Abstract: A computer model was developed to simulate the hourly, daily and monthly average of daily solar radia- tion on horizontal and inclined surfaces. The measured hourly and daily solar radiation was compared with simulat- ed radiation, and favourable agreement was observed for the measured and predicted values on clear days. The meas- ured and simulated monthly averages of total (diffuse and beam) daily solar radiation were compared and a reason- able agreement was observed for a number of stations in Japan. The simulation showed that during the rice harvest- ing season, September to October, there is a daily average of 14.7 MJ/m2 of solar irradiation on a horizontal surface in Matsuyama, Japan. There is a similar amount of solar radiation on a horizontal surface during the major rice har- vesting season, November to December, in Bangladesh. This radiation can be effectively utilized for drying rough rice and other farm crops. Keywords: Solar energy, Simulation, Geometric factor, Daily and hourly solar radiation

Abstract: A computer model was developed to simulate the hourly, daily and monthly average of daily solar radia- tion on horizontal and inclined surfaces. The measured hourly and daily solar radiation was compared with simulat- ed radiation, and favourable agreement was observed for the measured a...