pvl_erbs
Estimate DNI and DHI from GHI using the Erbs model.
Contents
Syntax
DNI = pvl_erbs(GHI, Z, doy)
Description
The Erbs model estimates the diffuse fraction (DF) from global horizontal irradiance (GHI) using an empirical relationship between DF and the ratio Kt of GHI to extraterrestrial irradiance. Diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) is then computed as
and direct normal irradiance (DNI) is computed as
where is the true solar zenith angle.
Inputs
- GHI - a scalar or vector of global horizontal irradiance in W/m^2. If GHI is a vector it must be of the same size as all other vector inputs. GHI must be >=0.
- Z - a scalar or vector of true (not refraction-corrected) zenith angles in decimal degrees. If Z is a vector it must be of the same size as all other vector inputs. Z must be >=0 and <=180.
- doy - a scalar or vector of values providing the day of the year. If doy is a vector it must be of the same size as all other vector inputs. doy must be >= 1 and < 367.
Outputs
- DNI - the modeled direct normal irradiance in W/m^2.
- DHI - the modeled diffuse horizontal irradiance in W/m^2.
- Kt - Ratio of global to extraterrestrial irradiance on a horizontal plane.
Example
This example compares DHI for August 6 from the TMY3 file for Albuquerque, NM, with DHI estimated from GHI from the TMY3 file, using the Erbs model.
TMYData = pvl_readtmy3('723650TY.csv'); TimeMatlab = TMYData.DateNumber; Time = pvl_maketimestruct(TimeMatlab, ones(size(TimeMatlab))*TMYData.SiteTimeZone); dayofyear = pvl_date2doy(Time.year, Time.month, Time.day); DNI = TMYData.DNI; % Read in for comparison with results DHI = TMYData.DHI; % Read in for comparison with results GHI = TMYData.GHI; Location = pvl_makelocationstruct(TMYData.SiteLatitude,TMYData.SiteLongitude,... TMYData.SiteElevation); %Altitude is optional PresPa = TMYData.Pressure*100; %Convert pressure from mbar to Pa % Models that rely on sun position that are run at specific time steps % (e.g., hourly) run into numerical problems during timesteps when the sun % straddles the horizon (i.e., spends part of the timestep above and part % below the horizon). Since in this example we use TMY day, which is % hourly and reported at the end of the hour, we adjust the sun position in % the following two ways. (1) For hours when the sun is above the horizon % we adjust sun position so it is for the middle of the hour. For example, % sun position reported at 4PM is the sun position at 3:30 PM. (2) For % hours where the sun straddles the horizon, we report the position half % way between the horizon and the position of the sun at the end of the % hour. This is appropriate because the GHI data is essentially a sum of the GHI % measurements made in the past hour. % %Run sun position twice: Once for end of hour positions. % A second time for mid hour positions. % Adjust sun elevation and GHI for hours when the sun traverses the horizon % Include these adjusted values in the mid hour positions % [~, ~, AppSunEl, ~] = pvl_ephemeris(Time,Location,PresPa,TMYData.DryBulb); Time.hour = Time.hour-.5; % shift times back 1/2 hour for sun position calculation because of tmy % timestamps [~, ~, AppSunEla, ~] = pvl_ephemeris(Time,Location,PresPa,TMYData.DryBulb); A=diff(sign(AppSunEl)); %identifies hour before sun straddles horizon (2,-2) ind1 = find(A==2)+1; % AM hour where sun straddles horizon ind2 = find(A==-2)+1; % PM hour where sun straddles horizon %AM Adjustment AppSunEl(ind1) = AppSunEl(ind1)/2; %change sun elevation to mid way above the horizon %PM Adjustment AppSunEl(ind2) = AppSunEl(ind2)/2; %change sun elevation to mid way above the horizon AppSunEla(ind1)= AppSunEl(ind1); AppSunEla(ind2)= AppSunEl(ind2); [DNI_model, DHI_model, ~] = pvl_erbs(GHI,90-AppSunEla, dayofyear); figure tfilter = and(Time.month == 8,Time.day == 6); plot(Time.hour(tfilter),DHI_model(tfilter),'-s') hold all plot(Time.hour(tfilter),DHI(tfilter),'-o') xlim([0 25]) legend('DHI (Erbs model)','DHI (TMY3)','Location','NE') xlabel('Hour of Day') ylabel('Irradiance (W/m^2)') title({'Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance Comparison';'Albuquerque, Aug 6'},'FontSize',14)

References
[1] D. G. Erbs, S. A. Klein and J. A. Duffie, Estimation of the diffuse radiation fraction for hourly, daily and monthly-average global radiation, Solar Energy 28(4), pp 293-302, 1982
See also
pvl_disc , pvl_dirint , pvl_louche , pvl_orgill_hollands , pvl_reindl_1 , pvl_reindl_2 , pvl_ephemeris , pvl_date2doy , pvl_alt2pres
Copyright 2014 Sandia National Laboratories