Evaluation and performance comparison of different models for the estimation of solar radiation

The rapid depletion of energy resources, increasing energy demand and degeneration of ecological values need an urgent solution in this age. Solar energy as the most important energy resource has become part of the solution to the world's energy challenges. Solar radiation data that provides the information on how much energy strikes to the earth is needed for utilization, planning and designing of solar power plants. The measurement of solar radiation data is generally available in some specific areas due to difficulty in solar radiation measurements in terms of its initial and maintenance costs. Therefore, solar energy modelling techniques are becoming more and more important due to the increasing need for the design, performance evaluation and improvement of the solar energy applications. The primary aim of this paper is to overview solar radiation modelling techniques to identify optimum models available and to classify research fields in the literature. In this paper, the modelling techniques, data information, accuracy tests of models used in around 90 papers were reviewed and the most accurate models were suggested. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.