Maurice Aka Djoman^1,, Wanignon Ferdinand Fassinou¹, Stéphane Aka Koffi², Augustin Memeledje¹

In this work, we present a tool dedicated to the estimation of solar radiation in Côte d'Ivoire named ESECI. In fact, the unavailability of sufficient quality and quantity of solar data is a limiting factor in any project involving solar energy systems (thermal conversion and photovoltaic conversion). Côte d’Ivoire does not possess a solar irradiance measurement network. Only fourteen (14) weather stations exist to measure sunshine hours from which solar radiation is derived. Moreover, these measures are sometimes incomplete due to lack of monitoring. We have implemented a computer program to calculate solar radiation for any sky. The estimation of solar irradiance takes into account its different components (direct, diffuse and global) on any surface. A comparative analysis between the simulation results and the measurements shows that the model correctly predicts solar irradiance in clear sky and in uniformly overcast sky. For days with frequent cloudy periods, the tool simply calculates the average values of the solar irradiance during the fluctuation times. The results obtained indicate that the tool implemented is an alternative to the lack of data on the solar deposit in Côte d’Ivoire.

solar energy systems, sunshine hours, solar irradiation, solar deposit