Browsing by Author "Brito, Miguel Centeno"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Characteristic Declination—A Useful Concept for Accelerating 3D Solar Potential CalculationsPublication . Brito, Miguel Centeno; Amaro E Silva, Rodrigo; Freitas, SaraThe characteristic declination is the declination for the day on which the daily extra-terrestrial irradiation on a horizontal surface is identical to its monthly average value. It was introduced as a means to determine monthly average values of irradiation. This paper explores its potential usefulness to reduce computing time when mapping solar potential in complex urban areas. This simplification reduces computing demand by a factor of 30x while introducing a +5 to +8% error in the annual monthly irradiation on a typical urban neighborhood for a low and mid-latitudes. Errors are larger (+10 to +12%) for high latitudes. The magnitude of the errors is comparable to other relevant uncertainties in solar mapping tools, associated with solar radiation modeling, the layout and details of the buildings or the PV energy yield models.