Abstract
Using sunshine duration, cloud cover, relative humidity, average of maximum temperature, and ground albedo as the input of several radiation models, the monthly average daily solar radiation on horizontal surface in various coastal cities of the South (25.23∘N) and the North (38.42∘N) of Iran are estimated. Several radiation models are tested and further are revised by taking into consideration the effects of relative humidity, ground albedo, and Sun-Earth distance. Model validation is performed by using up to 13 years (1988–2000) of daily solar observations. Errors are calculated using MBE, MABE, MPE, and RMSE statistical criteria (see nomenclature) and further a general formula which estimates the global radiation in different climates of coastal regions is suggested. The proposed method shows a good agreement (less than7%deviation) with the long-term pyranometric data. In comparison with other works done so far, the suggested method performs a higher degree of accuracy for those of two regions. The model results can be extended to other locations in coastal regions where solar data are not available.
Highlights
Iran has a variety of climates from the South to the North and is located in a region where the potential of global solar radiation is considerably high
Model calculations were carried out using several radiation models for the estimation of monthly mean global solar radiation at coastal cities
Though replacing the new solar constant in models did not lead to an improvement of the results, other modifications improved the model results by up to 5%
Summary
Iran has a variety of climates from the South to the North and is located in a region where the potential of global solar radiation is considerably high. The coverage of solar radiation monitoring sites is not standard to be properly used in energy, agriculture, and other sectors. Total daily solar radiation (Rsc) is considered as the most important parameter in the performance prediction of renewable energy systems, in sizing photovoltaic (PV) power and solar heating systems. Rsc data are required for agriculture and building design applications. Solar radiation measurements and estimated Rsc data are important tools for many areas of research in Iran. Since solar measurements in coastal regions of Iran are sparse, developing a general simple radiation model for reliable prediction of solar energy in other Iranian coastal locations is required
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