IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natene/v4y2019i3d10.1038_s41560-018-0318-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A simplified skyline-based method for estimating the annual solar energy potential in urban environments

Author

Listed:
  • Andres Calcabrini

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Hesan Ziar

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Olindo Isabella

    (Delft University of Technology)

  • Miro Zeman

    (Delft University of Technology)

Abstract

Architects, engineers and urban planners have today at their disposal several tools for simulating the energy yield of photovoltaic systems. These tools are based on mathematical models that perform repetitive calculations to determine the annual irradiation received by solar panels; hence when photovoltaic systems are installed in complex urban environments, the simulations become highly computationally demanding. Here we present a simplified and yet accurate model for the direct calculation of the annual irradiation and energy yield of photovoltaic systems in urban environments. Our model is based on the correlation between the solar radiation components and the shape of the skyline profile. We show how calculations can be simplified by quantifying the skyline using two indicators: the sky view factor and the sun coverage factor. Model performance is evaluated in different climates using measured data from different photovoltaic systems. Results indicate that the proposed model significantly reduces the required computation time while preserving a high estimation accuracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Andres Calcabrini & Hesan Ziar & Olindo Isabella & Miro Zeman, 2019. "A simplified skyline-based method for estimating the annual solar energy potential in urban environments," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(3), pages 206-215, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:4:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1038_s41560-018-0318-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-018-0318-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-018-0318-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41560-018-0318-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paulius Kozlovas & Saulius Gudzius & Jokubas Ciurlionis & Audrius Jonaitis & Inga Konstantinaviciute & Viktorija Bobinaite, 2023. "Assessment of Technical and Economic Potential of Urban Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Lithuania," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-29, July.
    2. Ferri, Carlotta & Ziar, Hesan & Nguyen, Thien Tin & van Lint, Hans & Zeman, Miro & Isabella, Olindo, 2022. "Mapping the photovoltaic potential of the roads including the effect of traffic," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 427-442.
    3. Bódis, Katalin & Kougias, Ioannis & Jäger-Waldau, Arnulf & Taylor, Nigel & Szabó, Sándor, 2019. "A high-resolution geospatial assessment of the rooftop solar photovoltaic potential in the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Enrique Fuster-Palop & Carlos Prades-Gil & Ximo Masip & J. D. Viana-Fons & Jorge Payá, 2023. "Techno-Economic Potential of Urban Photovoltaics: Comparison of Net Billing and Net Metering in a Mediterranean Municipality," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-32, April.
    5. Zhu, Rui & Wong, Man Sing & You, Linlin & Santi, Paolo & Nichol, Janet & Ho, Hung Chak & Lu, Lin & Ratti, Carlo, 2020. "The effect of urban morphology on the solar capacity of three-dimensional cities," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1111-1126.
    6. Zhou, Y. & Wilmink, D. & Zeman, M. & Isabella, O. & Ziar, H., 2023. "A geographic information system-based large scale visibility assessment tool for multi-criteria photovoltaic planning on urban building roofs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    7. Qin, Jun & Jiang, Hou & Lu, Ning & Yao, Ling & Zhou, Chenghu, 2022. "Enhancing solar PV output forecast by integrating ground and satellite observations with deep learning," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Agnieszka Bieda & Agnieszka Cienciała, 2021. "Towards a Renewable Energy Source Cadastre—A Review of Examples from around the World," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-34, December.
    9. Jiang, Hou & Lu, Ning & Huang, Guanghui & Yao, Ling & Qin, Jun & Liu, Hengzi, 2020. "Spatial scale effects on retrieval accuracy of surface solar radiation using satellite data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    10. Fuster-Palop, Enrique & Prades-Gil, Carlos & Masip, X. & Viana-Fons, Joan D. & Payá, Jorge, 2021. "Innovative regression-based methodology to assess the techno-economic performance of photovoltaic installations in urban areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    11. Zhu, Rui & Cheng, Cheng & Santi, Paolo & Chen, Min & Zhang, Xiaohu & Mazzarello, Martina & Wong, Man Sing & Ratti, Carlo, 2022. "Optimization of photovoltaic provision in a three-dimensional city using real-time electricity demand," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    12. Arias-Rosales, Andrés & LeDuc, Philip R., 2023. "Urban solar harvesting: The importance of diffuse shadows in complex environments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    13. Meskiana Boulahia & Kahina Amal Djiar & Miguel Amado, 2021. "Combined Engineering—Statistical Method for Assessing Solar Photovoltaic Potential on Residential Rooftops: Case of Laghouat in Central Southern Algeria," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-16, March.
    14. Phuong Minh Khuong & Russell McKenna & Wolf Fichtner, 2020. "A Cost-Effective and Transferable Methodology for Rooftop PV Potential Assessment in Developing Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-46, May.
    15. Chen, X.M. & Li, Y. & Zhao, B.Y. & Wang, R.Z., 2020. "Are the optimum angles of photovoltaic systems so important?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:4:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1038_s41560-018-0318-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.