Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology

P. O. Box 62000-00200 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254-67-5870001-4, +254 740 852 600
Email: director@[Link]

Master of Science in Energy Technology (MSc. ET)

Lecture notes:
UNIT CODE: EET 3103
UNIT TITLE: Solar Thermal Energy
Lecturer: Dr. Boniface Wainaina Kariuki
Course Purpose
The course aims to inculcate competencies in technical analysis of solar thermal engineering from a technology
and process perspective

Course Content
1. Energy Meteorology: Solar radiation spectrum, principles of solar radiation, global distribution, seasonal
variation, effects of tilt angle, resource estimation, measurements of solar radiation,
2. Types of systems and fundamentals of heat transfers and collections, flat plate collector systems,
passive solar designs, concentrators, solar thermal power stations;
3. Solar thermal processes and technologies: Fundamentals of heat transfer in collectors. Solar collectors;
types of collectors (stationary and tracking systems), collector materials, thermal analysis of collectors,
performance evaluation, heat loss analysis, passive and active designs, direct and indirect systems,
concentrators. Technologies – flat plate solar collector, Evacuated tube collectors, Solar concentrators;
4. Solar thermal applications; water heating, solar space heating and cooling, industrial heat applications,
solar thermal power systems;
5. Solar powered cooling and refrigeration: Types of solar cooling and refrigeration systems, sizing and
installation of cooling and refrigeration systems, maintaining solar powered cold rooms and refrigeration
units, monitoring and data logging of cold rooms and refrigeration units.
6. Solar water pumping: Types of solar pumps, sizing and installation of (a) surface and submerged pumps,
(b) stand along and hybrid (grid or genset backup pumping systems] configuration, Use of software to
design and calculate PV powered pumping and irrigation system need.
7. System design and sizing; design of thermal systems, solar system models (TRNSYS, SAM, Homer,
Energy, simple models), F-chart method, Artificial neural networks

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Lecture No:1

Contents
1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Solar Energy Geometry

1.1.2 Solar Radiation Spectrum

1.1.3 Principals of Solar Radiation

1..1.4 Seasonal Variation

1.1.5 Solar geometry and the effects of tilt angles

1.1.6 Resource estimation

1.1.7 Measurement of Solar Radiation

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Solar Energy Meteorology

The sun is the seat of thermonuclear processes and produces a vast amount of energy. The energy
emitted by the sun is called solar energy or solar radiation. Solar radiation refers to the flux of
electromagnetic energy emitted by the Sun, arriving at Earth as a spectrum of multiple
wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR).
Energy meteorology investigates the interaction between atmospheric phenomena and energy
systems, with solar radiation playing a central role as a renewable energy resource that powers
weather, climate, and many ecological processes on Earth.

1.1.2 Solar Radiation Spectrum

Solar radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum and spans wavelengths approximately
from 0.2 µm to about 4 µm. The spectrum is commonly divided into three major regions (See
Figure 1.):
Ultraviolet (UV): 0.2–0.4 µm
Visible radiation: 0.4–0.7 µm

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Infrared radiation (IR): 0.7–4 µm
About 99% of solar energy lies between 0.3 µm and 3 µm, with nearly half of the incoming energy
occurring in the visible region. The spectral distribution is important because solar thermal
collectors and photovoltaic devices respond differently to different wavelength ranges. The solar
spectrum is often approximated by the radiation emitted by a blackbody at about 5777 K,
corresponding to the effective surface temperature of the Sun.

Figure 1. Simulated spectral solar irradiance at the top of the atmosphere (ToA) and the Earth's surface. The
different regions of the spectrum include: ultraviolet (UV), visible, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared
(SWIR). The range typically covered by SSI is indicated by the broken line at the top. The regions of spectrum
where irradiance is absorbed by various atmospheric constituents are indicated, including: ozone (O3), oxygen
(O2), water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4).

Solar radiation reaching the Earth undergoes several physical processes while passing through the
atmosphere. These include absorption, scattering, and reflection by atmospheric gases, aerosols,
clouds, and water vapor.
The geometry of the sun-earth relationships is shown schematically in Figure 2. The distance
between the sun and earth varies by 1.7 % due to the elliptic orbit of the of the earth around the
sun. The mean earth distance is 1.495 x 1011 m. The sun subtends an angle of 32' with the earth.
The diameter of the sun is 1.39 x 109 m and that of earth, 1.27 x 107 m.

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The distance between the earth and the sun determines the intensity of solar radiation that can be
received by the earth, notwithstanding the atmospheric attenuation. The elliptic motion of the
earth round the sun causes seasonal variation in the solar radiation as received by the earth. In
addition to these geometric or “regular” variations, variation as actually received at any location
is due to the position of the location on the earth, day and time during the day and the climatic
conditions such as cloudy, bright, or rainy etc. In this Lecture, attention is focused on the solar
radiation intensity, short term and long term (time period) values as received at a location on earth,
if the atmosphere is fully transparent, i.e., atmospheric transmittance is equal to unity.

Figure 2. Sun-earth relationships

1.1.3 Principles of Solar Radiation

Solar radiation forms the fundamental energy source for the Earth–atmosphere system and is the
primary driver of most natural and engineered energy processes on Earth. In the context of
energy engineering, understanding the principles of solar radiation is essential for the analysis,
design, and optimization of solar energy technologies such as solar thermal collectors,
photovoltaic systems, solar cooling, and concentrated solar power plants.
The Sun generates energy through thermonuclear fusion reactions in its core, where hydrogen
nuclei combine to form helium, releasing vast amounts of energy. This energy is transported to
the solar surface and emitted into space in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The Sun behaves

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approximately like an ideal blackbody radiator with an effective surface temperature of about
5760 K, emitting radiation across a wide range of wavelengths.
In solar energy engineering, it is convenient to quantify the incoming solar radiation outside the
Earth’s atmosphere using the concept of the solar constant, which represents the average solar
irradiance incident on a surface perpendicular to the Sun’s rays at the mean Earth–Sun distance.
The solar constant, Gsc, is the energy from the sun, per unit time, received on a unit area of surface
perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the radiation at the earth's mean distance from
the sun, if the earth’s atmosphere is fully transparent. It may be viewed on any unit surface normal
to sun’s rays on a sphere of radius equal to the sun-earth mean distance, thus alleviating the
difficulty in imagining a fully transparent atmosphere around the earth. Solar Constant is
calculated as follows.
𝑆 = 𝜎𝑇 (4𝜋𝑅 ) (1)

Where 𝜎 is the Stefan Boltzmann constant, T is the Sun’s surface temperature, and R is the radius
of the sun
The recently reported value of the solar constant is 1367 W/m2.
Solar radiation on a surface normal to sun's rays kept at a distance of sun-earth, ( not the mean
distance, but the actual distance as of, on that day, that time) Gon , will essentially be the solar
constant, modified to take into account the varying distance between the sun and the earth. Gon is
given by,

𝐺 = 𝐺 1 + 0.33 cos (2)

In Eq.(1.1), n is the day of the year, i.e., the sequential number of the day counting January 1 as 1.

1.1.4 Seasonal Variation

Seasonal variation of solar radiation refers to the systematic change in the amount of solar
energy received at the Earth’s surface over the course of a year. These variations arise primarily
from the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis, the revolution of the Earth around the Sun, and the

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resulting changes in solar geometry. For energy engineers, understanding seasonal variation is
essential because it determines the temporal availability of solar resources, influences system
design parameters, and affects the performance of solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.

Solar energy systems rely directly on the intensity and duration of incoming solar radiation.
However, the Earth does not receive a constant amount of solar radiation throughout the year.
Instead, the solar resource varies periodically due to astronomical factors that modify the angle
of incidence, day length, and solar path in the sky. These variations lead to different solar
radiation levels in different seasons, which in turn affect energy yield, collector efficiency, and
system optimization.

The most important driver of seasonal variation is the inclination of the Earth's axis, which is
tilted by approximately 23.45° relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun as shown in
Figure 3. (the ecliptic plane). As the Earth revolves around the Sun, this tilt causes different
parts of the planet to receive varying amounts of solar radiation during different times of the
year. Consequently, the solar declination angle, sunrise and sunset times, and solar altitude
angle change continuously throughout the year.

The seasonal behavior of solar radiation can be quantitatively described through the solar
declination angle, which represents the angular position of the Sun relative to the Earth's
equatorial plane. Latitude and Longitude are the coordinates of a point ( location ) on earth's
surface. A location on the earth’s surface may be specified by latitude, longitude and elevation.
Elevation, does not directly feature in calculation of different angles though it may effect solar
radiation received.

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 Ecliptic
23½ o axis

Polar
axis
Sep 21
24 hr

89.83 million mi Sun 95.9 million mi

Dec 21 June 21
365¼ Days
Mar 21 Ecliptic
Plane

(a)

23½o
the sun

(b)

Figure 3. Motion of the earth about the sun

1.1.5 Solar geometry and the effects of tilt angles
To further understand solar geometry, we must consider the following geometric terms: zenith
angle, solar altitude, surface azimuth angle, solar azimuth, surface slope, declination and hour
angle.

When considering the surface of a solar device, the relationship between this surface and the
position of the sun can give us the proportion of incoming energy that is available to the device.
Therefore, the orientation of the device becomes a major factor. The orientation of the device
depends on essentially two factors: angle of incidence, and tilt angle. The angle of incidence is
the angle between a beam of sunlight and the direction normal to the surface, while the tilt angle is

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the angle between the device and the horizontal; however, the angle of incidence is a function of
the tilt.

1.1.6 Solar Radiation Estimates

Solar radiation estimation refers to the calculation or prediction of solar radiation using models,
empirical correlations, or satellite data when direct measurements are unavailable. To obtain
estimates, solar radiation measurement is derived using mathematical models, meteorological
data, sunshine duration relationships, or satellite observations. Therefore, the estimates provide
computed or predicted values based on available environmental or astronomical parameters. In
this lecture, some examples of these empirical models will be explored.

1.1.7 Solar Radiation Measurement

Solar radiation measurement refers to the systematic quantification and monitoring of solar
energy reaching the Earth's surface, primarily consisting of the direct (beam), diffuse, and global
radiation components, using specialized radiometric instruments such as pyranometers,
pyrheliometers, and sunshine recorders; these measurements provide essential data for solar
resource assessment, design and optimization of solar thermal energy systems, performance
evaluation of solar collectors and power plants, and for advancing research in energy meteorology,
atmospheric physics, and renewable energy engineering.

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