Green Building Forum - Solar radiation map / data

Solar radiation map / data

aa44 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:07:35 +0100

Can anyone point me in the direction of some good solar radiation data by location for the UK?

I am currently planning my new build and I am keen to include solar hot water and/or solar PV. The only snag is that I am in Shetland, i.e. 60 degrees North. I have heard rumours about a local PV installation that is producing virtually nothing so, before I shell out a load of money, I would like to do a few checks.

Thanks
AA

Solar radiation map / data

tony — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:49:39 +0100

well insulated houses in Lapland regularly overheat due to too much sun shining in in winter if they have south facing glazing!

Install solar panels at 75 degrees and you will be OK.

Solar radiation map / data

aa44 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:54:48 +0100

Overheating at the front is one of my worries. We are currently renting a place next to the site and when the sun comes out the front of the house turns into a cooker. I was at Interbuild at the NEC on Monday and I talked to some of the MVHR suppliers about the problem. All agreed that MVHR was not capable of shifting the heat round the house and one of them suggested putting in a separate ducting and fan system to suck the air out of the hot rooms and push it into the cooler ones to balance things up.

Solar radiation map / data

tony — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:06:18 +0100

They only understand normal poorly insulated and built houses not low energy houses or passive houses like I think you are aiming at.

Solar radiation map / data

Paul in Montreal — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:26:09 +0100

Posted By: tonywell insulated houses in Lapland regularly overheat due to too much sun shining in in winter if they have south facing glazing!

You won't have that problem in Shetland. There's lots of on-line insolation data available, just use google or go to http://builditsolar.com and follow the links from there.

Posted By: tonyThey only understand normal poorly insulated and built houses not low energy houses or passive houses like I think you are aiming at.

It's easy to calculate how much heat a HRV system will move around if you know the flow rates. In general, the air flow is about 10x too low to be of much use in cooling a hot room or vice versa - no matter how well insulated the rooms are.

Q=Delta-T * 1.08 * CFM

Q is in btu/h, delta T in degrees F and CFM is cubic feet per minute. It's not difficult to convert to metric. The delta-T here is the difference in temperature between the hot room and the cool room.

Paul in Montreal.

Solar radiation map / data

sinnerboy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:25:11 +0100

http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/countries/europe/g13y_uk_ie.png

Solar radiation map / data

Megacycles — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:07:14 +0100

http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps3/pvest.php

Sorry - can't work out how to make a hyperlink.

This is an excellent utility, it will calculate the actual output for your location.

The data appears accurate as it compares well to real-world installations

Solar radiation map / data

aa44 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:42:50 +0100

Thanks very much.
AA