TITLE:
Estimation of Diffuse Solar Radiation in Area between 5°N and 10°N of Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Théophile Lealea, Réné Tchinda
KEYWORDS:
Clearness Index; Diffuse Fraction; MBE, RMSE; t-Statistic
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.4 No.3,
July
1,
2013
ABSTRACT: The successful design and effective utilization of solar energy systems and devices for application in various facets of human endeavors, such as power and water supply for industrial, agricultural and domestic uses, largely depend on the availability of information on solar radiation characteristic of the location in which the system and devices should be situated. This study proposed a multivariate model of monthly mean daily diffuse solar radiation on horizontal surfaces for some cities between 5°N and 10°N of Cameroon (Ngaoundéré, Garoua-Boulai, Bafoussam, Nkambé). The estimation was based on a correlation between clearance index and diffusion to global solar radiation ratio and was computed using monthly mean daily data set for global solar radiation on horizontal surfaces. The predictive efficiency of the proposed model was compared with the observed values and those believed to be universally applicable. The results suggested that the existing methods could be replaced by the developed model for a diffuse solar radiation data generation scheme.