Solar Radiation,Sun structure and

characteristics

The sun is a hot sphere of gas whose internal temperatures reach

over 20 million degrees Kelvin due to nuclear fusion reactions
at the sun's core which convert hydrogen to helium.

Sun Radiation outside the earths

Atmosphere

Solar radiation in space

The solar irradiance on an object some distance D from the sun is found
by dividing the total power emitted from the sun by the surface area over
which the sunlight falls.
The total solar radiation emitted by the sun is given by T 4 multiplied by
the surface area of the sun (4R2sun) ,Rsun is the radius of the sun.
The surface area over which the power from the sun falls will be 4D 2. D
is the distance of the object from the sun.

Spectrum of Electromagnetic
Radiation

Solar radiation data requirements

Solar heating and
cooling (below 100 C
(using flat plate
collectors)
Passive architecture
Medium/hightemperature industrial
process heating
(using concentrating
collectors)
Solar thermal power
generation
(using concentrating
collectors)
Photovoltaic applications

Global and diffuse solar

radiation

Global solar radiation

Direct normal (or beam)
radiation

Direct normal (or beam)

radiation

Global solar radiation

Solar Constant
DEFINITION
Other details

Spectral distribution
Diagram to be explained, plus other
details on this topic.

Sun earth geometric relationship

&
Suns trajectories in different seasons

Geometry of the earthsuntime

system

geometric relationship
The orbit of earth around the sun is
elliptical.
Thus, the distance between the earth and
the sun varies from time to time.
It is minimum (147.1 106 km) at winter
solstice on 21 December, and the point in
the orbit is known as perihelion.
It is maximum (152.1 106 km) at summer
solstice on 21 June, and the point in the
orbit is known as aphelion.

EQUINOXES and SOLSTICES

SOLSTICE
SUMMER SOLSTICE:
The first day of the Season of Summer.
On this day (JUNE 21 in the northern
hemisphere*) the Sun is farthest north and the
length of time between Sunrise and Sunset is
the longest of the year.
WINTER SOLSTICE:
The first day of the Season of Winter.
On this day (DECEMBER 22 in the northern
hemisphere*) the Sun is farthest south and the
length of time between Sunrise and Sunset is
the shortest of the year.
*In the southern hemisphere, winter and
summer solstices are exchanged.
Summer: December 22. Winter: June 21.

EQUINOXES and SOLSTICES

EQUINOX
Two times of the year when night and day are about the
same length.
The Sun is crossing the Equator (an imaginary line around
the middle of the Earth) and it is an equal distance from
the North Pole and the South Pole.
SPRING EQUINOX:
The first day of the Season of Spring - and the beginning
of a long period of sunlight at the Pole.
In the northern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses
the Equator moving northward).
In the southern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun
crosses the Equator moving southward).
AUTUMN EQUINOX:
The first day of the Season of Autumn - and the beginning
of a long period of darkness at the Pole.
In the northern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun
crosses the Equator moving southward).
In the southern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses
the Equator moving northward).

Suns trajectories in different

seasons

In Alaska the sun remains visible in the night sky around the time of the
summer solstice.
The polar regions are continually illuminated and there is 24-hour
daylight throughout the Arctic Circle.
This is down to a latitude 23 degrees from the pole, matching the
angle of Earth's tilt.
While the north enjoys constant daylight the opposite occurs at the
South Pole.
When the Northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun the Southern

variation of the extraterrestrial

radiation
The solar radiation at the entrance into the
Earth atmosphere is known as
extraterrestrial radiation.
The intensity of extraterrestrial solar
radiation is challenge because of the
change in distance between the Earth and
Sun and because of the Sun activity.
The value of this radiation during the
course of a year changes in the range from
1307 (W/m2) to 1393 (W/m2 )

variation of the extraterrestrial

radiation
This tilt causes the sun to appear higher in the
sky in summer, causing more hours of
daylight and more intense, direct sunlight, or
hotter conditions on the surface of the earth.
On the other hand, during winter, the suns
rays hit the earth at a shallow angle. As these
rays are more spread out, the amount of
energy that hits any given spot gets
minimized. Moreover, the long nights and
short days prevent the earth from warming
up.

changes in the distance

At the beginning of April and September,
the earth is at a mean distance of 149.6
106 km from the sun.
The suns visible diameter also changes as
the earth moves round its orbit.
In January, the angle subtended by the
diameter of the disc is at its maximum at
3236, and in July, it is minimum at 3132.
When the earth is at its mean distance from
the sun, this angle is about 32

changes
in the radiation flux
The changes in the distance
throughout the year lead to changes
in the radiation flux reaching the
earth from the sun;
the radiation flux varies inversely
with the square of the distance

estimation
The variation of the extraterrestrial
radiation with the time of the year
can be estimated using Equation

Gon is the extraterrestrial radiation on

the nth day of the year (n = 1 for 1
January) and GSC is the solar
constant.

SOLAR ENERGY
RESOURCES

-------Solar angles--------

The Solar angles

Latitude
Solar declination
Hour angle
Slope
Solar azimuth angle
Surface azimuth angle
Angle of incidence
Zenith angle
Solar altitude angle

LATITUDE

 *One more latitude image*

SOLAR DECLINATION

Solar declination

The angle between the earthsun line (through their

centres) and the plane through the equator is called
the solar declination.
It varies between 23.45 on 21 December and
+23.45 on 21 June.
Solar declination can be estimated using the
expression.

where n is the day number during a year (1 January

being n = 1).

Hour angle
It is the angular displacement of
the sun, east or west of the local
meridian, due to rotation of the
earth on its axis at 15 per hour.
(morning negative and afternoon
positive)

The different solar angles

SLOPE
The slope or tilt is the angle
between the plane of the surface
concerned and the horizontal.
Denoted by

Solar azimuth angle

Angular displacement from the south
of the projection of the beam
radiation on the horizontal plane
Or
Angle between a line due south
and the shadow cast by a vertical
rod on Earth.

Surface azimuth angle

Angle made in the horizontal plane
between the line due south and the
projection of the normal to the
N
surface on the horizontal plane

Angle of Incidence & Zenith

Angle
Angle of Incidence:
Angle between the beam radiation
on a surface and the normal to that
surface.
Zenith Angle :
Angle of incidence of the beam
radiation on a horizontal surface.
Special case of incident angle.

SOLAR ALTITUDE ANGLE

Angle between the horizontal and the
line of the sun. Also known as
elevation angle

Combined formula

The relationship between incidence angle and other

angles :
Cos () = Sin(sin cos + cos cos cos sin)+ cos
(cos cos cos sin cos sin )+ cos sin sin sin

=latitude, =solar declination ,

=slope or tilt,
=surface azimuth angle , =hour
angle, = angle of incidence

Numerical
What is the angle of incidence at noon in
Mumbai for a horizontal plane on the 1 st
November at noon. (Take =19.1 )
Here, =0 (at noon =0),
=0 as the plane is horizontal
Thus, the terms that remain are:

Numerical
Cos () = Sin sin cos + cos cos cos cos
eq.1
From data we know that =19.1 (for mumbai).
=(-15.36) from following relation

N=305 (as the date is 1st November)

Thus, from eq.1, Angle of incidence ()= 34.51

AIR MASS
Air mass m is the path length of
radiation through the atmosphere.
m=1/cos
where is the angle from the vertical
(zenith angle).
When the sun is directly overhead, the
Air Mass is 1.

The Air Mass quantifies the reduction in the power of

light as it passes through the atmosphere and is
absorbed by air and dust.

An easy method to determine the air mass

is from the shadow of a vertical pole.

Air mass is the length of the hypotenuse

divided by the object height h.

Beam radiation
The part of solar radiation that reaches the
earth without any change in direction is
called beam radiation. It is also known as
direct radiation.

Diffused radiation
The solar radiation received by the earth
after its direction gets changed because of
scattering in the atmosphere is known as
diffuse radiation.

Total solar radiation

The sum of the beam and the diffuse
components of solar radiation is called
total solar radiation.

Irradiance
The solar irradiance G is the rate at which
the radiant energy is incident on a unit
area of a surface. It is denoted in terms of
W/m2.

Insolation
The incident solar energy radiation (or
irradiation) is also termed as insolation.
While H is insolation for the day, I is the
insolation for a specific time period,
usually one hour. H and I are expressed
in W-hr/m2/day and W-hr/m2/hr,
respectively.