The interface of Hong Kong Solar Irradiation Map
Prof. Charles Wong, Department of Land Surveying & Geo-Informatics
Awarded project: Hong Kong Solar Irradiation Map
Project title: Responsive Web-based Solar Irradiation Map with Solar Energy Calculator for Hong Kong
To promote a wider penetration of renewable energy in Hong Kong, the HKSAR government has introduced the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme in which the public can sell the electricity generated from solar photovoltaic (PV) to the power company at higher rate than the usual electricity tariff rate. Nevertheless, it is a challenge for the general public to identify an appropriate location on rooftop for the installation of PV system. A PolyU LSGI research team, led by Prof. Charles Wong of LSGI, has developed a web-based Hong Kong Solar Irradiation Map for EMSD of HKSAR government to encourage the public to install a solar PV system. The project received a silver medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2022 together with the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, HKSAR.
To develop a solar irradiation map, a digital surface model was used to simulate the solar irradiation at different tilting angles and orientations. The simulation model also considers the terrain, shading effects and the atmospheric conditions over 10-year historical solar irradiation data from the Hong Kong Observatory. The simulation result was found having 95.99% accuracy when compared with the field validation measurement using in-situ pyranometers. The solar irradiation map is developed by using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify the suitable locations for deploying PV system, in consideration of numerous criterions, in terms of the slope, site obstruction, shadow effect and barrier. Alongside the generation capacity, annual electricity generation and annual return of income from FiT scheme will be estimated. By using the payback calculator, the payback period can be estimated.
Link of Hong Kong Solar Irradiation Map: https://solarmap.emsd.gov.hk/map
| Research Units | Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics |
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