Estimating the global solar radiation in Putrajaya using the Angstrom-Prescott model

Abstract

Abstract Global solar radiation (GSR) studies are essential in enhancing the use of solar PV systems especially for Building Integrated PV system (BIPV). Various studies on GSR had been carried out in Malaysia including Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bharu at the earlier stage. Afterward, data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET) and the Malaysian National University were used to estimate the monthly average daily global radiation for various locations in Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Bandar Baru Bangi, Kota Baru, Senai, Bayan Lepas, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. GSR in Putrajaya, a location which has identified to implement Malaysian Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) projects has yet to be estimated. The conventional method to obtain the amount of GSR at a location is to install a measuring device like a pyranometer at the site to observe and document its day-to-day recordings. However, this is a time-consuming and costly practice. The models used to estimate the GSR are usually based on astronomical factors, geometrical factors, physical factors and meteorological factors. There are numerous models used to predict GSR which can be categorized based on sunshine, cloud, temperature and other meteorological parameters. Additionally, the global solar energy models can be grouped by its modelling techniques such as linear, nonlinear, artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic modelling techniques. The reviews discovered that the models used to estimate GSR were mostly correlated to sunshine duration (SD), air temperature, relative humidity and geographical parameters like latitude, longitude and altitude. In this paper, the GSR in Putrajaya is estimated from the hourly solar radiation and daily sunshine hours data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department. The data, along with the calculated monthly average daily extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface and monthly average maximum possible daily sunshine is used to plot a scatter graph that is linearly fitted. The gradient and vertical axis cut-off from the linear fit is used to obtain the coefficients in the Angstrom-Prescott (A-P) model. Subsequently, the coefficients were used to estimate the GSR in Putrajaya. In line with the government’s initiative, this study will provide an estimation of the GSR in Putrajaya where the finding will be beneficial to the stakeholders, policy maker, developer and investor and energy authority. The average monthly GSR was obtained for nine out of twelve months with highest at 21.18 MJ/m2 in March and lowest at 18.34 MJ/m2 in June.