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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Technique for classifying daily cloudcover conditions for the Southwest Residential Experiment Station (SWRES)

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6762645
This report describes a weather classification technique designed to aid the solar photovoltaic (PV) program at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque (SNLA) by providing a means to easily identify cloudcover conditions for any day in a PV site's data records. The technique, which was developed using data from the Southwest Residential Experiment Station (SWRES), Las Cruces, NM, is based on daily total horizontal and instantaneous peak values of insolation. SNLA devised and tested the technique to support the PV study that is investigating the effect of climatic variations on array life and performance. The analytical steps taken to devise the system are presented, and it is anticipated that the technique will serve as a model for other classification systems to be developed as required at other PV sites.
Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
6762645
Report Number(s):
SAND-84-0058; ON: DE84014355
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English