Energy and Climate in the Urban Built Environment

8

Short-wave radiation

A. Tsangrassoulis

Department of Applied Physics, University of Athens

 

 

The Sun is practically the only source of energy that influences our climate. The rate of total solar energy at all wavelengths incident on a unit area exposed normally to rays of the Sun at one astronomical unit is called the solar constant. The solar constant has been studied extensively since the beginning of the century. The value of this constant according to NASA measurements¹ is 1353 Wm^-2. More recently, Frohlich et al. using the new World Radiometric Reference recommended the value of 1367 Wm^-2 for solar constant.² Table 8.1 shows the distribution ...