Abstract
Solar energy is becoming a key player in manufacturing especially for off-grid applications such as
community factories. Between the radiation emitted by the Sun and that absorbed on Earth,
different phenomena take place. Many models were developed to tackle and explain these
phenomena with varying levels of accuracy and complexity. Two commonly used models in most
commercial simulation software such as ANSYS® Fluent® are the Fair Weather Condition and
Theoretical Maximum Method. The aim of this paper is to investigate the accuracy of these models
based on experimentally measured data. While these models assume a completely clear sky, the
study is based on wet season. Global irradiance data acquired for different hours (9 o'clock, 12
o'clock and 15 o'clock) of the day was used. Results show good correlation between the average
global irradiance for the Fair Weather Condition and the experimental values. The accuracy is
more important for high solar elevation around 12 o’clock.