Energy Education Science and Technology Part A: Energy Science and Research

2015 Volume (issue) 33(6): 3129-3150

Comparative analysis of solar

energy potential for some cities of
Jharkhand, India: A case study
K. Namrata1,*, S. P. Sharma2, S. B. L. Seksena1
1

Department of Electrical Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India

Department of Mechanical/Energy Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India

Received: 22 August 2015; accepted: 24 September 2015

Abstract
In the proposed research work, a linear regression model is developed for estimating the global solar
radiation most accurately for the region of Jharkhand, a state in India. The proposed model uses sunshine
hours as the principal input parameter for the cities like Jamshedpur ( 22 48 ' N , 86 11' E ), Ranchi (

23 21' N , 85 20 ' E ), Dhanbad ( 23 48' N , 86 27 ' E ), Hazaribagh ( 23 59 ' N , 85 21' E ) and Bokaro (
23 40 ' N , 86 09 ' E ). The values of the regression constants for each of the cities are obtained from the
curve fitting between the ratio of monthly average global to extraterrestrial radiation and ratio of monthly
average sunshine hours to the maximum day length. The effectiveness of the proposed linear regression
model is evaluated by estimating the global solar radiation for the cities in the Jharkhand region. The
results of the city Ranchi by the proposed approach are compared with the measured data and the values
obtained from other empirical models in terms of statistical indicators like mean absolute percentage error
(MAPE), coefficient of correlation (R2), mean bias error (MBE), mean percentage error (MPE), root
means square error (RMSE), Nash Sutcliffe equation (NSE) and t statistical test (t stat). Further, the
average values of the regression constants are utilized in developing the suitable regression model for the
entire Jharkhand region where there is no estimation of global solar radiation by the previous approaches.
Keywords: Global solar radiation; Jharkhand; Regression constant; Statistical test

Sila Science. All Rights Reserved.

_____________________
*

Corresponding author: Tel./fax: +91-620-275-8144.

E-mail address: namratanitjsr04@gmail.com (K. Namrata).

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Nomenclature:
G
ETR
I0
a, b
n

n
N
n

N
f

s
MAPE

MBE

MPE
RSME
NSE

R2
t stat
h

Monthly average daily global solar radiation (kJ/m2-day)

Monthly average daily extraterrestrial solar radiation (kJ/m2-day)
Solar constant (1367 W/m2)
Regression constants
Day of the year (starting from 1st January)
Monthly average daily hours of bright sunshine hours
Monthly average of the maximum possible daily hours (day length of bright sunshine)
Clearness-index
Eccentricity correction factor
Latitude of the location
Solar declination
Sunrise hour angle
Mean absolute percentage error
Mean bias error
Mean percentage error
Root mean square error
Nash-Sutcliffe equation
The coefficient of correlation
t statistical test
Elevation of location above mean sea level (km)

1. Introduction
Global solar radiation is considered as the most important parameters in the performance
prediction and designed of any solar energy system. Solar energy occupies [1] one of the most
important places among the various possible alternative energy sources. An accurate knowledge
of solar radiation distribution at a particular geographical location is not only important for the
development of many solar energy devices and for estimates of their performances, but also for
the wider world community [2]. Obviously, measured data is the best form of this knowledge
unfortunately, there are very few meteorological station that measure global solar radiation,
where no measured data are available a common application has been to determine this parameter
by appropriate correlation which are empirically established models [3-8], which have been used
to calculate solar radiation, utilizing available meteorological, geographical and climatologically
parameters such as sunshine hours, air temperature, latitude, precipitation, relative humidity and
cloudiness. The most commonly used parameter for estimating global solar radiation is sunshine
duration. Among various correlations the modified version of Angstrom equation [9] who
proposed a linear relationship between the ratio of average daily global radiation to the
corresponding value on a completely clear day and the ratio of average daily sunshine duration
and its derivation has been widely used. There is an obvious relationship between sunshine
duration and the amount of solar energy received at the earths surface. Extraterrestrial radiation

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3131

can be precisely evaluated for any place and for any day of the month [10] from the solar
constant and relevant astronomical variables. Under overcast conditions, clearness index ( n / N )
becomes zero and regression constant a thus represents the global radiation received at the
ground through an overcast sky as a function of extraterrestrial radiation. The regression constant
b expresses the rate of increase of global radiation with increase in clearness index. So, many
investigations have been reported [11-17] which is based on monthly mean values of number of
days n and global solar radiation. Typical values of regression constants a and b published in
literature [18] are from 0.14 to 0.54 and 0.18 to 0.73 respectively. Lower values of a are
invariably associated with higher values of b and vice-versa.
The main objectives of this paper are:
To develop a linear regression model for estimating monthly average global solar
radiation in some selected cities in Jharkhand.
To estimate the monthly average daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface at
Ranchi using the proposed model, including different empirical relations.
Compare each model with measured data of Ranchi using a statistical test which includes
MAPE, R2, MBE, RMSE, NSE and t-stat.
Estimation of monthly average global solar radiation with the proposed models for all the
selected cities of Jharkhand.

2. Material and methods

2. 1. Study location
2. 1. 1. General climate of Jharkhand
Jharkhand is located in the eastern part of India and is enclosed by Bihar to the northern
side, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh to the western side, Orissa to the southern part and West
Bengal to the eastern part. Jharkhand envelops a geographical area of 79.70 lakh hectares. A lot
many areas of Jharkhand lie on the Chhota Nagpur Plateau. Many rivers pass through the Chhota
Nagpur plateau. They are: Damodar, Brahmani, Koel, Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers. The
higher watersheds of these rivers stretch out within the Jharkhand state. Much of the Jharkhand
state is still enclosed by forest.
There are three well-defined seasons in Jharkhand. The cold-weather season, from November
to February, is the most pleasant part of the year. In these months the temperature in Jharkhand
ranges from 7 C to 27 C . The hot-weather season lasts from March to mid-June. In the month of
May the minimum temperature is about 25 C and the maximum temperature is 45 C . The season
of the southwest monsoon from mid June to October, brings nearly all of the states annual
rainfall, which ranges from about 1,000 mm in the west-central part of the state to more than
1,500 mm in the southwest. Rainfall on the plateau is generally heavier than on the plains. Nearly
half of the annual precipitation falls in July and August.

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2. 1. 2. Climatological data of Jharkhand

In order to utilize solar energy for useful and efficient applications, knowledge of weather
parameters of that location is essential. The empirical formula suggested by various authors
employs these parameters to estimate the incident global solar radiation for a particular location
in the absence of measured data. These empirical formulas include the number of sunshine hours,
relative humidity, maximum and minimum temperatures, mean sea level pressure, wind speed,
number of rainy days, etc. In order to get an idea of the seasonal and annual variation of these
parameters each individual parameter has to be analyzed and discuss separately. A critical
assessment and study of it will enable us to utilize these parameters for developing and improving
the efficiency of thermal devices based on thermal energy conversion.
In brief about Jharkhand state:
1. On average the temperatures are always high.
2. Most rainfall is seen in the month of June and July.
3. The warmest month is April and May.
4. The coolest month is January.

2. 2. Solar radiation on horizontal surface

Various climate models have been developed for use in predicting the monthly average global
solar radiation, the popular one being the Angstrom-type regression equation developed by
Angstrom. This relates monthly average daily global radiation to the average daily sunshine
hours, and is given by the following expression:
n
G
a b
ETR
N

ETR (extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface) can be precisely evaluated for any
place and for any day for a month from the solar constants and relevant astronomical variables.
The daily value of the extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface (ETR) was
computed according to the following equations:
ETR

24 3600

I f cos cos sin

sin sin
0
s 180 s

The eccentricity correction factor f , solar declination and the sunrise hour angle
s can be respectively calculated as:
360n

f 1 0.033 cos

365

K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research

360284 n

365

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3133

23.45sin

s arccos tan tan

2
s
15

2. 3. Evaluation of regression constants for selected cities of Jharkhand employing Angstrom

method
In this section a linear regression model has been developed for estimating monthly average
of daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface for five selected cities of Jharkhand namely
Jamshedpur ( 2248' N , 8611' E ), Ranchi ( 2321' N , 8520' E ), Dhanbad ( 23 48' N , 86 27 ' E ),
Hazaribagh ( 2359' N , 85 21' E ) and Bokaro ( 2340' N , 8609' E ).
For this value of global solar radiation G and hour of bright sunshine ( n ) were measured at
the city Jamshedpur,Dhanbad,Hazaribagh and Bokaro for the period (2010-14,) using
Pyranometer and in city Ranchi these values were collected from the Solar Radiation Handbook
(Solar Energy Centre, MNRE, India Meteorological Department.The standard methodology is
followed (Equations 2 to 6) to calculate the extraterrestrial and global radiation for the above
places. Extraterrestrial radiation can be precisely evaluated for any place and for any day of the
month from the solar constant and relevant astronomical variables. The values of global to
extraterrestrial ( G ) and clearness index (n N ) are plotted in Figs. 1-5 for the selected cities of
ETR

Jharkhand. The slope of the plot and its intercept on the ordinate will represent, respectively the
values of regression constants a and b . These values are shown in Table 1.

Fig. 1. Relationship between

G
and
ETR

for the city Jamshedpur.

N
3134 K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research

Fig. 2. Relationship between

Fig. 3. Relationship between

G
and
ETR

G
and
ETR

33

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for the city Ranchi.

n
N

for the city Dhanbad.

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K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research

Fig. 4. Relationship between

G
and
ETR

Fig. 5. Relationship between

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for the city Hazaribagh.

G
and
ETR

n
N

for the city Bokaro.

3135

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Table 1. Regression constant for selected locations

Regression constants
Location
a
Jamshedpur
Ranchi
Dhanbad
Hazaribagh
Bokaro

0.2026
0.2111
0.1978
0.2056
0.2039

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ab

0.514
0.489
0.529
0.5101
0.5104

0.7166
0.7001
0.7268
0.7157
0.7143

3. Description of models for estimating global solar radiation

To evaluate the monthly average global solar radiations on a horizontal surface, the following
models are considered:
a. Rietveld Model
Rietveld [21] examined several published values of a and b and noted that a is related
linearly and b hyperbolically to the mean value of S such that this equation is believed to be
applicable anywhere in the world and yields superior results for cloudy conditions, for S < 0.4.

G
0.18 0.62 S
ETR
where, S

n
.
N

b. Ogleman Model
Ogleman et al. [22] proposed the use of a correlation which relates the global solar radiation to
S in a quadratic form as:

G
0.195 0.675 S 0.142 S 2
ETR

c. Akinoglu Model

G
and S to
ETR
estimate the values of global solar radiation for 58 locations displaced in several countries. This
equation, whose coefficients have the same values, respectively, for all tested locations is
Akinoglu and Ecevit [23] suggested a quadratic correlation between the ratio of

G
0.145 0.845 S 0.280 S 2
ETR

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d. Glover Model
Glover and McCulloch [24] attempted to introduce latitude dependency to one of the
Angstrom-Prescott coefficients and presented the following

G
0.29 cos 0.52 S
ETR

10

e. Gopinathan Model
Gopinathan [20] proposed a and b are related to three parameters, the latitude, the
elevation and the sunshine hours.
a 0.309 0.539cos 0.0639h 0.290S

b 1.527 1.027cos 0.0926h 0.359S

G
0.32 0.42 S
ETR

11

f. Present Model

G
0.2111 0.489 S
ETR

12

4. Comparison and validation of models with statistical errors

There are many parameters which deal with the assessment and comparison of monthly mean
daily solar radiation estimation models. Here the statistical parameters like the mean bias error
(MBE) and the root mean square error (RMSE) helps to calculate the error or the deviation of the
calculated value of the measured value. Mean percentage error (MPE) and coefficient of
correlation (R2) tests the linear relationship between predicted and measured values. The best
result is when these statistics are closer to zero, but the coefficient of correlation should approach
to 1 as closely as possible for better modeling. To improve the results and better comparison the
NashSutcliffe equation (NSE) is also selected as an evaluation criterion. A model is more
efficient when NSE is closer to 1. The errors that have been estimated help to compare the
models, but they do not make the model statistically significant. The t-statistic allows models to
be compared and at the same time it is carried out to determine statistical significance of the
predicted values by the models.

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a. The mean bias error

MBE

1n
H
H
i, meas
n 1 i, calc

13

This test provides information on long-term performance. A low MBE value is desired. A
negative value gives the average amount of underestimation in the calculated value. So, one
drawback of these two mentioned test is that overestimation of an individual observation will
cancel underestimation in a separate observation.
b. Mean percentage error

H
i, meas
1 n i, calc
*100
MPE%
n 1
H

i, meas

14

c. Root mean square error

2
1 n
RMSE H i ,calc H i ,meas
n 1

15

The value of RMSE is always positive, representing zero in the ideal case. The normalized
root mean square error gives information on the short term performance of the correlations by
allowing a term by term comparison of the actual deviation between the predicted and measured
values. The smaller the value, the better is the models performance.
d. NashSutcliffe equation

NSE 1

i ,calc

1
n

meas

H i ,meas
H i ,meas

16

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where H meas is the mean measured global radiation. A model is more efficient when NSE is closer
to 1.
e. MAPE

MAPE

1 n H i ,meas H i ,calc
H
n 1
i , meas

17

f. Coefficient of correlation
The coefficient of correlation, R2 can be used to determine the linear relationship between the
measured and estimated values.
g. t-statistical test
It is one of the tests for mean values, the random variable t with n1 degrees of freedom may
be written here as follows:

n 1 MBE 2
t

2
2
RMSE MBE

18

The smaller the value of t the better is the performance. To determine whether a models
estimate is statistically significant, one simply has to determine, from standard statistical tables,
the critical t value. For the models estimates to be judged statistically significant at the
calculated t value must be less than the critical value.

5. Results and discussion

5. 1. Regression analysis

From the results highlighted in Table 1 the following first order Angstrom correlation models
have been developed for use in estimating values of global solar radiation at each of the
respective five cities as given below:
a. For Jamshedpur

G
n
0.2026 0.514
ETR
N
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19
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b. For Ranchi

G
n
0.2111 0.489
ETR
N

20

c. For Dhanbad

G
n
0.1978 0.529
ETR
N

21

d. For Hazaribagh

G
n
0.2056 0.5101
ETR
N

22

e. For Bokaro
G
n
0.2039 0.5104
ETR
N

23

It is apparent from Eqs.19-23 that neither a nor b vary with latitude or altitude in any
systematic manner. However, the values of the sum of the regression constants a b ; which
represent the maximum Clearness Index ( n N 1 ), averaged over the period of analysis, are
found to be almost equal for the five cities. The values of a b obtaining for Jamshedpur,
Ranchi Danbad, Hazaribagh and Bokaro are 0.717, 0.700, 0.726, 0.715 and 0.714 respectively.
The averaged values of a and b for the five selected cities were used in then developing a
linear regression model for estimating solar radiation in Jharkhand.

G
n
0.204 0.5105
ETR
N

24

Eq. (24) is to be used in estimating global solar radiation for any city of Jharkhand (India).

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5. 2. Validation of estimated solar radiation on horizontal surface using different models and
statistical analysis of models
The estimated values of the monthly average global solar radiation using various models and
proposed models (Eqs. 7-12) along with the measured data for city Ranchi is shown in Table 2
and plotted in Fig. 6. The resuits obtained from statistical test (Eqs. 13-18) are summarized in
Table 3 as well as plotted in Figs. (7-13). It is evident from this table, that present model (Eqs.
12) has the best correlation coefficient with R2=0.975, while the Akinoglu model has a
correlation factor of R2 = 0.972 followed by Oglemann, Glover and Rietveld models having the
correlation coefficients 0.97, 0.96 and 0.955 respectively. The lowest correlation coefficients
R2=0.889 is from Gopinathan model. The accuracy of each model used in the estimation of
global solar radiation was tested by calculating the mean bias error (MBE %) and the root mean
square error (RMSE) from Eqs. (13) and (15) respectively. It was observed that the lower the
RMSE the more accurate the equation used. Positive MBE shows over-estimation and a negative
MBE show under estimation. In comparison with all the models, present model estimates the
lowest RMSE having 7.82% and the highest one with Gopinathan model (24.9%) followed by
Glover (20.11%), Rietveld (12.5%), Oglemann (9.23%) and Akinoglu (8.47%). The MBE values
obtained from the models are positive in some cases and negative in others. Values of MBE from
all the models except present model indicate an over-estimation. Present model has very little
under-estimation, i.e. 6.28%. Also, the highest values of NSE (0.91) as shown in Fig. 11 and
lowest values of t-test results (Table 3) indicate the superiority of the proposed model with
respect to others. The RMSE% value, which is a measure of the accuracy of estimation, has been
found to be the lowest for the present model (7.83%). The transmissivity of the atmosphere of
global solar radiation under perfectly clear sky conditions is given as the sum of the regression
coefficients, a+b. Also, the transmissivity of an overcast atmosphere is interpreted as the
intercept a. Hence, the need to compare present regression relation with others in terms of the
atmospheric transmissivity values. From present regression constants (a=0.211 and b=0.489) i.e.
0.7001. The clear-sky transmissivity of most tropical regions in general seems to lie between 0.68
and 0.75 [18].

From the statistical results a new linear model

based on the
Angstrom model is extremely recommended to estimate monthly average daily global solar
radiation for Ranchi (Jharkhand) and in elsewhere with similar climate conditions areas where
radiation data are unavailable. Further, the other individual new proposed models are also being
recommended for estimating the average daily global solar radiation for Jamshedpur, Bokaro,
Dhanbad and Hazaribagh.

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Table 2. Comparison between measured and estimated monthly average daily global
radiation (MJ/m2-day) for the city Ranchi
Month
Jan
Feb
March
April
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec

Rietveld
Model
17.079
19.279
21.293
24.096
23.431
16.324
14.959
14.304
15.408
16.293
16.710
16.211

Oglemann
Model
16.230
18.427
20.623
23.258
23.001
16.973
15.683
15.004
15.860
16.272
16.072
15.397

Global Solar Radiation (MJ/m2-day)

Rietveld

Ogleman

Akinoglu
Model
16.157
18.380
20.647
23.265
23.083
16.718
15.282
14.610
15.761
16.337
16.061
15.323

Akinoglu

Glover

Glover
Model
17.204
19.499
21.756
24.552
24.225
18.322
17.132
16.405
16.946
17.151
16.979
16.324

Gopinathan
Model
16.687
18.917
21.198
23.798
23.688
18.945
17.952
17.240
17.387
17.128
16.569
15.845

Proposed Model

Gopinathan

Proposed
Model
14.966
17.072
19.130
21.323
20.930
15.505
14.257
14.074
14.569
15.071
14.721
14.201

Measured
15.630
17.690
20.820
22.210
21.190
16.750
14.500
13.890
14.900
15.760
15.340
14.680

Measured data

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Month

Fig. 6. The measured and predicted monthly average daily global solar radiation ( G ) for
the city Ranchi in the generation of different models.

Table 3. Validation of the models under different statistical test for the city Ranchi
Statistical
Parameters
R2
MBE
kJ/m2-day
MPE
RMSE
kJ/m2-day
NSE
MAPE
t-stat

Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Glover

Gopinathan

0.975

0.955

0.97

0.972

0.96

0.889

-628.56

1002.25

786.667

688.667

1927.917

182.833

-0.035608

0.057789

0.047651

0.040859

0.116453

0.114

783.47218

1250.13

923.9352

847.4825

2011.553

2049.563

0.9196574
0.0378174
4.4473602

0.795446
0.062028
4.448678

0.888267
0.049228
5.384275

0.905993
0.042562
4.426255

0.470383
0.116453
11.3959

0.450179
0.114
6.6268

R2

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1
0,98
0,96
0,94
0,92
0,9
0,88
0,86
0,84

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R2

Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Glover

Gopinathan

Model

Fig. 7. Coefficient of Correlation (R2) of six models.

MBE

2500

MBE (kJ/m2-day)

2000
1500
1000
500
0
-500

Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Glover

-1000
Model

Fig. 8. MBE of the six models.

Gopinathan

3143

MPE

0,14
0,12
MPE (%)

0,1
0,08
0,06
0,04
0,02
0
-0,02

Present

Rietveld

Oglemann Akinoglu

Glover

Gopinathan

-0,04
-0,06
Model

Fig. 9. MPE of the six models.

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RMSE

2500

RMSE (kJ/m2-day)

2000
1500
1000
500
0
Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Glover

Gopinathan

Model

NSE

Fig. 10. RMSE of the six models.

NSE

1
0,9
0,8
0,7
0,6
0,5
0,4
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Model

Glover

Gopinathan

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Fig. 11. NSE of the six models.

MAPE

0,14
0,12
MAPE (%)

0,1
0,08
0,06
0,04
0,02
0
Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Glover

Gopinathan

Model

Fig. 12. MAPE of the six models.

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12
10

t-Stat

8
6
4
2
0
Present

Rietveld

Oglemann

Akinoglu

Glover

Gopinathan

Model

Fig. 13. t-Stat of the six model.

5. 3. Prediction of monthly average global solar radiation for cities Jamshedpur, Ranchi,
Dhanbad, Hazaribagh and Bokaro
The characteristic distribution of global solar radiation at Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Dhanbad,
Hazaribag and Bokaro shows an interesting and encouraging results from the availability and
application point of view, Fig. 14 shows a plot of the values of monthly average daily global solar
radiation along with the extraterrestrial radiation for these cities. The results are also tabulated in
Table 4. It is to be noted that the variation of cloudiness is primarily responsible for the day to
day variation of the daily global radiation. The variation of average global to extraterrestrial
radiation (
) over the year for these cities are also shown in Table 4. The index is

minimum during the months of July- August, indicating the presence of thick clouds and a
transmission of only 35.6 and 36.7 % for these months respectively of the extraterrestrial
insolation on horizontal surface. In the peak summer month April the sky is fairly clear
(
) and allows on the average nearly 57.62% of the extraterrestrial radiation to
reach the earths surface. In winter months the clear sky conditions are obvious from the high
values
of
global
to
extraterrestrial
radiation
(
for the months of Jan., Feb., March,
Oct., Nov. and Dec. respectively.
From Table 4 it is observed that maximum average daily global solar radiation is received in
the months of April and May in all cities of Jharkhand, while it is minimum in the monsoon
session (July-August) and slightly moderate in winter (NovemberJanuary) in all parts of
Jharkhand. Table 5 shows the comparison of annual average global solar radiation for different
cities of Jharkhand and it is evident that annual global solar radiation received at Ranchi is lowest
as compared to all areas of Jharkhand. The annual average global solar radiation for Bokaro is
3146 K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research 33 (2015)
3129-3150
maximum followed by Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh and Dhanbad. It is further noted that the annual
global solar radiation received at Bokaro is 14.03% higher than that of Ranchi, while it is 13.63,
13.20 and 12.09 % respectively for Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Hazaribagh.
The values of global solar radiation calculated from single newly proposed model for
Jharkhand is also compared with individual model of various cities and it is found that deviation
in values of global solar radiation is in the range of -11.35 % to 0.108 % for selected cities of
Jharkhand. Hence, a newly proposed model to predict the monthly average global solar radiation
is recommended for any location of Jharkhand.

Table 4. Monthly average daily global solar radiation (MJ/m2-day) for various cities of
Jharkhand
Jamshedpur

Ranchi

Dhanbad

Hazaribag

Bokaro

ETR

G
ETR

ETR

G
ETR

ETR

G
ETR

ETR

G
ETR

ETR

G
ETR

Jan

25.294

15.646

0.619

24.992

14.966

0.599

24.733

15.296

0.618

24.846

15.174

0.611

24.807

15.471

0.624

Feb

29.143

17.653

0.606

28.890

17.072

0.591

28.673

17.340

0.605

28.768

17.458

0.607

28.735

17.665

0.615

March

33.979

19.549

0.575

33.818

19.130

0.566

33.679

19.284

0.573

33.740

19.564

0.580

33.718

19.499

0.578

April

37.724

22.034

0.584

37.676

21.323

0.566

37.632

21.869

0.581

37.652

21.511

0.571

37.645

22.220

0.590

May

39.631

21.547

0.544

39.683

20.930

0.527

39.725

21.426

0.539

39.707

21.714

0.547

39.714

21.806

0.549

June

40.084

15.660

0.391

40.182

15.505

0.386

40.264

16.036

0.398

40.229

15.445

0.384

40.241

15.687

0.390

Month

July

39.717

14.517

0.366

39.793

14.257

0.358

39.855

14.690

0.369

39.828

14.296

0.359

39.838

14.691

0.369

Aug

38.255

13.914

0.364

38.247

14.074

0.368

38.237

14.201

0.371

38.242

13.810

0.361

38.240

14.206

0.372

Sep

35.029

14.692

0.419

34.906

14.569

0.417

34.800

14.340

0.412

34.846

14.512

0.416

34.830

14.301

0.411

Oct

30.471

15.217

0.499

30.248

15.071

0.498

30.056

15.152

0.504

30.139

14.960

0.496

30.110

15.171

0.504

Nov

26.012

15.365

0.591

25.722

14.721

0.572

25.473

15.393

0.604

25.581

15.276

0.597

25.544

15.098

0.591

Dec

23.980

14.858

0.620

23.666

14.201

0.600

23.397

14.620

0.625

23.514

14.391

0.612

23.473

14.675

0.625

K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research

33

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3129-3150

3147

Fig. 14. Monthly average solar radiation on a horizontal surface for various cities of Jharkhand.
Table 5. Comparison of average daily global solar radiation (MJ/m2-day) for various cities
of Jharkhand
Month

Jamshedpur

Ranchi

Dhanbad

Hazaribagh

Bokaro

Jharkhand

(MJ/m )

(MJ/m )

(MJ/m )

(MJ/m )

(MJ/m )

(MJ/m2)

Jan

15.647

14.966

15.296

15.175

15.471

15.311

Feb

17.653

17.073

17.340

17.458

17.666

17.439

March

19.549

19.131

19.284

19.565

19.500

19.408

April

22.035

21.323

21.870

21.512

22.221

21.792

May

21.548

20.930

21.426

21.715

21.806

21.485

June

15.661

15.506

16.036

15.446

15.688

15.664

July

14.518

14.257

14.691

14.297

14.692

14.487

Aug

13.914

14.074

14.201

13.810

14.207

14.041

Sep

14.692

14.569

14.340

14.512

14.301

14.485

Oct

15.218

15.071

15.152

14.961

15.172

15.116

Nov

15.366

14.721

15.394

15.277

15.098

15.169

Dec

14.859

14.201

14.620

14.391

14.675

14.549

Sum

200.66

195.82

199.65

198.12

200.50

198.94

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3129-3150

3148 K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research

33

6. Conclusions
From the study of global solar radiation on horizontal surfaces at Jharkhand the prospect of
application and efficient utilization of solar energy seems to be very bright. The sun shines for
about 2700 hour per year and this abundance of sunshine is an indication of clear sky condition
at Jharkhand. This is also confirmed from the high clearness index throughout the year, with the
exception of monsoon months.
The objective of this study was to evaluate various model for the estimation of monthly
average daily global solar radiation on a horizontal surface from bright sun shine hours for some
selected cities of Jharkhand and to select the most appropriate model for Jharkhand state. The
values of monthly average global solar radiation are calculated using the models suggested by
Rietveld ,Ogleman, Akinoglu, Glover, Gopinathan and Present model. The selected model were
compared with the present model for estimating monthly average global solar radiation for
Ranchi, on the basis of statistical error tests such as mean bias error (MBE), the mean percentage
error (MPE), Root mean square error (RMSE), Nash- Sutcliffe equation (NSE), correlation
coefficient and the t-test.
From the statistical results a new empirical linear model

n
G ETR 0.204 0.5105
N
based on Angstrom model is extremely recommended to estimate monthly average daily global
solar radiation for any city of Jharkhand and in elsewhere with similar climate conditions areas

where radiation data is unavailable. Furthermore, the other individual new proposed models are
also being recommended for estimating the average daily global solar radiation for Ranchi,
Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Hazaribagh.
From the analysis of the solar radiation data for Jharkhand, it is observed that on the annual
average basis, it is fairly consistent, with an annual average total of nearly 6100 MJ/m 2. The
maximum average daily global solar radiation is received in the month of April and May in all
cities of Jharkhand, while it is minimum in the monsoon session (July- August) and slightly
moderate in winter (November-January) in all parts of Jharkhand. The comparative study of
annual average global solar radiation for different cities of Jharkhand showed that annual global
solar radiation received at Ranchi is lowest as compared to all areas of Jharkhand. The annual
average global solar radiation is maximum at Bokaro followed by Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh and
Dhanbad. It is further noted that global solar radiation received at Bokaro is 14.03% higher than
that of Ranchi, while it is 13.6%, 13.20% and 12.09% respectively for Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and
K. Namrata, S. P. Sharma / EEST Part A: Energy Science and Research
33
(2015)
3129-3150
3149
Hazaribagh. The values of global solar radiation calculated from single newly proposed model for
Jharkhand is also compared with individual model of various cities and it is found that deviation
in values of Hg is in the range of -11.3% to 0.18% for selected cities of Jharkhand. Hence, a newly
proposed model to estimate the monthly average global solar radiation is recommended for any
location of Jharkhand.

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