Difference between revisions of "Insolation"

From Open Source Solar Project
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Created page with "Category:PV source A Peak Sun Hour (PSH) is a standardized unit that is used to quantify the amount of solar energy that a location receives during an day, month or year....")
 
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Category:PV source]]
 
[[Category:PV source]]
A Peak Sun Hour (PSH) is a standardized unit that is used to quantify the amount of solar energy that a location receives during an day, month or year. A Peak Sun Hour is defined as 1m² receiving sunlight with an intensity or [[Solar PV module#Standard test conditions|irradiance]] of 1000 W/m² for 1 hour. The power rating of [[Solar PV module|PV modules]] is determined by testing under [[Solar PV module#Standard test conditions|standard test conditions]], one of which specifies that the test be performed with light of an intensity of 1000 W/m². The average PSH value for a given location will largely determine the amount of energy that a PV system produces, therefore it is a very important value for PV system design. '''Note:''' Additional loss factors - due to high temperatures, shading, soiling (dirt on module) etc. - must be taken into account to arrive at a realistic estimate of production under real world conditions.
+
[[File:Irradiancegraph201029.png|thumb|right|'''Example of irradiance for a location under different weather conditions.''']]
 +
A Peak Sun Hour (PSH) is a standardized unit that is used to quantify the amount of solar energy that a location receives during an day, month or year. A Peak Sun Hour is defined as 1m² receiving sunlight with a [[Solar PV module#Standard test conditions|irradiance (sunlight intensity)]] of 1000 W/m² for 1 hour. The average PSH value for a given location will largely determine the amount of energy that a PV system produces, therefore it is a very important value for PV system design.PSH for a location is based upon real world testing and observation and can be calculated for a particular day as follows:
 +
 
 +
'''Peak Sun Hours (PSH) = sum of average irradiance measurement for each hour ÷ 1000 W/m²'''
 +
 
 +
::'''Example 1:''' An irradiance testing station gives you the following data for a particular day. What is the PSH value for this day?
 +
::::{| class="wikitable" border=1
 +
!Time
 +
|8:00
 +
|9:00
 +
|10:00
 +
|11:00
 +
|12:00
 +
|13:00
 +
|14:00
 +
|15:00
 +
|16:00
 +
|17:00
 +
|-
 +
!Average irradiance
 +
|200 W/m²
 +
|300 W/m²
 +
|500 W/m²
 +
|800 W/m²
 +
|1000 W/m²
 +
|1000 W/m²
 +
|800 W/m²
 +
|500 W/m²
 +
|300 W/m²
 +
|200 W/m²
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
::::Peak Sun Hours (PSH) = (200 + 300 + 500 + 800 + 1000 + 1000 + 800 + 500 + 300 + 200) W/m² ÷ 1000 W/m²
 +
::::Peak Sun Hours (PSH) = 5600 W/m² ÷ 1000 W/m² = 5.6
 +
 
 +
==Estimating PV production with PSH==
 +
The power rating of [[Solar PV module|PV modules]] is determined by testing under [[Solar PV module#Standard test conditions|standard test conditions]], one of which specifies that the test be performed with light of an [[Solar PV module#Standard test conditions|irradiance (sunlight intensity)]] of 1000 W/m². '''Note:''' additional loss factors - due to high temperatures, shading, soiling (dirt on module) etc. - must be taken into account to arrive at a realistic estimate of production under real world conditions.
  
 
'''PV source production estimate = PV source power rating × Peak Sun Hours'''
 
'''PV source production estimate = PV source power rating × Peak Sun Hours'''
Line 7: Line 43:
 
::::PV source production estimate  = 100 W x 4 PSH
 
::::PV source production estimate  = 100 W x 4 PSH
 
::::PV source production estimate  = 400 Wh
 
::::PV source production estimate  = 400 Wh
 
==Calculating PSH==
 

Revision as of 11:34, 29 October 2020

Example of irradiance for a location under different weather conditions.

A Peak Sun Hour (PSH) is a standardized unit that is used to quantify the amount of solar energy that a location receives during an day, month or year. A Peak Sun Hour is defined as 1m² receiving sunlight with a irradiance (sunlight intensity) of 1000 W/m² for 1 hour. The average PSH value for a given location will largely determine the amount of energy that a PV system produces, therefore it is a very important value for PV system design.PSH for a location is based upon real world testing and observation and can be calculated for a particular day as follows:

Peak Sun Hours (PSH) = sum of average irradiance measurement for each hour ÷ 1000 W/m²

Example 1: An irradiance testing station gives you the following data for a particular day. What is the PSH value for this day?
Time 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00
Average irradiance 200 W/m² 300 W/m² 500 W/m² 800 W/m² 1000 W/m² 1000 W/m² 800 W/m² 500 W/m² 300 W/m² 200 W/m²
Peak Sun Hours (PSH) = (200 + 300 + 500 + 800 + 1000 + 1000 + 800 + 500 + 300 + 200) W/m² ÷ 1000 W/m²
Peak Sun Hours (PSH) = 5600 W/m² ÷ 1000 W/m² = 5.6

Estimating PV production with PSH

The power rating of PV modules is determined by testing under standard test conditions, one of which specifies that the test be performed with light of an irradiance (sunlight intensity) of 1000 W/m². Note: additional loss factors - due to high temperatures, shading, soiling (dirt on module) etc. - must be taken into account to arrive at a realistic estimate of production under real world conditions.

PV source production estimate = PV source power rating × Peak Sun Hours

Example 1: You have a 100 W PV module. It will be installed in a location without shade that has an average daily Peak Sun Hour value of 4. Without accounting for loss factors, how much energy will this module generate on average per day?
PV source production estimate = 100 W x 4 PSH
PV source production estimate = 400 Wh