Solar radiation estimation using artificial neural networks

Abstract

Solar radiation is one of the most vital meteorological factors as far as solar energy conversion, analysis of building energy consumption and agriculture etc. are concerned. A model based on artificial neural network (ANN) was applied for estimation of monthly mean daily value of solar global radiation. The solar radiation data from 1971 to 1995 of Beijing were used for training the neural networks and the data from 1996 to 2000 were used for testing estimated values. The results obtained from the ANN model have been compared with other empirical models. The estimations by ANN model are in good agreement with the actual values and are superior to those of other available models. Results indicate that the ANN model shows promise for evaluating solar global radiation possibilities.