Solar Energy Modelling over a Residential Community in the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Solar energy is an abundant source of renewable/sustainable energy, which has an enormous potential in reducing the foot print of the greenhouse gases. In this paper, we presented a modelling framework of estimating solar energy over a portion of a residential community of Sandstone in the northwest of Calgary, Canada. We calculated the actual daily incident solar radiation as a function of latitude, day of year, and possible day light hours; and also employed high-resolution remote sensing images to calculate the effective roof area for installing photovoltaic cells. Strong relationships (r2:0.91–0.98) were observed between the ground-based measurements and the modelled actual incident solar radiation at three test locations in Alberta. Over the portion of Sandstone, ~1706.49 m2 roof surface area was suitable for potential installation of the photovoltaic cells. With 15% efficient photovoltaic cells, our analysis revealed that we might be able to produce significant amount (i.e., in the range of ~67–100%) of electrical energy needs of the residents of Sandstone community during the period between April and September.