[1] We study the role of solar forcing on global surface temperature during four periods of the industrial era (1900– 2000, 1900–1950, 1950–2000 and 1980–2000) by using a sun-climate coupling model based on four scale-dependent empirical climate sensitive parameters to solar variations. We use two alternative total solar irradiance satellite composites, ACRIM and PMOD, and a total solar irradia...

This paper reports stochastic properties of renewable wind and solar energy resources by studying their conditional probability distribution functions (cpdf) in different time lags. The empirical results are obtained for data of global horizontal irradiance measured by a single sensor and the power output of a single wind turbine, as well as for an averaged solar sensor field and an aggregated ...

Solar power can provide substantial power supply to the grid; however, it is also a highly variable energy source due to changes in weather conditions, i.e. clouds, that can cause rapid changes in solar power output. Independent systems operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) monitor the demand load and direct power generation from utilities, define operating limits and ...

Rotating Shadowband Pyranometers (RSPs) have been deployed to measure global, beam, and diffuse irradiance because they do not require manual adjustment of trackers. However, a RSP requires the use of solar cell based pyranometers which underestimate diffuse irradiance by 20-30% under clear sky conditions. Algorithms were derived to address many of the systematic errors in solar cell based meas...

The reliable quantification of ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the earth’s surface requires accurate measurements of spectral global solar UV irradiance in order to determine the UV exposure to human skin and to understand long-term trends in this parameter. Array spectroradiometers (ASRMs) are small, light, robust and cost-effective instruments, and are increasingly used for spectral irradiance ...

We examine the climate response to solar irradiance changes between the late 17th-century Maunder Minimum and the late 18th century. Global average temperature changes are small (about 0.3 degrees to 0.4 degrees C) in both a climate model and empirical reconstructions. However, regional temperature changes are quite large. In the model, these occur primarily through a forced shift toward the lo...

Energy yield assessment of photovoltaic systems is inherently non-linear. The calculation chain starts with simulation of solar radiation, where many factors are considered: sun’s position, terrain, properties of the atmosphere and cloudiness to determine the absolute value of global irradiance and the ratio of diffuse and direct components. The ratio of direct and diffuse components influences...

The diffuse sky radiation component in the ultraviolet wavelengths is often at least 50% of the global irradiance under clear skies, and is the dominant component of ultraviolet global radiation under translucent overcast skies. The distribution of sky radiance was measured in a rural area and modeled for wavelength bands of ultraviolet-B (UVB, 280-320 nm) and ultraviolet-A (UVA, 320-400 nm). S...

The Mauna Loa Observatory record of direct-beam solar irradiance measurements for the years 1958–2010 is analysed to investigate the variation of clear-sky terrestrial insolation with solar activity over more than four solar cycles. The raw irradiance data exhibit a marked seasonal cycle, extended periods of lower irradiance due to emissions of volcanic aerosols, and a long-term decrease in atm...

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation affects human life and UV exposure is a significant everyday factor that individuals must be aware of to ensure minimal damaging biological effects to themselves. UV exposure is affected by many complex factors. Albedo is one factor, involving reflection from flat surfaces. Albedo is defined as the ratio of reflected (upwelling) irradiance to incident (downwelling) ir...