Summary

Description

_(Abstract):_ Monthly Average Solar Resource for flat-plate collectors tilted at latitude for Bangladesh. _(Purpose):_ Provide information on the solar resource potential for the data domain. The insolation values represent the average solar energy available to a flat plate collector, such as a photovoltaic panel, oriented due south at an angle from horizontal equal to the latitude of the collector location. _(Supplemental Information):_ These data provide monthly average and annual average daily total solar resource averaged over surface cells of approximately 40 km by 40 km in size. The solar resource value is represented as watt-hours per square meter per day for each month. The data were developed from NREL's Climatological Solar Radiation (CSR) Model. This model uses information on cloud cover, atmospheric water vapor and trace gases, and the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere to calculate the monthly average daily total insolation (sun and sky) falling on a horizontal surface. Existing ground measurement stations are used to validate the data where possible. The modeled values are accurate to approximately 10% of a true measured value within the grid cell due to the uncertainties associated with meteorological input to the model. The local cloud cover can vary significantly even within a single grid cell as a result of terrain effects and other microclimate influences. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the modeled estimates increase with distance from reliable measurement sources and with the complexity of the terrain.