Abstract
The solar radiation climate of Beer Sheva, Israel, is reported upon in detail. The database utilized in this analysis consisted of global radiation on a horizontal surface, normal incidence beam radiation, and global radiation on a south-facing surface tilted at 40°. Monthly-average hourly and daily values are reported for each of these three types of measured radiations, together with the calculated monthly-average daily values for the components of the global radiation, viz. the horizontal beam and diffuse radiations. The monthly-average hourly and daily clearness index values have also been calculated and analyzed. Monthly-average daily frequency distributions of the clearness index values are reported for each month. The solar radiation climate of Beer Sheva has also been compared to those reported for a number of countries in this region. The annual-average daily global radiation incident on a horizontal surface is 18.91 MJ/m2 and that for normal incidence beam radiation is 21.17 MJ/m2. The annual-average daily fraction of the horizontal global radiation that is beam is 0.72. The annual-average daily value for the clearness index is 0.587 and the average frequency of clear days annually is 58.6%. We conclude, based upon the above analysis, that Beer Sheva and its environs are characterized by relatively high, average-daily irradiation rates, both global and beam, and a relatively high frequency of clear days.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 97-106 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Solar Energy |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 1992 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- General Materials Science