DAY 28: SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS; IRRADIANCE AND INSOLATION EXPLAINED

   

   Today we would continue from where we stopped yesterday, we would be discussing

the following terms.

.1) Irradiance

.2) Insolation

.3) Photovoltaic array

.4) Battery array

Irradiance (G):

    This is simply how much power the sun is delivering to a particular area. It is measured in Watts per meter square (w/m²).

On a very clear sunny day, the expected value for irradiance is 1000 w/m²,this is the standard value.

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Insolation

    Insolation is the power that the sun deliver to a particular area over a particular time, Insolation is very important and also very necessary for us to get our Peak Sun Hour (PSH), for a particular area. Peak sun hours was explained in our previous article (Day 27).

The power from the sun varies during the day from sunrise to sunset, but for a solar designer we are interested in the period of time that this value is 1000w/m².

Insolation can also be referred to as the average irradiance, since it gives us the average time when the sun is 1000w/m².We need this value to determine our PSH for a particular area.

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Photovoltaic array

This refers to a number of solar panels connected to each other, generating electricity as a single unit.The total power of the photo voltaic array is a combination of the power output of the individual panels.

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Battery array

This refers to a number of batteries connected to each other generating power as a single unit.

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