Influence of introducing various meteorological parameters to the Angström–Prescott model for estimation of global solar radiation

Abstract

This study aims to recognize that whether introducing various meteorological parameters to the Angstro¨m–Prescott (A–P) model eventuates in enhancing the precision of monthly mean global solar radiation estimation in cities of Bandar Abbas and Jask, situated in the south coast of Iran. To identify the significance of the average, maximum and minimum ambient temperatures, average and maximum relative humidity as well as water vapor and sea level pressures, seven models have been chosen from the literature. Using the long-term measured data and via statistical regression technique, the new regression coefficients have been developed for the original A–P model and the other seven nominated models. The models’ performances have been appraised via commonly utilized statistical indicators. The results indicated that the new models provided only minor improvements over the traditional A–P model; therefore, as more complexity is associated with introducing different meteorological parameters, their applications are not appealing practically. Making comparisons with the existing models developed using PSO (particle swarm optimization) technique demonstrated the superiority of the new established A–P models of this study; consequently, even without any improvement, the simple A–P models are indeed qualified for accurate estimation of global solar radiation in cities of Bandar Abbas and Jask and their neighboring.