and (2) the apparent radiation coming from just a few degrees away from
the sun’s disc (circumsolar radiation) may have a significant energy content.

Designers of central receiver systems and solar furnaces are interested in limb darkening because
the central region of the sun’s image produces a hot spot with higher flux than the overall average.
The study of circumsolar radiation (caused by atmospheric scattering) has gained importance
because many concentrators are designed to accept radiation coming only from the solar disc and
not circumsolar radiation, thereby causing a reduction of some of the concentrator’s potential
energy capture capability. The result is that even on a relatively clear day there is a difference
between the radiation measured by a normal incidence pyrheliometer (discussed in the next
section) having a 5-degree acceptance angle, and that which can be concentrated by a collector
that accepts radiation coming only from the nominal sun’s disc ( -degree acceptance angle).
Bendt and Rabl (1980) present a complete summary of this effect, based on extensive
measurements made at a number of sites by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories.

Sunshape data are typically presented in terms of the radiance distribution , which has the
units (W/m2 sr). This is defined as the radiance coming from a certain region of a bright surface
(i.e., the sun), with the region defined in terms of the solid angle it subtends to an observer on the
earth. The angle in brackets indicates that the radiance is a function of the subtended angle
measured from the center of the sun.

A solid angle of one steradian (sr), is defined as the solid angle that delineates an area on the
surface of a reference sphere equal to the radius-squared of that sphere. There are sr in a
hemisphere, and 1 sr is the solid angle formed by a cone having a vertex angle of l.144 radians
(65.54 degrees). To find the cone vertex angle subtended by a solid angle , the following
relationship applies:

(2.6)

and for small values of such as the angular size of the sun from the earth

(2.7)

where must be in radians. According to this expression, if the sun’s disc subtends a cone with a
vertex angle of 9.6 mrad (0.55 degrees), this is a solid angle of 7.238×10-5 sr.

Although the circumsolar radiation varies with the condition of the atmosphere, a "standard"
radiance distribution has been proposed by Bendt and Rabl (1980) and is shown in Figures 2.11
and 2.12. Figure 2.11 defines the variation of radiance across the sun’s disc, and Figure 2.12
defines the same parameter for a typical circumsolar scan. The angle is measured from the disc
center and is equal to one-half of the total subtended solar disc angle , used in subsequent
chapters. The irradiance coming from a certain region is found by integrating the radiance
distribution over the region of interest in the form

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(2.8)

Figure 2.11 Radiance distribution of the solar disc (Bendt and Rabl, 1980).

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Figure 2.12 Radiance distribution of a "standard" solar scan showing both solar disc and circumsolar radiation (Bendt
and Rabl, 1980).

Example: If the radiance distribution is a constant 1.2×107 W/m2sr over the sun’s disc (from zero to 4.80 mrad)
and there is no circumsolar radiation, then the global irradiance coming from that sunshape will be 869 W/m2.

2.3 Measurement of Solar Irradiance

2.3.1 Global Solar Irradiance - Pyranometers

The primary instrument used to measure global solar irradiance is the pyranometer, which
measures the sun’s energy coming from all directions ( steradian) in the hemisphere above the
plane of the instrument. The measurement is of the sum of the direct and the diffuse solar
irradiance and is called the global solar irradiance.

The most common pyranometer design uses a thermopile (multiple thermocouples connected in
series) attached to a thin blackened absorbing surface shielded from convective loss and
insulated against conductive losses as shown in Figure 2.13. When placed in the sun, the surface
attains a temperature proportional to the amount of radiant energy falling on it. The temperature is
measured and converted through accurate calibration into a readout of the global solar irradiance
falling on the absorbing surface. A properly designed instrument measures radiation in all the
solar wavelengths, and its response to direct radiation should be proportional to the cosine of the
angle between the sun and a line normal to the pyranometer absorber surface.

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Figure 2.13 The pyranometer and its use in measuring global horizontal, tilted global, and the diffuse components of
solar irradiance (photos courtesy of the Eppley Laboratory, Inc.).

The typical use of a pyranometer is for measurement of the global horizontal solar irradiance. For
this purpose, it is placed in a horizontal orientation and sufficiently high above the surroundings so
that it has a clear, hemispheric view of the entire sky with no shading or reflecting trees or
buildings within this field of view.

For a horizontally oriented pyranometer, the direct normal solar irradiance is reduced by the

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cosine of the angle of incidence, which in this case is the solar zenith angle . The measured
global horizontal solar irradiance is

(2.9)

where Ib,n represents the irradiance coming directly from the sun’s disk, measured normal to the
rays and Id,h represents the diffuse radiation falling on a horizontal surface. Figure 2.14 shows
typical global solar irradiance data recorded by a horizontally oriented pyranometer on both a clear
and cloudy day.

Figure 2.14 Example of global (total) irradiance on a horizontal surface for a mostly clear day and a mostly cloudy day in
Greenbelt, MD (Thekaekara, 1976): (a) global solar radiation for the day was 27.1 MJ/m2; (b) global solar radiation for
the day was 7.3 MJ/m2.

Pyranometers may also be used to, measure the global solar irradiance on inclined surfaces. An
example would be measurements from a pyranometer placed in the same plane as a tilted solar

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collector. As can be seen from the sketch in Figure 2.13, this measurement now includes solar
energy reflected from surrounding surfaces. However, various studies have indicated the
possibility that the pyranometer calibration may change with inclination. The use of this type of
data, along with a model permitting the prediction of tilted global solar radiation from standard
solar irradiance measurements is given in Chapter 4 of this text.

Instead of using a blackened absorbing surface with thermocouples attached (a thermopile),

investigators have proposed the use of silicon photovoltaic cells as an inexpensive alternative to
the thermopile. The short-circuit current produced by these cells is proportional to the intensity of
radiation striking the surface. Also, the rate of response of this current to changes in solar intensity
is rapid.

There are two effects that limit the accuracy of photovoltaic cell pyranometers and make them
unsuitable as primary standards. These are: (1) the cosine response of the surface of a bare
silicon photovoltaic cell is inaccurate, and (2) the spectral response of a solar cell is such that it is
sensitive to the red and near-IR component of radiation and is insensitive to blue and violet light
and the IR radiation of wavelengths longer than about 1.2 micrometers. This second characteristic
was depicted graphically in Figure 2.5. In spite of these problems, relatively accurate photovoltaic
pyranometers have been designed using diffusing and filtering devices to modify their input to
acceptable levels of performance.

2.3.2 Direct Normal Solar Irradiance - Pyrheliometers

To measure the direct normal component of the solar irradiance only, an instrument called a
normal incidence pyrheliometer or NIP is used. This device, shown in Figure 2.15 is essentially a
thermopile pyranometer placed at the end of a long tube which is aimed at the sun. The aspect
ratio of the tube is usually designed to accept radiation from a cone of about 5 degrees. A two-axis
tracking mechanism is incorporated to maintain the sun’s disc within the acceptance cone of the
instrument.

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Figure 2.15 A normal incidence pyrheliometer (NIP) used for measuring the direct component of solar radiation (photo
courtesy of the Eppley Laboratory, Inc.).

Since the sun’s disc is approximately degree from limb to limb, the normal incidence
pyrheliometer not only measures the direct radiation coming from the disc, but also most of the
circumsolar radiation. As discussed in the following paragraphs, the circumsolar component
becomes significant in atmospheres with considerable aerosols, where this instrument may
measure more energy than is available to most concentrating collectors. It appears, however, that
the 5-degree acceptance angle, is needed to eliminate the need for an extremely accurate normal
incidence pyrheliometer orientation and tracking system, and is therefore an operational minimum
for this type of instrument.

2.3.3 Diffuse Irradiance

Pyranometers may be modified to measure only the diffuse component of the global horizontal
radiation Idh. Providing a "shadowing" device just large enough to block out the direct irradiance
coming from the sun’s disc does this. An example of this technique is shown in Figure 2.13.

To avoid moving a shadowing disc throughout the day, a shadow band is often incorporated. This
band must be adjusted often during the year to keep it in the ecliptic plane. Since the shadow
band blocks part of the sky, corrections for this blockage must be used.

Recently, rotating shadow band pyranometers have come into general use. With this design, the
shadow band rotates slowly about the pyranometer blocking the direct irradiance from the sun
every time it passes in front of the pyranometer. The signal from the pyranometer reads global
horizontal irradiance most of the time, with reductions down to the diffuse irradiance level when
the shadow band passes between the sun and the pyranometer. This design gives the advantage
of using a single pyranometer to measure both global horizontal and diffuse horizontal solar
irradiance. The rotating shadow band pyranometer also avoids the constant adjustment of the
plane of the band.

The rotating shadow band pyranometer is used to determine the direct normal irradiance without
the need for tracking a pyrheliometer. This is done using Equation (2.9) and calculating the solar
zenith angle using techniques developed in Chapter 3.

2.3.4 Other Measurements

Sunshine Recorders. In addition to the pyranometer and the normal incidence pyrheliometer,
which measure the global and direct solar irradiance respectively, there is a traditional
measurement often-reported in meteorological observations. This is the "duration of sunshine."
The traditional standard instrument used to measure this parameter is the Campbell-Stokes
sunshine recorder. This instrument consists of a glass sphere that focuses the direct solar
radiation and burns a trace on a special pasteboard card. These recorders have been replaced in
most installations by photo detector activated ‘sunshine switches.’ The data produced by these
instruments are of minimal use to engineers because there is no measure of intensity other than a
threshold intensity. However, attempts have been made to correlate these data with daily or
monthly solar radiation levels.

Cloud -cover Observations. Another source of solar irradiance data is from periodic ground
observations of cloud-cover. These are made at least hourly at weather observation stations
around the world. Examining the SOLMET weather data tape format discussed below will show
the detail to which these observations are carried out in the United States. Cloud-cover data along

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with other weather data have been used to predict solar irradiance levels for the locations without
solar irradiance measurement capabilities.

Satellite Observations - A similar type of measurement correlation using satellite images appears
to provide accurate solar irradiance data over a wide region to a resolution of about 10 km.
Promising results have been obtained with the use of satellite images made half-hourly in the
visible (0.55-0.75 micrometer) and IR (9-12 micrometer) regions of the spectrum (Diak et al., 1982).
Cano et. al. (1986) describe a general method for determining global solar radiation from
meteorological satellite data.

More recent efforts to accurately predict solar irradiance from ground reflectance (albedo) data are
described in Ineichen & Prerz (1999). They have developed and validated models for producing
reliable solar irradiance data from satellite images. They developed a model that directly relates an
elevation dependent clearness index to the cloud index. This methodology presents a definite
advantage because it can be generalized to address the clearness index of other solar radiation
components, besides global irradiance, such as direct solar irradiance.

2.4 Solar Radiation Data Bases

When designing a solar energy system, the best way to predict its energy-production performance
would be to know what the minute-by-minute solar irradiance levels will be, over the lifetime of the
system, and at the exact location where the system will be built. Since weather patterns are
somewhat random in time and place, and are extremely difficult to predict, the system designer is
forced to accept historical data, recorded at a different location, with values reconstructed from
incomplete data records. Because of the inherent variability of future solar irradiance, however,
historical records are an extremely useful analytical tool, appropriate for a wide range of
applications. However, the designer must not be deluded to believe that system performance
predicted using even the best historical data, will represent the future output of the system.

2.4.1 Typical Meteorological Year Data Sets - TMY2

In order to rectify some of these problems, typical meteorological year or TMY data sets have been
developed. A typical meteorological year data set is made up from historical weather observations
for a set of 12 ‘typical’ months, at a specific location. Each typical month is chosen from a
multi-year set of data for a specific month, and selected because of having the ‘average’ solar
radiation for that month.

For example, solar radiation data for January of maybe 30 different years is searched to determine
in which year the January was typical or average. Next, 30 different February data sets are
searched to determine the typical February. As is usually the case, the typical January and the
typical February may not be from the same year. Typical months are determined for the remaining
months and some data ‘smoothing’ done for the transition between months. An hour-by-hour data
base is then generated of readings for all recorded weather parameters from each of the ‘typical’
months and is called a typical meteorological year.

A recent set of typical meteorological year data sets for the United States, called TMY2 data sets,
has been derived from the 30-year historical National Solar Radiation Data Base. This database
consists of hourly values, from 239 sites, of global and direct solar irradiance and numerous
associated weather parameters from the years 1961 to 1990. These data, along with a user’s
manual describing the derivation and format of the data may be found at the NREL internet site:

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User's Manual for TMY2s.

2.4.2 Clearness Index

Often, solar radiation levels are plotted in order to gain insight into the local and to permit
extrapolation between sites where accurate databases exist. Examples of these are available on
the NREL solar energy data site (see References at the end of this chapter). A concept used to
normalize these maps, and to present location-specific solar radiation data is the clearness index,
which is the ratio global horizontal solar radiation at a site to the extraterrestrial horizontal solar
radiation above that site

(2.10)

where Ho,h may be found using Equation (2.4).

2.4.3 European and Worldwide Solar Radiation Data Bases

A solar radiation data base atlas has been developed under the auspices of the European Union
(Scharmer & Greif, 2000). This atlas offers a unique instrument dedicated to the knowledge and
exploitation of the solar resources for Europe in a broad sense, from Ural to Azores and from
Northern Africa to Polar Circle and covers the period 1981-1990.

A computer program permitting calculation of hourly values of solar radiation data throughout the
world is available and has been validated at many sites (METEONORM, 2000). The program is
continually being updated to include more weather station data, reducing the amount of
extrapolation necessary between sites.

2.4.4 Solar Radiation Atlases

Solar radiation is defined as the amount of energy deposit ad at a specific location over a specific
period of time. It is believed that solar radiation, averaged over a period of many days, is somewhat
consistent within a distance scale of tens of miles over uniform terrain. The assumption may then
be made that monthly or yearly solar radiation measured at locations hundreds of miles apart, can
be interpolated to give valid solar radiation levels at any location between the points. Although
these assumptions are currently under study, it is generally considered that solar radiation maps
can provide some valid information about the solar climate.

A complete compilation of radiation and weather data contour maps depicting global, direct and
diffuse solar radiation along with weather data for the United States are presented in the Solar
Radiation Resource Atlas of the United States (SERI, 198l). These maps are constantly being
updated, and most are currently available on the NREL solar data web site.

Annual average daily solar radiation maps for global horizontal and direct (beam) normal are
shown in Figures 2.16 and 2.17, respectively. Note that the global horizontal values are typically
lower than the direct normal values as a result of the cosine effect on a horizontal surface
discussed previously.

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Figure 2.16 Annual average daily global horizontal solar radiation in the United States. Values are in MJ/m2 (SERI,
1981)

2
Figure 2.17 Annual average daily direct (beam) normal solar radiation in the United States. Values are in MJ/m (Knapp
and Stoffel, 1982)

Solar atlas maps provide a graphic view of regional average solar radiation levels and are a quick
source for finding monthly or yearly solar radiation levels. They are also useful in selecting the
best TMY data set to use in determining the performance of a solar energy system located a
considerable distance from any one of the TMY sites. To do this the designer selects the closest
TMY site that has a similar average solar radiation.

One obvious warning in accepting the validity of solar radiation map data is the effect of
microclimates. We all know of locations where fog will occlude the sun for a large portion of the
day, and a few miles away it will be clear. Also, weather patterns tend to be affected on a
micro-scale by mountainous terrain. The system designer should be aware of the existence of
microclimates and their impact on system performance predicted by using any of these databases.

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2.5 Analytical Models of Solar Irradiance

When developing a simple computer-based solar energy system performance model to study
some aspect of system design, it is often unnecessary to include the massive data handling
algorithms required to utilize data bases such as the TMY2 data base. An example would be doing
sensitivity analyses of some component change within a solar energy conversion system.
Closed-form solar irradiance models provide such a tool for inputting solar irradiance data into
analytical models. However, the designer should be warned that the accuracy of any such model
is extremely limited, and should only be used as a precursor to TMY or other hour-by-hour data
solar energy databases.

2.5.1 A Simple Half-Sine Model

Often, a simple analytical model of clear-day solar irradiance is all that is needed to predict
phenomena related to solar energy system design. One such model, used in the basic solar
energy system model, SIMPLES described in Chapter 13, is the half-sine solar irradiance model.
The only input required is the times of sunrise, sunset, and the peak, noontime solar irradiance
level.

(2.11)

where t is the time in hours (24-hour clock), and the sine term is in degrees. Since this model
produces negative values after sunset, a logical check for this in programs using this model must
be implemented.

Example: If sunrise is at 5:00, sunset at 19:00 and the noontime solar irradiance is 1,000 W/m2, this model predicts the
solar irradiance at 9:00 as 782 W/m2.

2.5.2 Hottel’s Clear-Day Model

The analysis of a solar energy system design is typically initiated by predicting its performance
over a "typical" "clear" day. There are a number of clear-day mathematical solar irradiance models
that may be used to predict the expected maximum hour-by-hour solar irradiance. An extensive
discussion of various solar irradiance models may be found in Iqbal (1983). Since the system
designer is encouraged to utilize solar irradiance databases rather than models for final analyses
of system performance, only one model, a simple clear-day direct solar irradiance model by Hottel
(1976), has been selected for presentation here.

Hottel’s clear-day model of direct normal solar irradiance is based on atmospheric transmittance
calculations using the 1962 U.S. Standard Atmosphere as follows:

(2.12)

where Io is the extraterrestrial radiation, Equation (2.1) and the solar zenith angle (see Chapter
3). The term in brackets may be regarded as an atmospheric transmittance for direct radiation. The
parameters a0, a1, and k are given below for a "clear" and an "urban haze" atmosphere, as a
function of location altitude. The empirical curve fits for these parameters given below are good for
location altitudes to 2.5 km (8,200 ft). Beyond that the reference should be consulted. For the
clear 23-km (14.3-mi.) visibility haze model, the three constants in Equation (2.12) are

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(2.13)

where A is the local elevation in kilometers.

For the urban 5-km (3.1-mi.) visibility haze model, the parameters are

(2.14)

The Hottel model may be extended to other climate types (consult the reference). For most
purposes, however, only a standard atmosphere correlation will be useful.

If global horizontal solar irradiance is desired rather than direct normal, the diffuse irradiance
component must also be approximated and then combined with the direct normal irradiance
component described by Equation (2.9). A clear-day correlation of the diffuse component of solar
radiation made by Liu and Jordan (1960) in terms of the atmospheric transmittance for direct
radiation provides an expression for the diffuse radiation falling on a horizontal surface. Combined
with Hottel’s direct normal model, the diffuse solar irradiance on a horizontal surface may be
calculated as

(2.15)

where the terms are the same as described for Equation (2.12). Other diffuse radiation models are
discussed in Iqbal (1983). A comparison of the calculated results from Equations (2.12) and (2.15)
are shown in Figure 2.18.

Example: Values of the direct and diffuse clear-day (23-km visibility) solar irradiance calculated by using Equations
(2.12) and (2.15) for Albuquerque, NM (35.03 degrees latitude, 1.619 km elevation) on the summer solstice. These
are shown in Figure 2.18 as solid lines in this figure. Also plotted are actual weather data for relatively clear days near
the summer solstice from the Albuquerque typical meteorological year (TMY) weather database. Note that cloud cover
lowers the direct and raises the diffuse radiation in the afternoon for three of the days. However, day 171 seems to be
clear for the entire day.

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Figure 2.18 Comparison of Albuquerque TMY data with solar irradiance values predicted by clear-day direct and
diffuse models for the same latitude and elevation on day 156.

Bibliography

Coulson, K. L. (1975), Solar and Terrestrial Radiation, Academic Press, New York.

Liou, K. N. (1980), An Introduction to Atmospheric Radiation, Academic Press, New York.

References

Bendt, P. and A. Rabl (1980), "Effect of Circumsolar Radiation on Performance of Focusing Collectors; "SERI Report
TR-34 -093, April.

Bird, R. E., R. L. Hurlstrom, and J. L. Lewis (1983), "Terrestrial Solar Spectral Data Sets," Solar Energy 30(6), 563.

Boes, E. C. (1979a), "Fundamentals of Solar Radiation, "Sandia National Labs Report SAND79-0490, December.

Boes , E. C. (1979b), "Insolation Modeling Overview ," Energy 4, 523.

Cano, D., J.M. Monget, M. Albuisson, H. Guillard, N. Regas and L. Wald (1986), "A Method for the Determination of the
Global Solar Radiation from Meteorological Satellite Data," Solar Energy, 37, pp 31-39.

Delinger, W. G. (1976), "The Definition of the Langley," Solar Energy, 18(4), 369.

Diak, G. R., C. Gautier, and S. Masse (1982),"An Operational System for Mapping Insolation from GOES Satellite
Data," Solar Energy 28 (5), 371.

Duncan, C. H., R. C. Willson, J. M. Kendall, R. G. Harrison, and J. R. Hickey (1982), "Latest Rocket Measurements of
the Solar Constant," Solar Energy 28 (5), 385.

Eddy, J. A. (1979), "A New Sun, the Solar Results from Skylab," NASA Report SP -402.

Fröhlich, C., and R. W. Brusa (1981), "Solar Radiation and its Variation in Time", Solar Physics 74, 209.

Hickey, J. R., B. M. Alton, F. J. Griffin, H. Jacobwitz, P. Pellegrino, R. H. Maschhoff, E. A. Smith, and T. H. Vonder Harr
(1982), "Extraterrestrial Solar Irradiance Variability. Two and One-Half Years of Measurements from Nimbus 7," Solar
Energy 29 (2), 125.

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Hottel, H. C. (1976), "A Simple Model for Estimating the Transmittance of Direct Solar Radiation Through Clear
Atmospheres," Solar Energy 18 (2), 129.

Ineichen, P. and R. Perez, "Derivation of Cloud Indel from Geostationary Satellites and Application to the Production of
Solar Irradiance and Daylight Illuminance Data," Theoretical and Applied Climatology, February.

Iqbal, M. (1983), An Introduction to Solar Radiation, Academic Press, New York.

Kasten, F. and A. T. Young (1989),"Revised Optical Air Mass Tables and Approximation Formula" Applied Optics 28
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Knapp, C. L., T. L. Stoffel, and S. D. Whittaker (1980), "Insolation Data Manual," SERI Report SERI/SP-755-789,
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Knapp, C. L. and T. L. Stoffel (1982), "Direct Normal Solar Radiation Data Manual, "SERI Report SERI/SP-281-1658,
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Liu, B. Y. H., and R. C. Jordan (1960), "The Interrelationship and Characteristic Distribution of Direct, Diffuse and Total
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METEONORM (2000), Meteonorm 2000 Version 4.0 - Global Meteorological Database, James & James (Science
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Scharmer, K. and J. Greif (2000), "The European Solar Radiation Atlas, Vol. 1 : Fundamentals and maps and Vol 2:
Data Base and Exploitation and Software, Les Presses de l'Ecole des Mines, Paris.

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Internet Web Sites

http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar NREL’s solar energy data site

http://www.satelight.com Solar radiation data for Western and Central Europe

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