Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (2023) 135:12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-022-00945-y ORIGINAL PAPER Mapping of solar insolation using air temperature in tropical and mountainous environments L. S. Hoyos 1,2  · B. J. Ruiz 1 Received: 9 May 2022 / Accepted: 6 December 2022 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2022 Abstract Solar energy potential maps facilitate the process of making decisions regarding the installation of photovoltaic solar energy systems. However, the lack of recorded in-situ solar irradiance information hinders decision-making in this feld of study. Therefore, in this study, the number of solar irradiance sample points was increased, using temperature-based empirical models such as that from Hargreaves and Samani and a new approach based on the logistic model, and the performance of four spatial interpolation techniques was assessed in tropical and mountainous environments. The analysis concluded that the Hargreaves and Samani model is better for the Pacifc zone, whereas the logistic model is better for the Andean and Amazon zones. In addition, the ordinary Kriging method was found to be the best interpolation technique, as it presents a lower bias. Graphical abstract List of symbols A Semivariance matrix between ith and jth point b Semivariance matrix between ith and point x 0  k Unknown coefcients estimated from the data C Covariance d i Distance between x i and x 0 (x) Spatially correlated random residual function Responsible Editor: Clemens Simmer, Ph.D. * L. S. Hoyos lshoyosg@unal.edu.co Extended author information available on the last page of the article