RadEst3.00: software to estimate daily radiation data from commonly available meteorological variables

RadEst3.00 estimates and evaluates daily global solar radiation values at given latitudes. Radiation is calculated as the product of the atmospheric transmissivity of radiation times the radiation outside the earth atmosphere. Four models estimate the atmospheric transmissivity, based on the daily temperature range. Model parameters can be fitted over one or more years of data by iterative procedures. Graphical and statistical evaluations of the estimates are presented. Reports of the analysis can be exported in a variety of formats. Penman-Monteith or Priestley-Taylor reference evapotranspiration is estimated, using both measured and estimated radiation. Utilities are provided to process numerous files, or correct possible constant biases in the data. Samples of data for tropical and temperate sites are supplied with the software. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.