Unit-1 The Earth and Sun Relations

1. Calculate the angle made by beam radiation with the normal to a flat- plate collector on
May 1 at 0900 h (local apparent time). The collector is located in New Delhi (28°35'N,
77°12'E). It is tilted at an angle of 36° with the horizontal and is pointing due south.
Also repeat the calculation for 1200 h (local apparent time).
2. Calculate the hour angle at sunrise and sunset on June 21 and December 21 for a surface
inclined at an angle of 10° and facing due south (y = 0°). The surface is located in Mumbai
(19°07' N, 72°51' E).
3. Determine the local apparent time (LAT) corresponding to 1430 h (1ST) at Mumbai
(19°07'N, 72°51'E) on July 1. In India, standard time is based on 82.50°E.
4. Estimate the monthly average daily global radiation on a horizontal surface at Vadodara
(22°00' N, 73° 10' E) during the month of March if the average sunshine hours per day is
9.5.
5. Use Gopinathan's correlation to calculate the value of 𝐻 ̅ g for Vadodara for the month of
March. Given EL=34 m.
6. Estimate the monthly average daily diffuse radiation on a horizontal surface at Vadodara
during the month of March.
7. Use the prediction equations to calculate the monthly average hourly global and hourly
diffuse radiation during the month of April on a horizontal surface at New Delhi (28°35'
N, 77°12' E, elevation 216 m). Time: 0900 to 1000 h (LAT). The average number of
sunshine hours per day is 8.6. Compare the predicted values with the available
measurements.
8. Calculate the monthly average hourly radiation falling on a flat-plate collector facing south
(y = 0°) with a slope of 15°, given the following data
i. Location Chennai (13°00' N)
ii. Month October

iii. Time 1100 - 1200 h (LAT)

iv. 𝐼 g̅ 2408 kJ/m2-h

v. 𝐼 d̅ 1073 kJ/m2-h
vi. Assume ground reflectivity to be 0.2.

9. Calculate the angle of incidence of beam radiation on a flat-plate collector for the following
situation:
 a. Location: Nagpur (21°06’ N, 79°03’E)

b. Slope of collector: 31°

c. Surface azimuth angle: 15°

d. Date: December 1, 1979

e. Time: 0900 h(IST)

10. Calculate the angle of incidence of beam radiation on a photovoltaic array located in Mumbai
(19°07’ N, 72°51’ E). Given the following data:

a. Date: August 18, 2005.

b. Time: 1030 h (LAT)

c. Slope of PV Array: 28°

d. Surface azimuth angle: 20°

11. Find the days of the year on which the sun is directly overhead at 1200 h (LAT) at Pune (18°32’
N)

12. Plot the variation of the day length on a horizontal surface through the year for the following
locations:

a. Srinagar: (31°06’ N, 74°51’ E)

b. Kolkata: (22°39’ N, 88°27’ E)

c. Vishakhapatnam: (17°43’ N, 83°14’ E)

d. Thiruvananthapuram: (8°29’ N 76°57’ E)

13. Calculate the day length on May 1 and December 1 for a south-facing surface titled at an angle of
40° and located at New Delhi (28°35’ N, 77°12’ E)

14. Calculate the length and direction if the shadow cast on the ground by a 1m long vertical stick for
the following situation:

a. Location: Mumbai (19°07’ N, 72°51’ E)

b. Date: Feb 13, 1980

15. Test the validity of the recommendation that the value of 𝐻𝑜 for July can be taken equal to the value
of 𝐻𝑜 on the seventeenth of the month by doing calculations for Shillong (25°34’ N, 91°56’ E).

16. Use the prediction equation to calculate the monthly average daily global and diffuse radiation
falling on a horizontal surface at Bhavnagar (21°45’ N, 72°11’ E) during the month of January. The
monthly average sunshine hours are 9.8. Compare the predicted values with the measured values
 ̅𝑔 = 18511 kJ/𝑚2 -day, 𝐻
given in the Handbook of Solar Radiation data for India, 𝐻 ̅𝑑 = 4198
kJ/𝑚2 − 𝑑𝑎𝑦.

17. At a certain location (25°47’ N, 75°39’E) in India, an unshaded Pyranometer (kept on horizontal
surface) and a Pyrheliometer record 695 and 721 W/𝑚2 respectively at 1000 h (IST) on September
15 . A flat-plate collector is installed with a tilt of 13° and is oriented east of south at an angle of
35° .Calculate the flux incident on the collector. Given That the Reflectivity of the surface
surrounding the collector is 0.2. What is the percentage reduction in the value of the flux incident
on the collector due to the presence of atmosphere?

18. A flat plate is located at a place in the Southern hemisphere and is tilted towards the equator with
a slope of 40°. The latitude and longitude of the place are 30°S and 73°E, respectively. Calculate
the beam and total solar radiation incident on the tilted surface. Given:

Time: 1030 h (LAT)

Date: Feb 10

𝐼𝑔 : 720 W/𝑚2

𝐼𝑑 : 144 W/𝑚2

ρ: 0.2