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The Importance of Accurate Solar Data for Designing Solar Photovoltaic Systems—Case Studies in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Mirian Jiménez-Torres

    (Electronic Engineering and Automatic Department, University of Jaén Las Lagunillas Campus, A3 Building, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Catalina Rus-Casas

    (Electronic Engineering and Automatic Department, University of Jaén Las Lagunillas Campus, A3 Building, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Lenin Guillermo Lemus-Zúiga

    (Instituto de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicaciones, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Leocadio Hontoria

    (Electronic Engineering and Automatic Department, University of Jaén Las Lagunillas Campus, A3 Building, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

Abstract

Renewable energies have experienced a great growth in recent years, and nowadays participate in the set of energies used in developed and developing countries to produce electricity. Among these technologies, photovoltaic energy, which produces clean electricity from the Sun, is the one that has grown faster, and its implementation all over the world is a guarantee of a solid and efficient energy technology. Nevertheless, in order to design very efficient solar energy systems, it is crucial to have a good solar radiation database. There are databases where it is possible to find information on solar radiation, but only for horizontal surfaces. Afterwards, it is necessary to transform the horizontal solar radiation data to tilt solar radiation data. This transformation is not easy, and the application of complex mathematical equations, and expressions, and difficult algorithms must be done. An application called virtual laboratory “OrientSol 3.0” which allows the user to easily obtain the solar radiation for any tilt surface has been developed by us. Thus, our main objectives in this paper are to present the developed virtual laboratory and to explain its main features and core functionalities. In order to point out the difficulties and complexity of the transformation of horizontal solar radiation data to tilt solar radiation data, we will present some examples of the results this application provides and compare the solar radiation data supplied with this application with some other solar radiation data obtained from other databases.

Suggested Citation

  • Mirian Jiménez-Torres & Catalina Rus-Casas & Lenin Guillermo Lemus-Zúiga & Leocadio Hontoria, 2017. "The Importance of Accurate Solar Data for Designing Solar Photovoltaic Systems—Case Studies in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:2:p:247-:d:89965
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    Cited by:

    1. Talavera, D.L. & Muñoz-Rodriguez, F.J. & Jimenez-Castillo, G. & Rus-Casas, C., 2019. "A new approach to sizing the photovoltaic generator in self-consumption systems based on cost–competitiveness, maximizing direct self-consumption," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 1021-1035.
    2. Barbón, A. & Ayuso, P. Fortuny & Bayón, L. & Silva, C.A., 2021. "A comparative study between racking systems for photovoltaic power systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 424-437.
    3. David Rodriguez-Rosa & Ismael Payo-Gutierrez & Fernando J. Castillo-Garcia & Antonio Gonzalez-Rodriguez & Sergio Perez-Juarez, 2017. "Improving Energy Efficiency of an Autonomous Bicycle with Adaptive Controller Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Jiménez-Castillo, G. & Muñoz-Rodriguez, F.J. & Rus-Casas, C. & Talavera, D.L., 2020. "A new approach based on economic profitability to sizing the photovoltaic generator in self-consumption systems without storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1017-1033.
    5. Kunle Babaremu & Nmesoma Olumba & Ikenna Chris-Okoro & Konyegwachie Chuckwuma & Tien-Chien Jen & Oluseyi Oladijo & Esther Akinlabi, 2022. "Overview of Solar–Wind Hybrid Products: Prominent Challenges and Possible Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-25, August.
    6. Esther Salmerón-Manzano & Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro, 2018. "The Higher Education Sustainability through Virtual Laboratories: The Spanish University as Case of Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-22, November.
    7. Ramez Abdallah & Adel Juaidi & Salameh Abdel-Fattah & Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro, 2020. "Estimating the Optimum Tilt Angles for South-Facing Surfaces in Palestine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-29, February.
    8. Maria Simona Răboacă & Gheorghe Badea & Adrian Enache & Constantin Filote & Gabriel Răsoi & Mihai Rata & Alexandru Lavric & Raluca-Andreea Felseghi, 2019. "Concentrating Solar Power Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Leocadio Hontoria & Catalina Rus-Casas & Juan Domingo Aguilar & Jesús C. Hernandez, 2019. "An Improved Method for Obtaining Solar Irradiation Data at Temporal High-Resolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-15, September.

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