Hourly Solar Radiation Model Suitable for Worldwide Typical Weather File Generation

Abstract

A new model is developed to predict hourly solar radiation for any climate zone worldwide. The model solar radiation predictions are suitable to generate typical weather files used to evaluate the long-term performance of renewable energy systems and building energy systems. The predictions of the new solar model are compared as well as measured solar radiation data obtained for several weather stations located in various climate zones worldwide. It is found that the new solar model is able to estimate monthly solar radiation with a 7% prediction error for secondary stations and 2% prediction error for primary stations.