SOLAR ENERGY An INTRODUCTION

& Its APPLICATIONS

Advantages of Solar Energy
Absolutely free
 Absolutely clean (pollution free)
 Inexhaustible
 Abundantly available
 Economical
 The magnitude and importance of solar
energy are well known. However, being
an intermittent energy source, the
utilization of solar energy can be more
attractive and reliable if associated
with a heat storage systems.

 Utilisation of available solar energy can

reduce this energy demand but
availability is unpredictable and
therefore a form of thermal storage is
required
 Diameter of Sun 1.39 x 109 m
 Distance from the Earth 1.497 x1011 m
 Temperature of Sun 5777 K
 A continuous fusion reactor
 4(1H1) = 2He4 + 26.7 Mev
 This energy is produced in the interior of
the solar sphere
 40% of Mass, 1.2% of Volume & 90% of
Energy in the region of 0 to 0.23 R
 The earth is spinning about its axis
constantly.
 Earth axis at an angle 23.45oC
 Solar Radiation: Characteristics

Electromagnetic Spectrum
 Earth bombarded by electromagnetic
radiation from the sun
 Various forms of electromagnetic
radiation classified by their
wavelengths interact with the earth
and its atmosphere…make up the
electromagnetic spectrum
 Electromagnetic (em) Radiation Transfer
Electromagnetic (em) Radiation

7
Strahler and Strahler. Visualize. 1998.
 RADIATION…
is an wave that moves through
space at a constant speed:
300,000,000 m/s

Radiation comes in many forms...

•radio waves •microwaves •heat from a fire •light
•Ultraviolet rays •X-rays •Gamma rays
Electromagnetic Spectrum of the Sun
Variations of Solar Radiation
Spectrum of the sun compared
with that of the earth
 Ways to label radiation
 By its source
– Solar radiation - originating from the
sun
– Terrestrial radiation - originating from
the earth
 By its proper name
– ultra violet, visible, near infrared,
infrared, microwave, etc….
 By its wavelength
– short wave radiation   3 micrometers
– long wave radiation  > 3 micrometers
Earth's atmosphere reduces the amount of insolation
striking earth's surface. Earth's atmosphere and tilt
combine to explain variation in received solar radiation.
Solar energy that eventually reaches the surface in the far
north does not heat the surface effectively (reflection by
thick atmosphere, used for melting, and large spread)
Solar Radiation
 Air Mass
 The Air Mass is the path
length which light takes
through the atmosphere
normalized to the shortest
possible path length (that
is, when the sun is directly
overhead).
 The Air Mass quantifies the
reduction in the power of
light as it passes through
the atmosphere and is
absorbed by air and dust.
 Sun and earth relationships

Because the earth’s orbit is an ellipse instead of a circle, the

actual distance from the earth to the sun varies during the
year. The earth comes closer to the sun in January than it is in
July.
Earth-Sun Relations
 Seasons on the earth
 are defined by mean temperatures
 are regulated by the amount of solar
energy received at the top of the
earth’s atmosphere
– the angle at which the sunlight strikes
the surface
– the length of time the sun shines each
day (daylight hours)
 Why the earth has seasons ?
The earth has seasons NOT because its elliptical
orbit around the sun, or annual variations of its
distance from the sun

Noontime summer sun is Summer days have more

higher in the sky than is daylight hours than winter
the noontime winter sun days

Earth is inclined on its

axis as it revolves
around the sun

The reason for seasons

 Equinox

• The spring (vernal) and autumnal

equinoxes occur when the declination is
zero (March 21, Sept 21).

• Equinox means day length and night

length are equal (12 hr & 12 hr).
 Solstice
• Solstice refers to a point in the year where
the sun reaches a maximum declination
and day length and night length are most
uneven, for most parts of the globe.

• The summer and winter solstices

(June 21 and Dec 21) occur when the
declination is + or - 23.5 degrees.
(which roughly, but not exactly, matches
when the earth is at the extremes of its
orbit, i.e., either closest or furthest from
the sun).
Characteristics of the Solstices and
Equinoxes
 Geometry of Solar Absorption

Think about geometry of sunlight striking

our tilted spherical Earth: changes with
latitude and seasons
 The Atmosphere
The earth’s atmosphere is a mixture of gases (mostly nitrogen
and oxygen and water vapour), extending from its surface up
to an altitude of about 560 km.
The atmosphere allows solar radiation to strike the earth’s
surface, but then is able to absorb some thermal energy and
reflect it back to earth before it can go out into space. This is
called the greenhouse effect.

Without the greenhouse effect,

the average surface
temperature on the earth would
be about –20oC!
 Solar
radiation

Reflected by
atmosphere Radiated by
UV radiation
atmosphere
as heat
Most Lower Stratosphere
absorbed (ozone layer)
by ozone Visible Troposphere
light Heat radiated
Heat by the earth

Absorbed Greenhouse
by the earth effect
The atmosphere is
heated from the
bottom

Therefore it is
warmest near the
bottom,
and gets colder
with increasing
elevation
 How much energy is available?
 Above the atmosphere, we get 1367
W/m2 of radiated power from the sun,
across all wavelengths
– This number varies by ±3% as our distance to
the sun increases or decreases (elliptical orbit)

 At the ground, this number is smaller due

to scattering and absorption in the
atmosphere
– about 63%, or ~850 W/m2 with no clouds,
perpendicular surface
– probably higher in dry desert air
A naturally balanced budget
 Average Insolation
 The amount of light received by a horizontal
surface (in W/m2) averaged over the year (day
& night) is called the insolation
 We can make a guess based on the facts that on
average:
– half the incident light reaches the ground
– half the time it is day
– the sun isn’t always overhead, so that the effective
area of a horizontal surface is half it’s actual area
 half the sphere (2R2) projects into just R2 for the sun
 twice as much area as the sun “sees”
 So 1/8 of the incident sunlight is typically
available at the ground
– 171 W/m2 on average
 Insolation Variation
 While the average insolation is 171 W/m2,
variations in cloud cover and latitude can
produce a large variation in this number
– A spot in the Sahara (always sunny,
near the equator) may have 270 W/m2
on average
– Alaska, often covered in clouds and at
high latitude may get only 75 W/m2 on
average
– Is it any wonder that one is cold while
one is hot?
 What are Solar Radiation Measurements

Light from the Sky dome

•Direct from the sun
•Everywhere but the sun
•Entire sky

We call it
•Direct (beam)
•Diffuse (sky)
•Global (total)

Global is the sum of direct and diffuse

 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation
 The solar constant ( as defined for planet
Earth ) is the power collected at the top
of the atmosphere by a unit area
perpendicular to the light path. In what
follows, the unit area will be 1 m².
 Isc =1367 W/m2

 Iext
= Isc [1.0 + 0.033 Cos (360n/365)
(Duffe & Backmen, 1991)
 Beam Radiation (IB): It is the solar
radiation propagating along the line
joining the receiving surface and the sun.
It is also called direct radiation.
 Diffuse Radiation (Id): It is the solar
radiation scattered by aerosols, dust and
molecules. It does not have a unique
direction.
 Irradiance (W/m2): The rate at which
radiant energy is incident on a surface,
per unit area of surface.
 Irradiation or Radiant exposure (J/m2):
The incident energy per unit area on a
surface, found by the integration of
irradiance over a specified time, usually
an hour a day.
 Radiosity or radiant exitance (W/m2): The
rate at which radiant energy leaves a
surface per unit area, by combined
emission, reflection and transmission.
 Emissive Power or Radiant self-exitance:
The rate at which radiant energy leaves a
surface per unit area, by emission only.
 Albedo: The earth reflects about 30% of
all the incoming solar radiation back to
extraterrestrial region through
atmosphere.
 What are the Solar Radiation
Measurements
Direct Normal Global Horizontal Diffuse
Measured by a Measured by a Measured by a
Pyrheliometer on a Pyranometer with a shaded Pyranometer
sun-following horizontal sensor under a tracking ball
tracker
 Pyrheliometer
• Measures the direct solar beam
• Must be kept normal to the solar beam
(pointed at the sun)
• Pyrheliometer – absolute cavity
radiometer
• Alternately exposed to radiation source
(sun) and a heat source in the cavity
• Thermopile (multiple thermocouples) is
used to measure the temperature
difference between the source and the
reference cavity
•
Pyrheliometer
 Pyranometers
– Used to measure global solar
radiation

– Must respond to both the direct

solar beam and to diffuse sky
radiation from the whole
hemisphere

– Sensing element is a flat horizontal

surface
Pyranometer
 Why Do We Need Solar Radiation
Data?
 Agriculture Photosynthesis
 Astronomy Solar Output Variation
 Atmospheric Science Numerical Weather
Prediction
 Climate Change Energy Balance
 Health UV effects on skin
 Hydrology Evaporation
 Materials Degradation
 Oceanography Energy Balance
 Photobiology Light and Life
 Renewable Energy Sustainability
 Why Do We Need Solar Radiation
Data?
 Photovoltaic
 Solar Heat-thermal
 Solar Heat-electric
 Solar Fuel-biomass
 Passive Solar Lighting
 Building HVAC
 Solar Detoxification

Tom Stoffel & Steve Wilcox, NREL Hydrogen & Electric Technologies & Systems Center, 2004
 What Influences the Amount of
Solar Radiation?
 Earth-Sun distance 3.5% annual variation
 Clouds Dominant factor
 Water vapor Selective absorber
 Air pollution 40% less direct
 Smoke from forest fires Natural or man-made
 Volcanic ash Global effect for years
 Location
 Time of day Solar position
 Season
 Sun –Earth Angles

 Latitude: position
north or south of
equator
 Longitude: position
east or west of prime
meridian (runs
through Greenwich,
England)
 Latitude and Longitude

Dallas:
latitude = 32.78º N
longitude = 96.78º W

We can locate any place on the Earth's surface by its latitude and longitude.
Latitude measures angular distance north or south of the equator. Longitude
measures angular distance east or west of the prime meridian (which passes
through Greenwich, England).
Rae Bareli latitude/longitude

 Latitude: 28° 57' 0" N

 Longitude: 77° 32' 0" E
 Latitude: The latitude of a location is
the angle made by the redial line,
joining the given location to the center
of the earth, with its projection on the
equatorial plane. The latitude is
positive for the northern hemisphere
and negative for southern hemisphere
 On the globe, lines of constant longitude
("meridians") extend from pole to pole, like the
segment boundaries on a peeled orange.
 Every meridian must cross
the equator. Since the
equator is a circle, we can
divide it--like any circle--
into 360 degrees, and the
longitude φ of a point is
then the marked value of
that division where its
meridian meets the
equator.
 Longitude angles can
range up to +180 degrees
(180 degrees east), and
down to -180 degrees (180
degrees west).
Line of longitude are measured in degrees
east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Prime Meridian
 MAPS
 Latitude lines run
parallel to the
equator and are
measured N and S.
 Longitude lines
intersect at the poles
and measure E and
W.
 There are 60 minutes
in one degree and 60
seconds in one
minute.
• Solar altitude--is the elevation of the sun
above the horizon; is the complement of
the zenith angle.

• Zenith angle--is the angle between the

sun and the vertical at the earth's surface;
is the complement of the altitude.

zenith
angle

altitude
57
 Sun Angle
and Surface
Effect

58
Strahler and Strahler. 2003.
• Azimuth--angle between the
sun and true north, as measured
in the horizontal plane of the
observer.
N

azimuth
 Declination Angle
 Solar declination (δ) is the angle between
the earth-sun line and the equatorial
plane. Solar declination varies throughout
the year.
 Declination varies from a maximum value
of 23.45o on June 21 to a minimum value
-23.45o on December 21.
 δ = 23.45 Sin{360/365 *(284+n)}
 Where n is the number of the day of year
 Hour Angle
 Hour angle (H) is the angle on a
horizontal plane between the local solar
noon (meridian which contains the south-
north line) and the horizontal projection
of the sun's rays.
 Due to the rotation of the earth its axis at
15o per hour.
 The hour angle is zero at solar noon,
negative in morning and positive in the
afternoon for northern hemisphere (India)
and vice-versa for southern hemisphere
(Australia).
 H = 360/24 (ST-12)
where ST is the local solar time.

Time of the 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
day (hours)

Hours angle -90 -75 -60 -45 -30 -15 0

Time of the 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
day (hours)

Hours angle 0 15 30 45 60 75 90
surface azimuth angle for various orientations in
northern hemisphere

Surface orientation Angle

Sloped towards south 0o
Sloped towards North -180o
Sloped towards East -90o
Sloped towards West +90o
Sloped towards South-EAST -45o
Sloped towards South-West +45o
 Solar
Energy Solar Radiation Extraterrestrial
Solar Components Solar Radiation
Principles

Flat Plate Photovoltaic Optical Solar Radiation

Cell Properties for at Earth Surface
Collector
Materials for
Solar Radiation
Focusing Applications
Collector Energy Geographical
Storage Location and
Weather
Conditions

Solar Thermal Solar Direct Electric

Power Heating and Direct, Diffuse,
Power Reflected
Generation Cooling Generation Radiation
 Solar Energy Applications
 Solar Water Heating Systems
 Flat Plate collectors
 Evacuated Tube Solar Collector
 Concentrating Type Collector
 Solar Air Heater
 Solar Crop Drying
 Solar Concentrator
 Box Type Solar Cooker
 Solar Distillation
 Solar House
 Solar Energy With Energy Storage
 Photovoltaic
 Satellite Power Station
 Solar Power Satellites providing a
better way of power generation
 Transmission of power to earth via
microwaves
 Collection of power by specially
developed antennas (rectennas)
 Possible Designs

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