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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Analysis of terrestrial solar radiation exergy

S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu *
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Dazhi Street, Harbin 150001, Peoples Republic of China
Received 5 July 2008; received in revised form 3 March 2009; accepted 4 March 2009
Available online 5 April 2009
Communicated by: Associate Editor R. Petela

Abstract
Based on Candaus denition of radiative exergy, the exergy of the extraterrestrial and the terrestrial solar radiation are computed and
compared by using the solar spectral radiation databank developed by Gueymard. The results show that within the spectrum region from
0.28 to 4.0 lm, the total energy quality factor (i.e., the exergy-to-energy ratio) of extraterrestrial solar radiation is about 0.9292, and that
of the global terrestrial solar radiation is about 0.9171 under US standard atmosphere condition and zero solar zenith angle. The terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux is large in the near ultraviolet and the visible light region. The reference radiation exergy spectra are obtained under atmospheric conditions consistent with ASTM standard G173-03. The eect of tilt angle on the terrestrial solar
radiative exergy for inclined surface, and the eect of air mass on total energy quality factor of the terrestrial solar radiation for horizontal surface are analyzed. With the increase of tilt angle, the terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux initially increases and then
decreases, the total energy quality factor of the diuse part decreases monotonically, while that of the direct part is invariant. The total
energy quality factor of the direct, the diuse and the global terrestrial solar radiation all decrease with the increase of air mass.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Solar radiation; Exergy; Energy quality factor

1. Introduction
Exergy analysis is a very eective method to analyze the
process of heat transfer and it provides a new insight that
cannot be obtained from energy analysis. The best utilization of solar energy is evaluated by the maximum workproducing potential (exergy) or the maximum conversion
eciency that is associated with thermal radiation. The
maximum conversion eciency of direct solar radiation
was studied by many researchers, such as Petela (1964,
2003), Spanner (1964), Press (1976), Landsberg and Tonge
(1979), Parrot (1978, 1979), Jeter (1981), Kabelac (1991),
Millan et al. (1996), and so on.
Petela (1964, 2003) investigated the exergy of thermal
radiation and proposed a ratio of the relative potential of
the maximum energy available from radiation. For undi*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 451 86402237.

E-mail address: lhliu@hit.edu.cn (L.H. Liu).

luted solar radiation this limiting eciency was written as

gP 1  43 TT S0 13 TT S0 4 , in which T 0 and T s are the environment temperature and the solar radiation temperature,
respectively. For the direct sunlight, Press (1976) and
Landsberg and Tonge (1979) obtained a same optimal eciency as Petelas formulae (1964). For any direct radiation
propagating within the solid angle 2p, Parrot (1978)
derived the maximum theoretical conversion eciency of
solar energy as gPa 1  43 TT S0 1  cos d 13 TT S0 4 , where d
is the half angle of the cone subtended by the suns disc.
However, by using the availability concept, Parrot (1979)
obtained results which conrmed the results obtained by
Petela (1964). Spanner (1964) applied the concept of absolute work instead of useful work to express the exergy of
direct solar radiation, and expressed the maximum eciency of direct solar radiation as gS 1  43 TT S0 . Based on
the analysis of heat engine, Jeter (1981) derived the result
that the Carnot eciency is applicable to the exergy of

0038-092X/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2009.03.011

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

1391

Nomenclature
c0
Eb;k
Ebt;k
Eb
Ebt
Ed;k
Edt;k
Ed
Edt
Eg;k
Ert;k

Es;dt;k
EETS
k
h
Ik
I 0;k
I b;k
I bt;k
I d;k
I dt;k
I ETS
k
kb
Lk
L0;k
m
PD

r
rs

speed of light in vacuum, 2.99792458  108 (m

s1)
direct terrestrial solar spectral irradiance for horizontal surface (W m2 lm1)
direct terrestrial solar spectral irradiance for inclined surface (W m2 lm1)
direct terrestrial solar radiation energy ux for
horizontal surface (W m2)
direct terrestrial solar radiation energy ux for
inclined surface (W m2)
diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance for
horizontal surface (W m2 lm1)
diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance for inclined surface (W m2 lm1)
diuse terrestrial solar radiation energy ux for
horizontal surface (W m2)
diuse terrestrial solar radiation energy ux for
inclined surface (W m2)
global terrestrial solar spectral irradiance for
horizontal surface (W m2 lm1)
diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance reected by the foreground for inclined surface
(W m2 lm1)
sky diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance for
inclined surface (W m2 lm1)
extraterrestrial solar spectral irradiance (W m2
lm1)
Plancks constant, 6.626176  1034 (J s)
spectral radiative intensity (W m2 lm1 sr1)
spectral radiative intensity of the environment
(W m2 lm1 sr1)
direct terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity
for horizontal surface (W m2 lm1 sr1)
direct terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity
for inclined surface (W m2 lm1 sr1)
diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity for horizontal surface (W m2 lm1 sr1)
diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity for inclined surface (W m2 lm1 sr1)
extraterrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity
(W m2 lm1 sr1)
Boltzmanns constant, 1.380662  1023 (J
K1)
spectral radiation entropy intensity (W m2
lm1 sr1 K1)
spectral radiation entropy intensity of the environment (W m2 lm1 sr1 K1)
air mass
percent dierence between the extraterrestrial
and the global terrestrial solar spectral radiation
exergy ux,%
EarthSun distance, 1.4959787  1011 (m)
solar radius, 6.95508  108 (m)

Rb
Rd
Rr
T
T0
Ts
Tk

geometry factor
factor of sky diuse terrestrial solar radiation
factor of diuse terrestrial solar radiation reected by the foreground
temperature (K)
temperature of the environment (K)
solar radiative temperature (K)
spectral radiation temperature (K)

Greek Symbols
d
the half angle of the cone subtended by the suns
disc (deg)
solar azimuth angle (deg)
us
surface azimuth angle (deg)
ut
the limiting eciency of undiluted solar radiagP
tion proposed by Petela
the maximum theoretical conversion eciency of
gPa
solar energy derived by Parrot
the maximum eciency of direct solar radiation
gS
proposed by Spanner
spectral energy quality factor of the extraterresgETS
k
trial solar radiation
spectral energy quality factor of the direct terresgTS
b;k
trial solar radiation for horizontal surface
total energy quality factor of the direct terrestrial
gTS
b
solar radiation for horizontal surface
total energy quality factor of the direct terrestrial
gTS
bt
solar radiation for inclined surface
spectral energy quality factor of the diuse tergTS
d;k
restrial solar radiation for horizontal surface
total energy quality factor of the diuse terresgTS
d
trial solar radiation for horizontal surface
total energy quality factor of the diuse terresgTS
dt
trial solar radiation for inclined surface
spectral energy quality factor of the global tergTS
g;k
restrial solar radiation for horizontal surface
total energy quality factor of the global terresgTS
g
trial solar radiation for horizontal surface
total energy quality factor of the global terresgTS
gt
trial solar radiation for inclined surface
total energy quality factor of the extraterrestrial
gETS
solar radiation
k
wavelength (lm)
h
angle between radiation beam and normal direction of the surface (deg)
the angle of incidence on the inclined surface
hd
(deg)
solar zenith angle (deg)
hs
tilt angle for the inclined surface (deg)
ht
spectral reectance
qk
wk
spectral radiative exergy intensity (W m2 lm1
sr1)
DX
solid angle of the suns disc (sr)


1392

X
W
WETS
k
WTS
b;k
WTS
b
WTS
bt;k
WTS
bt
WTS
d;k
WTS
d

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

solid angle (sr)

radiation exergy ux (W m2)
extraterrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy
ux (W m2 lm1)
direct terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy
ux for horizontal surface. (W m2 lm1)
direct terrestrial solar radiation exergy ux for
horizontal surface (W m2)
direct terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy
ux for inclined surface (W m2 lm1)
direct terrestrial solar radiation exergy ux for
inclined surface (W m2)
diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy
ux for horizontal surface. (W m2 lm1)
total diuse terrestrial solar radiation exergy ux
for horizontal surface (W m2)

thermal radiation. With the same conclusion as Jeter

(1981), Kabelac (1991) and Millan et al. (1996) adopted
the Carnot eciency as the upper limit exergy eciency
of solar radiation. Petela (2003) discussed in detail these
three formulae proposed by Petela (1964), Spanner (1964)
and Jeter (1981), respectively, and conrmed Petelas
(1964) formula for undiluted direct solar radiation.
As we know, the direct radiation is attenuated on its
path through atmosphere and a part of the scattered energy
reaches the surface as diuse radiation. To the authors
knowledge, the eciency of diuse radiation has not been
studied extensively. Press (1976) pointed out that the diffuse sunlight allowed about 25% less conversion of energy
because of the greater entropy in the diuse radiation.
Landsberg and Tonge (1979) indicated that the eciency
of diuse solar radiation is 70% and that of direct solar
radiation is 93% for a black absorber.
However, the former works on maximum work eciency of the direct or the diuse solar radiation mentioned
above did not consider the spectral distribution. The incident terrestrial solar radiation irradiance varies abruptly
with wavelength and the terrestrial solar radiation cannot
be regarded as blackbody radiation in engineering. The utilization of multispectral solar energy is important for many
scientic disciplines as well as engineering and biological
applications. Therefore, the maximum useful work, i.e.,
the spectral radiation exergy ux of terrestrial solar radiation is necessary to be studied.
Before the calculation of total radiation exergy, a denition of monochromatic radiation exergy intensity should
be given. However, the denition of monochromatic radiation exergy intensity has not been well formulated. An
important problem is that whether the GouyStodola theorem is suitable for non-equilibrium thermal radiation. The
GouyStodola theorem proves that, for any given system,
there is a linear correlation between the corresponding
exergy losses and entropy generated by the system, and

WTS
dt;k
WTS
dt
WTS
g;k
WTS
gt;k
WETS

diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy

ux for inclined surface. (W m2 lm1)
diuse terrestrial solar radiation exergy ux for
inclined surface (W m2)
global terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy
ux for horizontal surface (W m2 lm1)
global terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy
ux for inclined surface (W m2 lm1)
total extraterrestrial solar radiation exergy ux
(W m2)

Abbreviations
ETS
extraterrestrial solar
TS
terrestrial solar

the ratio between them is the environment temperature

T 0 used in the exergy analysis. Based on Plancks (1959)
formula of spectral radiative entropy intensity, Candau
(2003) presented a derivation of the spectral radiative exergy intensity. Following the work of Candau (2003), Liu
and Chu (2007) deduced a radiative exergy transfer equation in the semitransparent medium, and showed that the
relation between exergy losses and entropy generation are
consistent with the GuoyStodola theorem in classical
thermodynamics, which on the other hand demonstrated
the validity of Candaus denition of spectral radiative
exergy intensity.
The calculation of spectral radiative exergy intensity is
based on the spectral radiative intensity. The terrestrial
solar spectral radiative intensity is derived from the terrestrial solar spectral irradiance, which can be obtained by
some advanced radiative transfer codes, such as LibRadtran (Mayer and Kylling, 2005), MODTRAN (Berk
et al., 1999), SBDART (Ricchiazzi et al., 1998) and so
on. However, the shortages of these three radiative transfer
models mentioned above, such as, complexity and lack of
support for the prediction of spectral irradiance on tilted
surfaces etc, make their utilization inappropriate for energy
application. In recent years, a spectral model and FORTRAN code, namely, SMARTS (Simple Model of the
Atmospheric Radiative Transfer of Sunshine) were proposed by Gueymard (1995, 2001, 2003) and the latest version was SMARTS 2.9.5 revised by Gueymard (2006).
This code can be used to predict the direct beam, diuse
and global irradiance incident on surfaces of any geometry
at the Earths surface. SMARTS is a spectral radiative
code, which covers the whole shortwave solar spectrum
(2804000 nm) with unequal wavelength intervals, i.e.,
0.5 nm between 280 and 400 nm, 1 nm between 400 and
1702 nm, and 5 nm between 1705 and 4000 nm. Gueymard
(2005) reviewed the spectral solar irradiance models, and
pointed out that the applications of SMARTS model have

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

been accepted in both the atmospheric and engineering

elds because of its versatility, ease of use, execution speed,
and various renements. Recently, Gueymard (2008) conrmed the excellent accuracy and high performance of
SMARTS model on predicting clear-sky shortwave irradiance spectra on horizontal, tilted, or tracking surfaces.
The spectral selection is important in biological, chemical and physical processes and so on. The solar photovoltaic conversion one of the spectral selective processes
for instance, in which photons with energy less than the
bandgap energy or photons with wavelengths longer than
the cuto wavelength are not used by photovoltaic devices
(De Vos, 1992; Coutts, 1999) is also one of the main
approaches to utilize solar energy. As monitoring the spectrally selective processes experimentally is quite dicult,
the prediction of such system at the initial design stage
would be necessary. In spectrally selective system or devices
to be tested or rated, reference spectra are very necessary to
evaluate the relative performance of PV materials and
devices. A typical application of SMARTS is to obtain reference spectra for better photovoltaic design, PV cell performance analysis, and rating (Gueymard et al., 2002).
Traditionally, the analysis of utilization of solar energy is
from the viewpoint of energy analysis (e.g., Baruch et al.,
1995; Badescu and Landsberg, 1995; Labuhn and Kabelac,
2001; Markvart and Landsberg, 2002), however, the viewpoint of exergy analysis has not been extended in the solar
energy application. It is similar to the energy analysis of
solar energy application; the exergy analysis also needs to
consider the spectral characteristics of solar radiation.
For better utilization of solar energy, the terrestrial solar
spectral radiation exergy needs to be studied.
The objective of this paper is to study the exergy of
terrestrial solar radiation. The SMARTS model is
adopted to predict the direct beam, the diuse and the
global irradiance incident on surfaces of any geometry
at the Earths surface. The exergy of the extraterrestrial
and the terrestrial solar radiation are compared. The
spectral energy quality factor (i.e. the ratio of the spectral radiation exergy ux to the spectral radiation
energy ux) of the extraterrestrial and the terrestrial
solar radiation are analyzed. The reference radiation
exergy spectra are obtained under atmospheric condition
consistent with ASTM (American Society for Testing
and Materials) standard G173-03 (ASTM, 2003). The
terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy uxes at dierent tilt angles are compared. Finally, the eects of tilt
angle and air mass on total energy quality factor of terrestrial solar radiation are analyzed.

scattered energy reaches the surface as diuse terrestrial

solar radiation. The polarization only aects the diuse terrestrial solar radiation. Kabelac and Drake (1992) analyzed
the eect of the degree of polarization on diuse terrestrial
solar radiation entropy. The results show that in the clear
sky condition, the value of entropy ux for the isotropic
diuse radiation calculated under polarized radiation is
only <2% lower than that under unpolarized radiation.
Therefore, we only consider the unpolarized terrestrial
solar radiation in the following analysis.
For unpolarized radiation, the spectral radiative intensity of blackbody at temperature T is given by Plancks
(1959) law as
Ik

2hc20 k5
exphc0 =k b kT   1

Tk

hc0
1


kk b ln 2hc20 k5 =I k 1

The spectral radiative entropy intensity carried by a

radiation beam with spectral radiative intensity I k dened
by Planck (1959) was as follows:
(
!
!
Ik
Ik
4
Lk 2k b c0 k
1 ln
1
2hc20 k5
2hc20 k5
!
!)
Ik
Ik

ln
3
2hc20 k5
2hc20 k5
where k is wavelength, c0 is the speed of light in vacuum, h
is the Plancks constant and k b is the Boltzmanns constant,
respectively.
Based on Plancks denition of radiative entropy intensity, Candau (2003) dened the spectral radiative exergy
intensity as
wk I k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I k  L0;k I 0;k T 0 g

where T 0 is the environmental temperature, I 0;k and L0;k are

the spectral radiative intensity and the spectral radiative
entropy intensity of the blackbody at T 0 , respectively. In
this paper, T 0 288:1K is selected as the temperature of
the environment. By integrating Eq. (4) over wavelength
and solid angle, the radiative exergy ux is written as
Z Z
ZX Zk
X

In the following analysis, only the incoherent radiation

is considered and the wave interference and diraction
are neglected. The direct terrestrial solar radiation is attenuated on its path through atmosphere and a part of the

And the spectral radiation temperature corresponding

to any spectral radiative intensity I k is dened as

W
2. Radiative exergy

1393

wk cos hdkdX
fI k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I k  L0;k I 0;k T 0 gg cos hdkdX

5
Here h is the angle between radiation beam and normal
direction of the surface.


1394

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

WETS
EETS dk
k k

3. Solar radiative exergy and energy quality factor

gETS R

3.1. Extraterrestrial solar radiative exergy and energy

quality factor
The solar radius is rs = 6.95508  108 m (Braun, 2002)
and the average SunEarth distance is r = 1.4959787 
1011 m (NIST, 2001). The solid angle of the suns disc for
present study is DX pr2s =r2 6:7905244  105 sr, and
which was also recommended by Darula et al. (2005) to
calculate the luminance and illuminance. However, if calculations for a specic day or time are intended, the actual
SunEarth distance should be used. The extraterrestrial
is read from extraterrestrial
solar spectral irradiance EETS
k
spectrum. The extraterrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity focused in DX is

I ETS
k

EETS
k

DX cos hs

where hs is solar zenith angle.

The extraterrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux
is calculated as
incident on a surface WETS
k
DXcoshs fI ETS
 I 0;k  T 0 fLk I ETS
WETS
k
k
k
 L0;k I 0;k T 0 gg

and the total extraterrestrial solar radiation exergy ux

incident on a surface WETS is derived by integrating Eq.
(7) over wavelength as follows
Z
 I 0;k  T 0 fLk I ETS
WETS DXcoshs fI ETS
k
k
k

 L0;k I 0;k T 0 ggdk

The spectral energy quality factor of extraterrestrial

solar radiation is dened as

gETS
k

WETS
k
EETS
k

Correspondingly, the total energy quality factor of

extraterrestrial solar radiation is dened as

10

3.2. Terrestrial solar radiative exergy and energy quality

factor for the horizontal surface
The direct and the diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance incident on a horizontal surface are denoted by Eb;k
and Ed;k , respectively, the detailed calculation of them
can be done with SMARTS code. The global terrestrial
solar spectral irradiance incident on the horizontal surface
can be written as:
Eg;k Eb;k Ed;k

11

The direct terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity,

which is relative to the SunEarth geometry, is focused in
DX. So the direct terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity incident on the horizontal surface is
I b;k

Eb;k
DXcoshs

12

In this paper, the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity is derived by assuming the isotropic hemispheric distribution,
I d;k

Ed;k
p

13

The direct and the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux incident on the horizontal surface are
given respectively as
WTS
b;k DX cos hs fI b;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I b;k
 L0;k I 0;k T 0 gg

14

WTS
d;k pfI d;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I d;k  L0;k I 0;k T 0 gg

15

The global terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux

WTS
g;k incident on the horizontal surface is the sum of the direct and the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy uxes. The spectral energy quality factors of the direct,

Table 1
Conditions considered in four dierent cases.
Conditions

Case 1

Case 2

Case 3

Case 4

Solar zenith
angle (deg)
Air mass
Extraterrestrial
spectrum
Solar constant
(W/m2)
Surface

48.236

48.236

1.0
Gueymard (2004)

1.5
Gueymard (2004)

Gueymard (2004)

1366.1

1.5
Synthetic spectrum revised from the previous
SMARTS 2.8 spectrum, Gueymard
1367.0

1366.1

1366.1

Horizontal surface

Inclined surface, 37 tilt angle, 180 surface azimuth

Horizontal surface

Ground albedo

Albedo.dat, Lambertian
reectance

Light soil, non-Lambertian reectance

Version of
SMARTS

SMARTS 2.9.5

SMARTS 2.9.2

Inclined surface, 180

surface azimuth
Light soil, nonLambertian
reectance
SMARTS 2.9.5

Light soil, nonLambertian

reectance
SMARTS 2.9.5

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

Then, the total energy quality factor of the direct, the

diuse and the global terrestrial solar radiation can be written respectively as

the diuse and the global terrestrial solar radiation for horizontal surface are dened respectively, as
gTS
b;k

WTS
b;k
;
Eb;k

gTS
d;k

WTS
d;k
;
Ed;k

gTS
g;k

TS
WTS
b;k Wd;k
Eb;k Ed;k

gTS
b

WTS
g;k

16

Eg;k

PD

0:28

WTS
d
;
Ed

gTS
g

18
The direct terrestrial solar radiative energy ux Eb and
the diuse terrestrial solar radiative energy ux Ed can be
derived by integrating Eb;k and Ed;k over wavelength range
from 0.28 to 4.0 lm as
Z 4
Z 4
Eb;k dk; Ed
Ed;k dk
19
Eb
0:28

WETS
 WTS
k
g;k
WETS
k

 100%

20

21

Ebt;k Rb Eb;k

22a

Es;dt;k Rd Ed;k

22b

Ert;k qk Rr Eg;k

22c

2000
1600

TS
WTS
b Wd
E b Ed

The direct spectral terrestrial solar irradiance incident

on the inclined surface Ebt;k ; the sky diuse terrestrial solar
spectral irradiance Es;dt;k and the diuse spectral irradiance
Ert;k reected by the foreground are given, respectively, as
(Gueymard, 1987)

0:28

Spectral Exergy Flux (W m-2 m -1)

gTS
d

3.3. Terrestrial solar radiative exergy and energy quality

factor for inclined surface

17
 L0;k I 0;k T 0 ggdk
Z 4
p
fI d;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I d;k  L0;k I 0;k T 0 ggdk

0:28

WTS
b
;
Eb

The percent dierence between the extraterrestrial and

the global terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux is
dened as

Because the wavelength range in SMARTS code is from

0.28 to 4.0 lm, the direct and the diuse terrestrial solar
radiation exergy uxes incident on the horizontal surface
are derived by integrating Eqs. (14) and (15) over wavelength range from 0.28 to 4.0 lm, respectively, as
Z 4

DX
cos
h
fI b;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I b;k
WTS
s
b

WTS
d

1395

(a)

s = 0o

1200

TS
g ,

800
400

ETS

0
0.30

0.35

0.40

0.45

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

Spectral Exergy Flux (W m-2 m -1)

(m)
1200
(b)
1000

TS
g ,

800

ETS

600
400

s = 0o

200
0
1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

(m)
Fig. 1. Spectral radiation exergy ux of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation, (a) ultraviolet and visible region and (b) near infrared
region from 0.76 to 4.0 lm.

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

Spectral Irradiance (W m-2 m -1)

1396

2000

(a)

s = 0o

1600
1200

Eg ,

800
400

EETS

0
0.30

0.35

0.40

0.45

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

Spectral Irradiance (W m-2 m -1)

(m)
1200

(b)

1000

Eg ,

800
600

EETS

400

s = 0o

200
0
1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

(m)

3.5

4.0

Fig. 2. Spectral irradiance of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation, (a) ultraviolet and visible region and (b) near infrared region
from 0.76 to 4.0 lm.

where
Rb Maxfcos hd = cos hs ; 0g

23a

cos hd cos hs cos ht sin hs sin ht cosus  ut

23b

Rr 1  cos ht =2

23c

in which hd is the angle of incidence on the inclined surface,

ht is the tilt angle of the inclined surface, us and ut are solar
azimuth and surface azimuth (both counted clockwise from
north) respectively, and Eg;k is the global terrestrial solar
spectral irradiance incident on the horizontal surface. The
factor of sky diuse terrestrial solar radiation Rd is given
in Gueymard (1987) in detail, and the selection of spectral
reectance qk is detailed in the Users manual of SMARTS
code (Gueymard, 2006).
The total diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance Edt;k
incident on an inclined receiver is the sum of the sky diuse
terrestrial solar spectral irradiance Es;dt;k and the diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance reected by the foreground
Ert;k , as provided in the SMARTS outputs. The direct terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity incident on the
inclined surface and the diuse terrestrial solar spectral
radiative intensity can be expressed respectively, as
I bt;k
I dt;k

Ebt;k
DX cos hd

Es;dt;k Ert;k Edt

p
p

24

By using Eqs. (4), (24), and (25), the direct and the diffuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy uxes incident on the inclined surface can be expressed respectively
as
WTS
bt;k DX cos hd fI bt;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I bt;k
 L0;k I 0;k T 0 gg
WTS
dt;k pfI dt;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I dt;k  L0;k I 0;k T 0 gg

26
27

The global terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux

WTS
gt;k incident on the inclined surface is the sum of the specTS
tral radiation exergy ux WTS
bt;k and Wdt;k .
The direct and the diuse terrestrial solar radiation exergy uxes incident on the inclined surface can be obtained
by integrating Eqs. (26) and (27) over wavelength range
from 0.28 to 4.0 lm, respectively, as
WTS
bt DX cos hd

fI bt;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I bt;k

0:28

 L0;k I 0;k T 0 ggdk

WTS
dt

28

fI dt;k  I 0;k  T 0 fLk I dt;k

0:28

25

 L0;k I 0;k T 0 ggdk

29

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

1397

100

(a)
% Difference between spectral radiation exergy flux
of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation

PD (%)

80
60
40
20
0
0.30

0.35

120

0.40

0.45

0.50
0.55
(m)

0.60

0.65

0.70

% Difference between spectral radiation exergy flux

of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation

100

0.75

(b)

PD (%)

80
60
40
20
0
1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

(m)
Fig. 3. Percent dierence between spectral radiation exergy ux of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation, (a) ultraviolet and visible
region and (b) near infrared region from 0.76 to 4.0 lm.

The direct terrestrial solar radiative energy ux Ebt and

the diuse terrestrial solar radiative energy ux Edt can be
derived by integrating Ebt;k and Edt;k over wavelength range
from 0.28 to 4.0 lm as
Z 4
Z 4
Ebt;k dk; Edt
Edt;k dk
30
Ebt
0:28

0:28

The total energy quality factor of the direct, the diuse

and the global terrestrial solar radiation for inclined surface are dened respectively as
gTS
bt

WTS
bt
;
Ebt

gTS
dt

WTS
dt
;
Edt

gTS
gt

TS
WTS
bt Wdt
Ebt Edt

31

4. Cases and assumptions

Four cases are discussed in present paper, Case 1 is for
comparisons between the radiation exergy ux and energy
quality factor of the terrestrial and the extraterrestrial solar
radiation; Case 2 is used to derive terrestrial solar radiation
exergy reference spectra under atmospheric conditions consistent with ASTM G173-03; Case 3 is used to analyze the
eect of tilt angle on total energy quality factor for inclined
surface; and Case 4 is used to discuss the eect of air mass
(m) on total energy quality factor. These four cases consider a US Standard atmosphere with following conditions:
(1) standard pressure is 1013.25 mbar; (2) columnar

amounts of ozone is 0.3438 atm-cm; (3) precipitable water

is 1.416 cm; (4) columnar volumetric concentration of carbon dioxide is 370 ppmv; (5) all gas abundances is
defaulted by average vertical proles except carbon dioxide, ozone and water vapor; (6) the relatively low turbidity,
i.e., an aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.084 at 500 nm for
a rural aerosol model (Shettle and Fenn, 1979) is considered; (7) the eld of view of the simulated radiometer is
5.8; (8) the illuminance, luminous ecacy and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and special UV calculations are bypassed; (9) the solar azimuth is defaulted to
us 180 (south facing).
Other conditions considered in four dierent cases are
shown as Table 1. The choice of a zero solar zenith angle
is adopted in Case1. This is not a good choice as this case
never occurs at most locations on Earth. However, the
incident solar radiation is perpendicular to the horizontal
surface under zero solar zenith angle, as a result the radiation beam pathway is minimum and the solar radiation
energy attenuated by atmosphere is the least. Therefore
the choice of zero solar zenith angle is taken into account
in order to compare radiation exergy ux of extraterrestrial with that of the global terrestrial solar radiation
theoretically.
The reference spectra ASTM standard G173-03 is only
produced with the whole set of variables in Case 2. The
synthetic extraterrestrial spectrum adopted in Case 2 is also

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1398

S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

Spectral energy quality factor

0.95
0.90
0.85

gTS,

0.80

ETS
0.75
(a)
0.70

0.30

0.35

0.40

0.45

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

(m)

Spectral energy quality factor

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4

gTS,

0.3
0.2

ETS

0.1

(b)

0.0
0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

2.2

2.4

2.6

(m)

Spectral energy quality factor

0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5

gTS,

0.4
0.3

ETS

0.2
0.1
0.0

(c)
2.8

2.9

3.0

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

4.0

(m)
Fig. 4. Spectral energy quality factor of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation, (a) 0.280.759 lm; (b) 0.762.56 lm; (c) 2.814.0 lm.

Spectral energy quality factor

1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6

bTS,

0.5
0.4

dTS,

0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

(m)

3.0

3.5

4.0

Fig. 5. Spectral energy quality factor of the direct and the diuse
terrestrial solar radiation.

one option of the extraterrestrial spectrum in SMARTS

2.9.5, however, the extraterrestrial spectrum proposed by
Gueymard (2004) is recommended for normal use in
SMARTS 2.9.5. Therefore, two slightly dierent extraterrestrial spectrums are chosen in these four dierent cases.
One important assumption is the isotropic hemispheric
distribution of the diuse terrestrial solar radiation. The
terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity cannot be
derived from SMARTS code directly. The calculation of
radiative exergy intensity is based on the radiative intensity. So as to obtain the diuse terrestrial solar radiative
intensity, the angular distribution of diuse terrestrial solar
radiation should be assumed. Though the angular distribution of diuse terrestrial solar radiation may be anisotropic
distribution in fact, however, here the isotropic assumption
approximation is adopted for simplicity.

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

1399

Spectral Exergy Flux (W m-2 m-1)

1600
Reference radiation exergy spectra of TS
under atmospheric conditions consistent with ASTM standard G173-03

1400
1200

TS
gt ,

1000
800

TS
bt ,

600
400
200
0
0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.1

(m)

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

Fig. 6. Comparison of the direct and the global reference radiation exergy spectra under atmospheric conditions consistent with ASTM standard G173-03.

Within the spectrum region from 0.28 to 4.0 lm, the total
energy quality factor of extraterrestrial solar radiation is
0.9292 and that of the global terrestrial solar radiation is
0.9171. The total energy quality factor of the diuse terrestrial solar radiation is 0.7937 and that of the direct terrestrial solar radiation is 0.9307 for the atmosphere condition
under consideration. The entropy accompanying the diuse
terrestrial solar radiation is larger than that accompanying
the direct terrestrial solar radiation (Kabelac and Drake,
1992), explaining why the total energy quality factor of
the diuse terrestrial solar radiation is less than that of
the direct terrestrial solar radiation. And it implies that

5. Results and discussion

5.1. Comparisons between ETS and TS radiative exergy for
horizontal surface
In the following analysis, the spectral radiation exergy
of extraterrestrial and terrestrial solar radiation are forced
to use the same extraterrestrial spectrum to minimize the
sources of disagreement. The extraterrestrial spectrum with
2002 wavelengths between 0.28 and 4.0 lm proposed by
Gueymard (2004) is adopted to calculate the extraterrestrial solar radiation exergy and energy quality factor.

Percent Difference (%)

30
20

t = 7o

t = 37o

10

t = 67o

t = 87o

t = 48.236o

0
-10
-20
-30
(a)

-40
0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

(m)

Percent Difference (%)

30
20
10

t = 7o

t = 37o

t = 67o

t = 87o

t = 48.236o

0
-10
-20
-30
(b)

-40
0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

(m)
Fig. 7. Comparison of terrestrial solar radiation exergy uxes at dierent tilt angle under atmospheric conditions dened in Case 3 and reference radiation
exergy spectra, (a) global and (b) direct.

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

for systems utilizing solar radiation, such as, the PV systems, can be more ecient with the direct than the diuse
terrestrial solar radiation.
The spectral radiation exergy uxes of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar radiation are proled
in Fig. 1. The spectral irradiances of the extraterrestrial
and the global terrestrial solar radiation are given in
Fig. 2. It can be clearly seen that the trend of spectral radiation exergy ux distribution is similar with that of the
spectral irradiance distribution for extraterrestrial and the
global terrestrial solar radiation, respectively. However,
the spectral radiation exergy ux is less than the spectral
irradiance for extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial
solar radiation, respectively.
As could be expected, the spectral radiation exergy ux
of the global terrestrial solar radiation (WTS
g;k ) is less than
that of the extraterrestrial solar radiation (WETS
k ). The trend
of the spectral radiation exergy ux (WTS
g;k ) distribution is
similar with that of the spectral radiation exergy ux
(WETS
k ) in the near ultraviolet and visible light region. The
distribution of spectral radiation exergy ux (WETS
k ) is quite
smooth in the near infrared region; however, the uctuation of the spectral radiation exergy ux (WTS
g;k ) is large in
the near infrared region because of the presence of strong
absorption bands. The spectral radiation exergy ux
(WTS
g;k ) is quite small in the far ultraviolet region. The specTS
tral radiation exergy ux (WETS
k ) and (Wg;k ) in visible light
are larger than those in infrared region. The maximum
value of the spectral radiation exergy ux (WETS
k ) and
2
1
)
are
2082.73
W
m
lm
and
1828.40
Wm2
(WTS
g;k
1
lm , respectively, and the wavelength corresponding to
these maximum values are all 0.451 lm.
The dierence between the spectral radiation exergy
uxes of the extraterrestrial and the global terrestrial solar
radiation is shown in Fig. 3. The reason for this dierence
is that the solar radiation is attenuated by atmosphere on
its path. It can be clearly seen from Fig. 3 that the dierences in the ultraviolet region below about 0.32 lm and
in the near infrared region (particularly in the 1.353
1.401 lm, 1.8301.915 lm, and 2.5252.860 lm bands),
are nearly 100%. In the near ultraviolet (above 0.33 lm)

Radiation Energy Flux(W m-2)

1000

Ebt

800
600
400

Edt

200
0

10

20

30

40

50

t (deg)

60

70

80

90

Fig. 8. Distribution of terrestrial solar radiation energy ux for inclined

surface.

0.96

Total Energy Quality Factor

1400

btTS
0.92

gtTS

0.88
0.84
0.80
0.76
0.72

dtTS
10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

t (deg)
Fig. 9. Distribution of total energy quality factor of terrestrial solar
radiation for inclined surface.

and visible light region the dierences are relatively small

and vary smoothly, in contrast with what occurs in the near
infrared region, where these dierences are large and highly
uctuating. This structure is directly related to the intricate
features of the various extinction processes involved in the
terrestrial atmosphere.
The spectral energy quality factors of the extraterrestrial
and the global terrestrial solar radiation are proled in
Fig. 4. Owing to the attenuation of atmosphere layers,
the global terrestrial solar spectral irradiance (Eg;k ) is less
than the extraterrestrial solar spectral irradiance (EETS
k ).
The spectral irradiance (Eg;k ) is the sum of the direct and
diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance. So both the
direct and the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation
temperature are all less than the extraterrestrial solar spectral radiation temperature. As a whole, the energy quality
factor of radiation increases with the increase of the temperature of high-temperature heat source for a system constituted by a solar radiation (high-temperature heat source)
and environment (low-temperature heat source). Therefore, the spectral energy quality factor of the global terrestrial solar radiation (gTS
g;k ) within the spectrum region of
0.282.56 lm and 2.814.0 lm is less than that of extraterrestrial solar radiation (gETS
k ).
The spectral energy quality factor (gTS
g;k ) is larger than 0.9
in the near ultraviolet, the visible light region and infrared
region (1.1511.343 lm, 1.4891.78 lm and 2.0252.375
lm). The dierence between the spectral energy quality facETS
tor (gTS
g;k ) and (gk ) varies with wavelength. The maximum
value of this dierence for the whole spectrum region under
consideration is 0.9075 at wavelength 2.56 lm. Because the
attenuation by atmosphere layers is the largest in the far
ultraviolet region and in the near infrared region of
1.3521.401 lm and 1.821.93 lm, the spectral energy
quality factor (gTS
g;k ) is relatively far less than the spectral
energy quality factor (gETS
k ) at these same wavelength range.
For the systems constituted by the diuse terrestrial
solar radiation and the environment, the diuse terrestrial
solar radiation in the near infrared region from 1.362 to
4.0 lm cannot all be regarded as the high-temperature
source at some wavelength range, such as 2.5254.0 lm

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

and so on. Within these wavelength range, the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity is far less than
the spectral radiative intensity emitted by environment at
T 0 , thus is negligible. In this case, it is better to dene the
eciency relative to the energy lost by the environment.
The focus of present paper is mainly on the exergy of terrestrial solar radiation. Therefore, when the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity is less than the
spectral radiative intensity emitted by environment at T 0 ,
the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux
(WTS
d;k ) is considered to be zero. Similar to the diuse terrestrial solar spectral radiative intensity, the direct terrestrial
solar spectral radiative intensity within the spectrum region
from 2.565 to 2.805 lm is also far less than the spectral
radiative intensity emitted by environment at T 0 , thus is
negligible. As a whole, the spectral radiation exergy ux
(WTS
g;k ) is zero in the near infrared region from 2.565 to
2.805 lm, which can also be observed from Fig. 1. Therefore, the spectral energy quality factor (gTS
g;k ) within the
spectrum region from 2.565 to 2.805 lm is not shown in
Fig. 4.
The spectral energy quality factor of the direct and the
diuse terrestrial solar radiation are proled in Fig. 5. It
can be seen clearly that the spectral energy quality factor
of direct terrestrial solar radiation (gTS
b;k ) is larger than 0.9
in the near ultraviolet, the visible light region and infrared
region (0.761.116 lm, 1.1481.343 lm, 1.4881.79 lm and
2.0252.38 lm). However, the diuse terrestrial solar spectral energy quality factor (gTS
d;k ) within the whole spectrum
region is less than 0.9, and the maximum value of which
is only 0.8656 at 0.326 lm. Because the spectral irradiance
(Ed;k ) and its fraction in the spectral irradiance (Eg;k ) are
relatively large at short wavelength, the spectral energy
quality factor (gTS
d;k ) is relatively large in the near ultraviolet.
From the analysis above, for practical application, the
global terrestrial solar radiation in the near ultraviolet,
the visible light region and the infrared region (1.151
1.343 lm, 1.4891.78 lm and 2.0252.375 lm) should be
taken into account. The direct part in the near ultraviolet,
the visible light region and the infrared region (0.761.116
lm, 1.1481.343 lm, 1.4881.79 lm and 2.0252.38 lm)

Total Energy Quality Factor

0.96

bTS

0.92

gTS

0.88
0.84
0.80

dTS
0.76
1

m
Fig. 10. Eect of air mass on total energy quality factor of terrestrial solar
radiation for horizontal surface.

1401

can be best utilized, while the diuse part can only be best
utilized in the near ultraviolet.
5.2. Terrestrial solar reference radiation exergy spectra and
comparisons
The reference spectra (ASTM standard G173-03) are
reproduced here under the exact same atmospheric conditions it species by adopting version 2.9.2 of the SMARTS
code. This is what was labeled Case 2 above. The reference radiation exergy spectra are obtained from the reference spectra mentioned above. Fig. 6 proles the
reference radiation exergy spectra within the wavelength
range from 0.3 to 1.9 lm. For the sun-facing surface tilted
at 37 and atmospheric conditions under consideration, the
reference radiation exergy spectra of the direct TS is now
substantially closer to that of the global TS. However,
the wavelength corresponding to the maximum value of
the direct terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux
(WTS
bt;k ) is 0.531 lm, and that corresponding to the maximum value of the global terrestrial solar spectral radiation
exergy (WTS
gt;k ) is 0.495 lm. That is to say the direct radiation
exergy spectrum is slightly red-shifted compared to the global radiation exergy spectrum. The reason for this phenomenon is that the scattering eect induced by molecules and
aerosols is the maximum at shorter wavelengths, which is
involved in the global terrestrial solar radiation. Therefore,
similar to the reference spectra ASTM standard G173-03,
these two reference radiation exergy spectra are not interchangeable, particularly in the case of highly spectrally
selective devices.
The terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy ux at different tilt angle is calculated under atmospheric conditions
dened in Case 3. Similar to the percent dierence dened
in Eq. (21), the percent dierence between terrestrial solar
spectral radiation exergy uxes at dierent tilt angle and
reference radiation exergy spectra obtained above is proled in Fig. 7. With the increase of tilt angle, this percent
dierence rst decreases and then increases. And it could
be clearly seen that the eect of tilt angle on spectral radiation exergy ux (WTS
bt;k ) is larger than that of tilt angle on
spectral radiation exergy ux (WTS
gt;k ) at the smaller tilt angle
and the larger tilt angle.
For the inclined surface with tilt angle of 37, the specTS
tral radiation exergy ux (WTS
bt;k ) and (Wgt;k ) under atmospheric conditions dened in Case 3 are dierent from
those obtained under atmospheric conditions consistent
with ASTM standard G173-03. The reasons for this dierence are the discrepancy of the extraterrestrial solar spectrum and the version of the SMARTS code. The spectral
TS
radiation exergy ux (WTS
bt;k ) and (Wgt;k ) under atmospheric
conditions dened in Case 3 at tilt angle 48.236 and 67
are close to those obtained under atmospheric conditions
consistent with ASTM standard G173-03, respectively.
However, the utilization of solar energy cannot be well
evaluated only from comparison between terrestrial solar
spectral radiation exergy uxes and reference radiation


1402

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

exergy spectra. The evaluation of utilization of solar energy

also needs the analysis of terrestrial solar radiation exergy
ux and energy quality factor.
5.3. The eect of tilt angle on terrestrial solar radiation
exergy
The eect of tilt angle on terrestrial solar radiation irradiance and total energy quality factor for inclined surface
under atmospheric conditions dened in Case 3 is shown
in Figs. 8 and 9 respectively. The angle of incidence hd
on the inclined surface is the angle between the normal of
inclined surface and the solar radiation beam. With the
increase of tilt angle, the incidence angle hd rst decreases
and then increases. The incident solar radiation beam is
perpendicular to the inclined surface in the case that the tilt
angle ht is equal to the solar zenith angle hs , and the pathway here is the minimum. The solar radiation energy attenuated by atmosphere layer is the least. Hence, as seen from
Fig. 8, the tilt angle corresponding to the maximum value
of the direct terrestrial solar radiation energy ux (895.95
W/m2) is 48.236, which is equal to the solar zenith angle.
The diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance (Edt;k )
includes two parts, one is the sky diuse terrestrial solar
spectral irradiance (Es;dt;k ) and the other is the diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance reected by the foreground
(Ert;k ). According to Eq. (22b) and the factor of sky diuse
terrestrial solar radiation Rd given by Gueymard (1987),
the sky diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance (Es;dt;k )
rst increases and then decreases with the increase of tilt
angle ht . This spectral irradiance (Es;dt;k ) is also correlated
with such spectral irradiance (Ed;k ) for horizontal surface,
which is part of the global terrestrial solar spectral irradiance (Eg;k ). As per Eqs. (22c) and (23c), the diuse terrestrial solar spectral irradiance reected by the foreground
(Ert;k ) increases with the increase of tilt angle ht , and this
spectral irradiance (Ert;k ) is correlated with spectral irradiance (Eg;k ). Therefore the decrement of the spectral irradiance (Es;dt;k ) is less than the increment of the spectral
irradiance (Ert;k ). Hence the diuse terrestrial solar radiation energy ux (Edt ) increases with the increase of tilt angle
ht .Because the entropy accompanying with the diuse radiation is relatively large (Kabelac and Drake, 1992) and the
diuse terrestrial solar radiation energy ux (Edt ) increases
with tilt angle, the total energy quality factor of the diuse
terrestrial solar radiation (gTS
dt ) is relatively small and
decreases with the increase of tilt angle. The direct solar
radiation energy is a high-grade energy, and the entropy
accompanying with the direct radiation is relatively small
(Kabelac and Drake, 1992). Therefore the total energy
quality factor of direct terrestrial solar radiation (gTS
bt ) is rel)
atively large. The total energy quality factor (gTS
bt is theoretically independent on the incidence angle hd , which can
be concluded from Eqs. (24), (28), and (31). If solar zenith
angle hs , solar azimuth angle us and surface azimuth angle
ut are given, the incidence angle hd is the function of tilt
angle ht only. Hence the total energy quality factor (gTS
bt )

is independent on the tilt angle ht of the inclined surface.

Therefore the variation of total energy quality factor (gTS
bt )
with titled angle ht is negligible.
The eect of the tilt angle ht on the total energy quality
factor for the global terrestrial solar radiation (gTS
gt ) is not
large, which is due to the direct terrestrial solar radiation
dominating in the global terrestrial solar radiation for the
problem under consideration. The percentage of the direct
part in the global terrestrial solar radiation energy ux rst
increases slightly and then decreases with the increases of
the tilt angle. According to Eq. (31), the total energy quality factor (gTS
gt ) is correlated with the percentage of the
direct part in the global terrestrial solar radiation energy
ux for the conditions under consideration. Therefore the
total energy quality factor (gTS
gt ) rst increases slightly and
then decrease with the increase of the tilt angle. The total
energy quality factor of the global terrestrial solar radiation is less than that of the direct terrestrial solar radiation
because of the inuence of diuse terrestrial solar
radiation.
5.4. The eect of air mass on total energy quality factor
The eect of air mass (m) on total energy quality factor
of terrestrial solar radiation for Case 4 under consideration
is shown in Fig. 10. It could be clearly seen that the total
energy quality factor of the direct, the diuse and the global terrestrial solar radiation all decrease with the increase
of air mass (m). Air mass (m) is the function of the solar
zenith angle only. Air mass (m) corresponding to the solar
zenith angle by hs 0 is 1.0 (Gueymard, 2003). As the
incident solar radiation is perpendicular to the horizontal
surface under zero solar zenith angle, the radiation beam
pathway is minimum and the solar radiation energy attenuated by atmosphere is the least. Hence the terrestrial solar
radiation energy and the total energy quality factor are
maximum in the Case of air mass m = 1. With the increase
of solar zenith angle, air mass (m) increases and then the
terrestrial solar radiation attenuated by atmosphere
increases. Therefore, the terrestrial solar radiation energy
ux of the direct, the diuse and the global incident on horizontal surface all decrease with the increase of air mass
(m). As per Eq. (2), the spectral radiation temperature
decreases with the decrease of spectral radiative intensity.
For the system utilizing solar radiation (high-temperature
heat source) and environment (low-temperature heat
source), the spectral radiation energy quality factor
increases with the increase of terrestrial solar spectral radiation temperature. Therefore the total energy quality factor
of the direct and the diuse terrestrial solar radiation all
decrease with the increase of air mass (m). As stated in Section 5.3, the direct solar radiation energy is high-grade
energy, and the entropy accompanying with the direct radiation is relatively small (Kabelac and Drake, 1992). So the
total energy quality factor of direct terrestrial solar radiation (gTS
b ) is larger than that of the diuse terrestrial solar
radiation (gTS
d ). The total energy quality factor of the global

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S.X. Chu, L.H. Liu / Solar Energy 83 (2009) 13901404

terrestrial solar radiation (gTS

g ) decreases from 0.9164 to
0.8651 when air mass (m) increases from 1.0 to 5.59.
6. Conclusions
The SMARTS code is adopted to predict the direct, the
diuse and the global terrestrial solar radiation irradiance.
By using Candaus denition of radiative exergy, the procedure of calculating radiation exergy ux has been detailed.
The spectral radiation exergy ux of the extraterrestrial
and the terrestrial solar radiation are presented and compared under US standard atmosphere condition and zero
solar zenith angle for horizontal surface. The reference
radiation exergy spectra under atmospheric conditions consistent with ASTM standard G173-03 are obtained. The
eect of tilted angle on terrestrial solar spectral radiation
exergy ux and total energy quality factor for inclined surface is analyzed. The eect of air mass on total energy quality factor of terrestrial solar radiation for horizontal
surface is also analyzed. The main conclusions drawn from
present analysis are summarized as follows:
1) Practical application, for example, photovoltaic
devices can operate more eciently with direct terrestrial solar radiation than that with diuse terrestrial
solar radiation. The direct terrestrial solar radiation
can be best utilized in the near ultraviolet, the visible
light region and the infrared region (0.761.116 lm,
1.1481.343 lm, 1.4881.79 lm and 2.0252.38 lm),
while the diuse part can only be best utilized in the
near ultraviolet.
2) The global terrestrial solar radiation in the near ultraviolet, the visible light region and the infrared region
(1.1511.343 lm, 1.4891.78 lm and 2.0252.375 lm)
should be taken into account for practical
application.
3) Both of the global and the direct radiation reference
exergy spectra are not interchangeable.
4) With the increase of tilt angle, the direct and the global terrestrial solar spectral radiation exergy uxes
rst increase and then decrease, the total energy quality factor of diuse terrestrial solar radiation
decreases and that of direct terrestrial solar radiation
is nearly invariant.
5) With the increase of air mass, the total energy quality
factor of the direct, the diuse and the global terrestrial solar radiation all decrease.
6) Because of the inuence of diuse terrestrial solar
radiation, the total energy quality factor of the global
terrestrial solar radiation is less than that of the direct
terrestrial solar radiation.
Acknowledgement
The support of this work by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50836002) is gratefully
acknowledged.

1403

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