Basics of Solar Radiationand Solar Power Generation

Rahmatillayev Sh
Department of
“Alternative
energy
• To understand radiation spectrum from sun and earth

• To know what is solar constant

• To familiarize with basic sun-earth angles

• Types of radiation reaching earth’s surface

• How to find out Local apparent time and solar day length?
• How to calculate Solar radiation data (monthly average daily diffuse
radiation and global radiation)?

• Instruments used to measure solar radiation

• Different technologies of solar power generation (PV & Solar Thermal)
Introduction - Energy

Wind Energy and Conversion Technology 5

 Basic Concept of Energy
• Today, energy is one of the major needs of society.
• The total amount of energy in the universe is constant.
• Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transformed from one
state to another.
• Energy, the environment, and economic development of a country are closely
related.
• The proper use of energy requires consideration of social impacts as well as
technological ones.
• Indeed, the sustainable economic growth of a country may be possible only by the
well-planned and efficient use of fossil fuel and locally available natural resources
such as solar energy, wind, hydro, and biomass. This improves the quality of
everyone’s lives on planet Earth.
The SUN- Solar Radiation
CHARACTERISTICS OF SUN
The SUN
 The sun is a gaseous body composed mostly of hydrogen
 Gravity causes intense pressure and heat at the core initiating nuclear fusing
reactions
 This means that atoms of lighter elements are combined into atoms of heavier
elements, which releases enormous quantities of energy
 Even when planet Earth is 93 million miles away, we still received an amazing
quantity of usable energy from the sun.
 Considering 25% efficient PV modules, if we used 1% of the surface of the
earth we could meet 29 times our current total energy demand.
 Sun is ultimately provide the Sourse
all usable energies

POWER PLANTS

indirect FOSSIL
FUELS
(COAL. OIL. GAS)

BIOMASS OIOGAS

direct
LIGHT
direct HEAT
indirect WIND
indirect WATER

SOLAR CELLS SOLAR COLLECTORS WIND POWER PI ANIS HYDROPOWER PLANTS

RES. RES RES

What kind of energy Does Sun provides?
.
SOLAR RADIATION- BASICS
 The earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit.

 The earth is closest to the sun on 21 March and 23 September.

 The earth is farthest from the sun on 21 June and 22 December. The mean
distance of the earth from the sun is 1.495 * 1011 m.
 The intensity of solar radiation outside the earth’s atmosphere reduces with
distance and it is dependent on the distance between the earth and the sun.
 The intensity of solar radiation reaching outside the earth’s atmospheric
varies with the square of the distance between centers of the earth and the
sun.
 This is the reason why earth receives 7 % more radiation on 21 March and 23
September
BASICS OF HEAT TRANSFER
PROPERTIES OF SOLAR RADIATION
SCATTERING
REFLECTION
REFLECTION
REFLECTION
Absorbtion
GLOBAL WARMING
REFRACTION
 Solar Radiation Spectrum
 Sun is a black body having high surface
temperature.
 The radiation spectrum consists of emission at various
wavelengths but more at short wavelengths.
 The maximum emissive power of the radiation takes
place at wavelength of 0.48um.
 The radiation spectrum from the earth consists mainly of
long wavelengths
 Solar Spectrum most the energy received from the
sun is electromagnetic radiation in the form of waves.

 Electromagnetic Spectrum is the range of all

types of electromagnetic radiation, based on
wavelength.
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Definitions and Concepts:
Radiation: Energy transmitted (or emitted) from a given “body” or “system”
The spectrum of wavelengths over which the total emitted energy originates
is a function of the body’s temperature → Planck’s Law
The integral of this energy (the area under each curve below) defines
the total temperature-dependent “black body” energy
 where: E = radiant energy (W)
λ = wavelength (m)
E   E d ε = emissivity (0 → 1)
σ = Stefan-Boltzmann constant (W m-2
K-4)
T = temperature (K)

23-03-2023
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Definitions and Concepts:
Radiation: Energy transmitted (or emitted) from a given “body” or “system”
The spectrum of wavelengths over which the total emitted energy originates
is a function of the body’s temperature → Planck’s Law
Since the black-body temperatures for the Sun (TBB = 5500-6000 K) and
Earth (TBB = 210-310 K) are significantly different, atmospheric radiation
is divided into two distinct broadband spectrums
Solar Radiation → Shortwave Radiation
Terrestrial Radiation → Longwave Radiation

23-03-2023
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Definitions and Concepts:
Radiation: The amount of shortwave (longwave) radiation reaching the base (top)
of the atmosphere depends on complex interactions (such as scattering,
reflection, and absorption) by clouds, aerosols, atmospheric gases,
as well as and the emission of longwave radiation

23-03-2023
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Definitions and Concepts:

• The net radiation (Rn) observed at the surface consists of all combined incoming and
outgoing longwave and shortwave radiation

RN  S B  S D  SU   LD  LU 

Top of Atmosphere
irradiance (STOA)

Downwelling
Longwave
(LD)
Direct beam
Shortwave Upwards
(SB) Reflected Diffuse Upwelling
Shortwave Shortwave Longwave
(SU) (SD) (LU)

23-03-2023
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Definitions and Concepts:
Radiant Flux: Amount of radiation coming from a source per unit time (W)
Radiant Intensity: Radiant flux leaving a point on the source per unit solid angle
of space (W sr -1)
Radiance: Radiant flux emitted / scattered per unit area from a source (W m-2 sr -1)
Irradiance: Radiant flux incident on a receiving surface from all directions (W m-2)

Absorptance: Fraction of irradiance that is absorbed by a medium

Reflectance: Fraction of irradiance that is reflected by a medium
Transmittance: Fraction of irradiance that is transmitted by a medium

SI units and W = watts Solid

Meteorology: sr = steradian (solid angle unit) Angle
m = meters

Instrument: Radiometer

23-03-2023
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Global Mean Energy Flows (W m-2)

23-03-2023
 Review of Atmospheric Radiation
Definitions and Concepts:
• Up to 90% of the total top of the atmosphere
shortwave irradiance (~1370 W m-2) reaches
the Earth’s surface
• Longwave emissions can reach 800 W m-2
• Surface radiometers should exhibit a
dynamic range → 0 – 1500 W m-2

23-03-2023
 Review of Solar Geometry
Orbital Variations:
• Earth’s orbit is elliptical (with slight eccentricity)
• Seasonal variations in shortwave radiation
arise due a 23.5º tilt in the axis or rotation
relative to the orbital (elliptical) plane
• Declination angle (δ) describes this tilt as a
function of the day of the year (d)


  23.5o sin 360 o
d  81
 365 

Local Solar Time:
• Solar angle (h) defines the fraction of local solar
time (t) the Earth has rotated since local solar
noon (t0) (when the Sun is directly overhead)

h  360o
t  to 
24
• Local solar time (measured on a sundial) differs
from a standardized clock by up to 1 hour

23-03-2023
 Review of Solar Geometry
Local Day Length (Lday):
• The length of a given day defines the duration
of solar heating at a given location

 24  1 

Lday  2  0 
360 tan  tan  
where: φ = latitude (degrees)
δ = declination angle (degrees)

Local Irradiance (STOA):

• The daily amount of solar radiation received over
a given location at the top of the atmosphere

STOA  S 0
86400
h0 sin  sin   cos cos sin h 0

where: S0 = total solar irradiance (W m-2)
h0 = hour angle between noon and sunset (degrees)
φ = latitude (degrees)
δ = declination angle (degrees)

23-03-2023
Solar Radiation Spectrum
Radiation is a composition of many wavelengths.
 Waves of different length carry different amount of energy.
 98% of SR is carried by wave of length 0.3 < /. < 3 micro m
 About 6.5% of the total energy is contained in the ultraviolet region (X < 0.38
micro m);
 another 47.9% is contained in the visible region (0.38 micro m < k< 0.78 micro
m);
 and 45.6% is contained in the infrared region >0.78 micro m).
 Irradiation
 It is solar energy per unit surface area which is striking
a body over a specified time
 It is the measure of power density of sun light falling per unit area and
time. It is measured in watt per square meter.

Solar irradiance is the intensity of solar power, usually expressed in

Watts per square meter [W/mA2]
 PV modules output is rated based on Peak Sun (1000 W/mA2).
 Since the proportion of input/output holds pretty much linearly for any
given PV efficiency, we can very easily evaluate a system performance
check by measuring irradiance and the PV module output.
 The amount of radiation received is proportional to the inverse of the
square of the distance from the source -that is, twice the distance.
Atmosphere Influence on Solar Radiation
The atmosphere is ~100-500 km
thick and consists of gas
molecules, particles and dust of
different concentration
The density of the atmosphere
decreases with the altitude
• The atmosphere has no sharp border
to space
• 75% of the atmosphere's mass below
10 km
Inclination of Earth’s Axis
• The earth axis is tilted about 23.5 with respect to
earth’s orbit around the sun
- the northern hemisphere of the earth points
towards the sun in the month of June and it
point away from the sun in the month of
December.
- However, earth’s axis remains perpendicular
to the imaginary line drawn from the earth
to sun during the month of September and
March.
- The sun- earth’s distance varies during
earth’s rotation around the sun, thereby
varying the solar energy reaching its surface
during revolution, which bring about
seasonal changes
Inclination of Earth’s Axis
Extraterrestrial radiation
• Solar radiation incident on the outer atmosphere of the earth is
called extraterrestrial radiation.
• The extraterrestrial radiation varies based on the change in sun-
earth’s distance arising from earth’s elliptical orbit of rotation.
Solar Constant
It is defined as the energy received from the sun per unit time on a unit surface area perpendicular to the
direction of propagation of solar radiation at the top of earth’s atmosphere when earth is at its mean distance
from the sun.
The value of solar constant is 1367W/m2.
The extraterrestrial radiation is determined by using solar constant or
The solar constant is the amount of incoming solar radiation per unit area, measured on the outer surface of
Earth's atmosphere, in a plane perpendicular to the rays.
• Every location on Earth receives sunlight at
least part of the year. The amount of solar
radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth's
surface varies according to:
— Geographic location
— Time of day
— Season
— Local landscape
— Local weather
Irradiation

Solar irradiation is simply the solar irradiance multiplied

by time. It is measured in Watt-hours per square meter
[Wh/mA2

It is measured in kilowatt-hour or kilowatt day per square meter. For

example,
if irradiance is 20 k W/m2for 5 h, irradiation is 20 x 5
= 100 k W/m2.
Terrestrial radiation

 Solar radiation subjected to atmospheric absorption and Scattering

depending on atmospheric conditions when it passes
through earth’s atmosphere.
 Earth’s atmosphere contains various constituents, suspended dust
and solid and liquid particles, such as air molecules, oxygen,
nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, water vapor and
dust.
 So solar radiation or intensity of radiation is depleted during its
passage through the atmosphere.
 The solar radiation that reaches earth’s surface after passing
through earth’s atmosphere is called terrestrial radiation.
Solar Radiation
Solar radiation reaches earth’s surface in two ways:
(i) Direct or beam radiation-

 The part of sun’s radiation

travels through earth’s atmosphere and its
reaches directly
 depends on the orientation of the surface
 The beam radiation depends on the angle of incident
on the surface and its intensity is maximum when
the solar radiation is falling normal to the surface.
 The solar radiation propagating normal to its
direction is specified by ln.
(ii) Diffuse or sky radiation - The part of radiation reaching
the earth’s surfaceby the mechanism of scattering and
reflecting
 The diffuse radiation takes place uniformly in all
direction and
 its intensity does not change with the orientation of
the surface.
Beam radiation: solar radiation along with the line joining the receiving
point and the sun is called beam radiation. This radiation has any unique
direction.

Diffuse radiation: solar radiation which is scattered by the particles in

earth’s atmosphere and this radiation dose not have any unique direction.

Total or global radiation at any location on earth’s surface

= beam radiation + diffuse radiation.
Air Mass (m)
 The radiation reaching earth surfaces depend on GXTJJATEKR
atmospheric conditions and solar altitude.
ATMOS
 Air mass is the ratio of the path length through the
atmosphere which the solar beam actually traverses up to
earth’s surface to the vertical path length through the
atmosphere.
 Air Mass represents how much atmosphere the solar
radiation has to pass through before reaching the Earth’s
surface
 Air Mass (AM) equals 1.0 when the sun is directly overhead
at sea level. AM = 1/ Cos 0z
 We are specifically concerned with terrestrial solar radiation -
that is, the solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth.
 At high altitudes or in a very clear days, Peak Sun may be
more than 1000 W/m2 but it is a practical value for most
locations Peak Sun Hours is the number of hours required for
a day’s total radiation to accumulate at peak sun condition.
 Air Mass (m)
At sea level, the air mass is unity when the sun is vertically is in the sky
(inclination angle 90°).
Air mass= Path length travelled by beam radiation = AC
Vertical path length of the atmosphere AB
 Basic Sun-Earth Angles
Latitude or angle of latitude is the angle made by the radial line joining
the specified location to the centre of earth with the projection of this line on
the equatorial plane.
Declination angle
is the angle made by the line joining
the centres of sun and earth with
equatorial plane.
-The angle of declination varies when
earth revolves around the sun.
-maximum value of 23.45 ° on
21 June and minimum value of -
23.5 ° on 22 December. The
angle of declination is = 23.45 x sin[ ----3--6--0
----(284 + n)
365
Solstices
Equinoxes
 Hour Angle
Time is determined by the HOUR ANGLE of the Sun. The angle is
measured in hours, minutes and seconds just in same way as right
ascension.

Hour angle is defined as the angle of the Sun from the local
MERIDAN measured along the celestial equator in the westerly
direction.

As the Earth rotates this angle increases by 15 degrees every hour.

The Hour Angle ranges from 0 to 24 hours. EXAMPLE: 10 am local  The angle through which the earth has to turn to bring the
meridian of the observer directly in line with sun’s rays.
time has the sun 2 hours east of your local meridian. This is 22
hours west of that meridian hence the Hour Angle is 22 hours.  It is the angle in degree traced by the sun 1 h with reference to 12
noon of the location Local apparent time (LAT) is
positive in afternoon and negative in
The local meridian is a reference line on the celestial spherer that forenoon
stretching from the north celestial pole to the south point of the
local horizon. The sun is on the local meridian at noon local time.
 Hour Angle

• The earth completes one rotation (360) in 24 h.

• So 1 h corresponds to 15°of earth rotation.
• As at solar noon the sun rays is in the line with local meridian or longitude,
the hour angle at that instant is zero.
Zenith angle (0Z)
the angle between sun’s ray and normal
to horizontal plane.
Solar azimuth angle (ys): the angle
between the projection of sun’s ray to the
point on the horizontal plane and line due
to south passing through that point.
Angle of incidence (0): the angle
formed between the direction of the sun
ray and the line normal to the surface.
Tilt or slope angle (p): the angle between the inclined slope and the
horizontal plane.
Surface azimuth angle (y): the angle is horizontal plane between the line
due south and the horizontal projection of normal to the inclined plane
surface. It is taken as positive when measured from south towards west.
Elevation Angle

The angle of elevation is an angle that is formed between the

horizontal line and the line of sight. If the line of sight is
upward from the horizontal line, then the angle formed is an
angle of elevation.
Incidence Angle is the angle between the direction of direct radiation and a line
exactly perpendicular to the array angle
ArrayOrientation

AZIMUT H
The orientation of PV arrays and other solar
collectors is defined by two angles with
respect to the earth’s surface.

The collector azimuth angle represents

the angle between due geographic south
and the direction the collector faces.

The collector tilt angle represents the

angle the array surface makes with the
horizontal plane.

The solar incidence angle represents the

angle between the sun’s rays and the
normal (perpendicular) to a collector
surface.
 Surface
Zenith Normal

Solar
Incidence
Angle East - 90°
North - 0°

Collector
Tilt Angle

Horizontal
Plane

Collector
Azimuth
Angle
West - 270° South - 180°
Surface
Direction
 Maximum annual solar energy is received on a fixed surface that
faces due south and is tilted from the horizontal at an angle
Slightly less than local latitude.

Fall and winter performance is enhanced by tilting collectors at angles

Greater than latitude. Spring and summertime performance is enhanced by tilting collectors
at angles lower than latitude
Array orientation is defined by two
angles:
1. Tilt angle is the vertical angle between the horizontal and
the array surface
OptimumArray Tilt Angles

SUMMER
SOLAR SUNPATH
WINDOW WINTER
SUNPATH
EOUINOX
SUNPATH
LARGERTILT
TILT ANGLE ANGLE
CLOSE TO
LATITUDE

SMALLER
TILTANGLE

MAXIMUM ANNUAL MAXIMUM SUMMER MAXIMUM WINTER

ENERGY PRODUCTION ENERGY PRODUCTION ENERGY PRODUCTION
Two-Axis Tracking Vertical-Axis Tracking East-West Tracking

Optional seasonal Optional seasonal

adjustment adjustment

North

West

East

South
Sun position
Altitude Angle
THANK YOU
Local Apparent Time

is the time used for determining hour angle.

LAT =
standard time
+ 4 (standard time longitude -location
longitude) + (equation of time
correction)
Calculate Hour Angle for Local Apparent Time Given by i) 6 AM ii) 9 AM
iii)12 noon iv) 3 PM v)6 PM vi)9 PM

Solution:
The hour angle is given by co = [Solar time -12] x 15
0
i) Solar time 6 AM co= [6-12] x 15 0 = - 90 0
ii) Solar time 9 AM co= [9 -12] x 15 °= -45 0

iii) Solar time 12 noon co = [12 -12]

ixv)1S5ol°a=r 0 ° e 3 PM= 15
tim co= [15 -12] x 15 °= 45 0

v) Solar time 6 PM =18 co= [18-12] x 15 °= 90 0

Vi)Solartime 9 PM=21 co = [21 -12] x 15 °= 135 0

Calculate the number of daylight hours in Srinagar
(latitude of 34°05’) for 1 January and 1 July?
Solution:
• Declination angle
where n is number of days of the year counted from 1 January
• Casel: 1 January

n=1
 Intensity of Terrestrial Radiation

• The normal intensity (lN) and intensity

normal to horizontal surface
• The beam radiation (lb) and diffuse radiation
(ld) on horizontal surface is given by
Find the solar altitude at 2 h after local solar angle
on 1 June for place located at 26.75° N latitude.
Determine sunrise and sunset hours as well as day
length?
Solution
• n= 31+28+31+30+31+1 = 152

360
23.45 xsin = 23.45 xsin
.365
(284+ 152) = 22°
Why solar thermal power plants ?

Conventional power plants

Why solar thermal power plants ?

 To achieve such a high temperature, a concentration of

solar radiation is a necessity.
 Three commonly used configurations for stand-alone solar
thermal power systems were developed in the 1970s:
1) the parabolic trough concentration system,
2) a system of a central receiver with heliostats, and
3)the paraboloidal dish concentration system.
 Recently, the Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC)
system has attracted much attention. The Compact Linear
Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) system, suitable for the ISCC
system, has observed a rapid development.
Why solar thermal power plants ?

Solar thermal power plants

Why solar thermal power plants ?
 use the largest renewable resource in
the world
 can be integrated into conventional
thermal power plants
 provide firm capacity (thermal
storage, fossil backup)
 serve different markets (bulk power,
remote power, heat, water)
 have the lowest costs for solar
electricity
 have an energy payback time of only
6-12 months
Solar thermal power plants
Example: 50 MW parabolic trough plant ANDASOL 1
Example: 50 MW parabolic trough plant ANDASOL 1
Example: Central Receiver Systems
Overview of Solar Thermal Systems
 Solar thermal systems convert sunlight to heat

 Categorized by reflector/collector types

 None; uses lens; regular or Fresnel

 Flat mirror (possibly many of them)

 Parabolic/cylindrical: single axis forms “trough”

 Paraboloidal: axis of revolution forms “dish”

 Spherical: approximates paraboloid, but focus can move

to track sun
Flat-Plate Absorbers
 Perforated black metal sheet leaks air in through slots, and
a fan pushes/pushes hot air to desired area
 Trombe Wall absorbs solar heat and stores it
 Glass wall plus water barrels often used
 Warmed air is slowly released into the building at night
 Water heater with roof solar collector
 Food dryers circulate warmed air over cut food to remove
moisture and preserve it; dried fruit, etc.
 Wood dryers “cure” green wood to reduce shrinkage after it
is cut to size (manufactured)
Flat-Plate Absorbers
 Perforated black metal sheet leaks air in through slots, and
a fan pushes/pushes hot air to desired area
 Trombe Wall absorbs solar heat and stores it
 Glass wall plus water barrels often used
 Warmed air is slowly released into the building at night
 Water heater with roof solar collector
 Food dryers circulate warmed air over cut food to remove
moisture and preserve it; dried fruit, etc.
 Wood dryers “cure” green wood to reduce shrinkage after it
is cut to size (manufactured)
Axicon Conical Reflector

 A polished mirror cone

reflects the sun onto a
water-filled pipe and can boil
the water
 The surface of polished metal
or foil is cheap to make and
form
 First used in the 1800s
Solar Focusing Systems: Paraboloidal

 The focus at one spot is

achieved by the parabolic
cross-section
 Flat mirror segments may be
used to approximate the
curve at much lower expense
Parabolic Trough Collectors

 This large array shows the gaps

needed to keep one row from
shadowing the next row

 Note the flexible pipe at this end

that circulates the thermal oil
regardless of the tilt angle

 In the background is the control and

engineering building
Parabolic Trough Collectors
Solar Power Towers
Solar power towers were developed at Sandia,
south of Albuquerque, New Mexico
 Salt was melted by the focused heat
 If the sun was blocked, the salt could harden
in the pipes, requiring torches to get it flowing
again
 The heliostat mirrors are about ten feet square
and mounted on the azimuth-elevation mounts
(like a radar antenna mount) about 10 feet off
the ground
The larger version with a full circle array, Solar
One, was built near Barstow, CA
 Water is used, but the system is being
modified for molten salt
http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/sol
arthermal/NSTTF/question.htm
Solar Power Towers
 Solar power towers were developed at Sandia,
south of Albuquerque, New Mexico
 Salt was melted by the focused heat
 If the sun was blocked, the salt could
harden in the pipes, requiring torches to get
it flowing again
 The heliostat mirrors are about ten feet
square and mounted on the azimuth-
elevation mounts (like a radar antenna
mount) about 10 feet off the ground
 The larger version with a full circle array, Solar
One, was built near Barstow, CA
 Water is used, but the system is being
modified for molten salt
http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/
solarthermal/NSTTF/question.htm
Solar Power Towers: Sandia CRTF

 The large tank

stores energy to
use during cloud
passage or at
dusk
 The output power
is extracted at a
constant rate
75 kW Solar Thermal Test Facility
Conclusion
 Solar thermal systems are cost effective at low temperatures for water
heating or cooking

 Water heaters are energy savers, but initial cost dissuades many from
using them

 Power tower electricity cost is at $6/W peak, too high to compete with PV
power

 Massive power tower yields 10 MWe, while a typical utility plant is 500-
1500 MWe

 Power towers aren’t likely to be economically practical for some time

 Solar dryers, cookers, and ovens are relatively inexpensive and available
for remote cooking