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Title: Diagnosing Model Errors in Simulations of Solar Radiation on Inclined Surfaces: Preprint

Conference ·

Transposition models have been widely used in the solar energy industry to simulate solar radiation on inclined PV panels. Following numerous studies comparing the performance of transposition models, this paper aims to understand the quantitative uncertainty in the state-of-the-art transposition models and the sources leading to the uncertainty. Our results suggest that an isotropic transposition model developed by Badescu substantially underestimates diffuse plane-of-array (POA) irradiances when diffuse radiation is perfectly isotropic. In the empirical transposition models, the selection of empirical coefficients and land surface albedo can both result in uncertainty in the output. This study can be used as a guide for future development of physics-based transposition models.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1259809
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5D00-66489
Resource Relation:
Conference: Presented at the 43rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 5-10 June 2016, Portland, Oregon
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English