An assessment of a revised Olmo et al. model to predict solar global radiation on a tilted surface at Beer Sheva, Israel

A model to convert horizontal solar global radiation to that on a tilted surface is presented. It is based upon a relatively simple model proposed by [Olmo FJ, Vida J, Foyo I, Castro-Diez Y, Alados-Arboledas L. Prediction of global irradiance on inclined surfaces from horizontal global irradiance. Energy 24 (1999) 689–704]., which requires only measurements of horizontal solar radiation but was found to produce significant errors when tested with data from another site. The present model assumes the availability of databases for at least two of the three solar radiation types, viz., global, beam and diffuse. The horizontal global radiation is converted to that on a tilted surface by applying the Olmo model to the diffuse component, whereas the beam component is converted by using the geometrical relationship between the two surfaces. The original Olmo anisotropic radiation correction factor is now assumed to be a function of sky conditions. The solar radiation databases were converted to subsets corresponding to clear, partially cloudy and cloudy sky based upon clearness index values. The three anisotropic correction factors were determined by fitting to a 12-months database. The present model was then tested by applying it to a second database consisting of 24-months not involved in the model development. It was found to give better results than three highly regarded more complex models.