Abstract
Solar radiation data is an essential pre-requisite for the designing, sizing and performing evaluation of any solar energy conversion system in any part of the globe, even though solar radiation data are not readily available for many location of many developing countries such as Nigeria, hence the needs to rely on empirical models. There are many developed models across the globe for the estimation of solar radiation, to identify the optimum performing model for locations such as Katsina requires the comparism between the various models. In this study, performance evaluation of six selected models for the estimation of global solar radiation was carried out for Katsina location, Nigeria. The models were formed from different combinations of some meteorological parameters (sunshine hours, relative humidity and temperatures) obtained for a period of ten years (2006-2015) from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Monthly average extraterrestrial global solar radiation was evaluated for the locations. The data was analysed to find the empirical constants for all the selected models in the locations. Estimated values of global solar radiation was obtained from the six selected models. The estimated values were then compared using statistical parameters (mean bias error (MBE), mean percentage error (MPE), root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determinant (R<sup>2</sup>). Model 6 was found to be the optimum model for Katsina because it fitted the measured data most for each month of year based on various statistical parameters used for the analysis.
Highlights
It is becoming glaringly clear that energy demand may not be met by sources from fossil fuels alone as such the need to complemented energy sources from fossil fuels with sources from that of renewable which are sustainable and environmentally friendly such as solar and wind
Energy comes from many sources and most of these energy sources are substitutable to one another due to the fact that energy can be converted from one form of energy to another- such as: Coal to electricity, Use of photo-electricity to derive a chemical reaction, Wind energy to pump and store water that could be used to produce electricity when required, Solid biomass to produce liquid or gaseous fuels of higher calorific value, etc. [4]
The extraterrestrial solar radiation calculated for the locations is as shown in the Table 3
Summary
It is becoming glaringly clear that energy demand may not be met by sources from fossil fuels alone as such the need to complemented energy sources from fossil fuels with sources from that of renewable which are sustainable and environmentally friendly such as solar and wind. This is because the availability of cheap, sustainable and abundant supply of energy is an index of measuring standard of living of any nation, and an indicator of its level of Industrialization [1]. The sun supplies the energy absorbed in the short term by the earth’s atmosphere and oceans but in the
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