- 1Energy Technology Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- 2Building Performance Group, Department of Built Environment, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
This study investigates the interplay between solar irradiance components and weather conditions on photovoltaic (PV) power generation in Amsterdam. We emphasize real-world variations—including various PV tilts and orientations, seasonal shifts, and multi-year climatic trends—to align with the integration of PV in existing built environments.
A multi-year weather dataset was used to drive System Advisor Model (SAM) simulations with key variables including Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI), Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), ambient temperature, and wind speed. By investigating monthly subsets and including a broad range of tilt and azimuth angles, we reveal that the relationship between GHI and power generation can significantly vary throughout the year. Furthermore, wind speed shows a positive but moderate coefficient, suggesting its underexplored cooling benefits on PV modules, especially under high irradiance conditions.
Ambient temperature once again confirms the negative impact of heating on PV efficiency, but further analysis of monthly data and specific weather events (e.g., heatwaves, storms) indicates substantial short-term variability in power performance. Such temporal and seasonal insights underscore the need to evaluate long-term trends, especially in the context of urban heat islands and the potential rise in ambient temperatures under climate change scenarios. Ongoing work will expand the dataset to multiple years—leveraging publicly available KNMI weather files—to assess interannual fluctuations in both irradiance and temperature. This work provides a framework for performance assessments of rack-mounted PV systems in an open field.
KEYWORDS: Photovoltaic systems, Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), Ambient Temperature, Wind Speed, System Advisor Model (SAM), Urban Heritage, Climate Variability
Fig. 1. Example of illustration of daily cumulative variation of solar irradiance (DNI, DHI, GHI) of Amsterdam in 2019.
Fig. 2. Correlation matrix for PV power generation and related parameters based on the simulations of SAM software, for the example of weather data of Amsterdam in 2019.
How to cite: Hu, G., Loonen, R., and Reinders, A.: Analyzing the Influence of Weather Conditions and Solar Irradiance on Photovoltaic Power Generation: A Case Study in Amsterdam, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-963, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-963, 2025.
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