Solar Radiation Estimation For Modelling High Performance Photovoltaic System Designs

Abstract

Estimation of solar radiation levels involves various techniques such as using data obtained from weather stations, commercial softwares, and mathematical models which cover a wide range of forms within. The limited number of weather stations as well as the cost of required equipment result in higher interest in taking advantage of estimation models due to their time and cost efficiency. However, such models heavily depend on the characteristics of the specific region to be analyzed. Geographic and climatic conditions make significant differences in terms of model accuracy. This study involves model selection for two cities in the third climatic region of Turkey and calculating the solar radiation characteristics both on horizontal and inclined surfaces. The obtained results carry the potential of serving as an integral part of constructing country-wide model for solar radiation estimation.