Prediction of the received global solar irradiance for clear days – simple approach

Abstract

Abstract The prediction of the global solar radiation through a distribution function q(t), W/m2 for clear days is given where “t” is the local day time.: The distribution is based on a simple model and is expressed through well-established parameters such as the length of the solar day “td” and the maximum value of the received solar irradiance qmax, w/m2 at time instant “to”.qmax is expressed in terms of the solar constant. Comparison between the computed values of q(t) and the corresponding published experimental data for Hong Kong (China), Valencia( Spain) and Makah (Saudi Arabia) are given as illustrative examples. A test for the degree of fitting is also clarified.