Correct infinite_sheds view factor from row to sky and ground; expose vf functions in bifacial.utils

docs/sphinx/source/reference/bifacial.rst

@@ -11,3 +11,15 @@ Functions for calculating front and back surface irradiance
    bifacial.pvfactors.pvfactors_timeseries
    bifacial.infinite_sheds.get_irradiance
    bifacial.infinite_sheds.get_irradiance_poa
+
+Utility functions for bifacial modeling
+
+.. autosummary::
+   :toctree: generated/
+
+   bifacial.utils.vf_row_sky_2d
+   bifacial.utils.vf_row_sky_2d_integ
+   bifacial.utils.vf_row_ground_2d
+   bifacial.utils.vf_row_ground_2d_integ
+   bifacial.utils.vf_ground_sky_2d
+   bifacial.utils.vf_ground_sky_2d_integ

docs/sphinx/source/reference/effects_on_pv_system_output/shading.rst

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Shading
 .. autosummary::
    :toctree: ../generated/
 
+   shading.ground_angle
    shading.masking_angle
    shading.masking_angle_passias
    shading.sky_diffuse_passias

docs/sphinx/source/whatsnew/v0.9.6.rst

@@ -23,6 +23,16 @@ Deprecations
 
 Enhancements
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
+* Exposes several functions useful for bifacial and shading calculations (:pull:`1666`):
+
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.utils.bifacial.utils.vf_row_sky_2d1
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.utils.vf_row_sky_2d_integ
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.utils.vf_row_ground_2d
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.utils.vf_row_ground_2d_integ
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.utils.vf_ground_sky_2d
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.utils.vf_ground_sky_2d_integ
+  * :py:func:`pvlib.shading.ground_angle`
+
 * Added a new irradiance decomposition model :py:func:`pvlib.irradiance.louche`. (:pull:`1705`)
 * Add optional encoding parameter to :py:func:`pvlib.iotools.read_tmy3`.
   (:issue:`1732`, :pull:`1737`)
@@ -41,6 +51,11 @@ Enhancements
 
 Bug fixes
 ~~~~~~~~~
+* Corrects an error in view factor calculations which are part of
+  :py:func:`pvlib.bifacial.infinite_sheds.get_irradiance`. The error
+  affects rear surface irradiance by a few W/m2. As part of the correction,
+  average view factors are now computed by exact formulas rather than by
+  numerical integration. (:issue:`1665`, :pull:`1666`)
 * `data` can no longer be left unspecified in
   :py:meth:`pvlib.modelchain.ModelChain.run_model_from_effective_irradiance`. (:issue:`1713`, :pull:`1720`)
 
@@ -64,6 +79,8 @@ Requirements
 
 Contributors
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
+* Mark Mikofski (:ghuser:`mikofski`)
+* Cliff Hansen (:ghuser:`cwhanse`)
 * Lakshya Garg (:ghuser:`Lakshyadevelops`)
 * Adam R. Jensen (:ghuser:`adamrjensen`)
 * Ben Pierce (:ghuser:`bgpierc`)