Book Description

A new solar radiation data manual and new typical meterological years (TMYs) were developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Analytic Studies Division under the Solar Radiation Resource Assessment Project. These tasks were funded and monitored by the Photovoltaics Branch of the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The new manual and the new TMYs were derived from the 1961-1990 National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB). The new manual is entitled Solar Radiation Data Manual for Flat-Plate and Concentrating Collectors. It provides designers and engineers of solar-energy-related systems with average monthly and yearly solar radiation values for various types of collectors for 239 stations in the United States and its territories. The new TMY data sets are referred to as TMY2s. This distinguishes them from earlier TMY data sets derived from the 1952-1975 SOLMET/ERSATZ data base. This paper describes the new data manual and the new TMY2s.