Measuring Solar Radiation from the Ground

AMS Summer Community Meeting Tom Stoffel August 12, 2009

NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) http://www.nrel.gov/solar_radiation

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

Solar Radiation Research Lab

Resource Measurements

Instrument Calibrations Measurement Research & Training

Outreach: Measurement & Instrumentation Data Center:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

www.nrel.gov/solar_radiation www.nrel.gov/midc
Innovation for Our Energy Future

What to Measure?
Bright Sunshine Duration: Burning Sunshine Recorder (ca. 1870)

Paper burns: Direct Normal Irradiance > 120 Wm-2 Distinct Shadows % Possible Sunshine = 100 * Burn Length (mm) / Day Length (mm)

What to Measure?
Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI): Pyrheliometer (ca. 1900)

Knut ngstroms design to measure the Solar Constant

What to Measure?
Global Horizontal Irradiance: Pyranometer (ca. 1950)

The Eppley Laboratory, Inc. 180 Pyrheliometer

What to Measure?
Solar Components as simple as: Y = mX + B

Z Global = Direct * Cos(Z) + Diffuse

Renewable Energy Needs

Present Day

Direct Normal Irradiance

NIP

Normal Incidence Pyrheliometer

5.7 Field of View Mounted in Solar Tracker Broadband Response 0.3 - 3.0 m (Quartz window) Responsivity: 8-10 V/Wm-2

The Eppley Laboratory, Inc.

Radiometer Detectors
Copper-Constantan wire wound Thermopiles Thermo-electric: Two metals + Heat = Current

Copper Plated Constantan Wire F3 = 3 mil wire E6 = 6 mil wire

Thermo-Electric Detectors

NIP = E6

PSP or PIR = F3

The Eppley Laboratory, Inc.

Present Day
Precision Spectral Pyranometer PSP *

Global Irradiance
CMP-22 Pyranometer **

2 sr Field of View (Sky) Mounted on stable surface Broadband Response 0.3 - 3.0 m (Quartz window) Responsivity: 8-10 V/Wm-2 Time Constant: 1 s (1/e)

*The Eppley Laboratory, Inc. Model PSP www.eppleylab.com

**Kipp & Zonen Model CMP-22 www.kippzonen.com

Present Day

Diffuse Irradiance

Shaded Model 8-48 (B/W)

2 sr Field of View (Sky) Mounted on Solar Tracker Time Constant: 5 x PSP Broadband Response 0.3 - 3.0 m (Quartz window) Responsivity: 8-10 V/Wm-2

Clear Sky Measurements

Direct (Beam)

Global (Total)

Diffuse (Sky)

http://www.nrel.gov/midc/srrl_bms

What Influences the Amount of Solar Radiation?

Solar output
Earth-Sun distance

~0.1% for 11 year solar cycle

3.5% annual variation (1/r2)

Clouds Aerosols Water Vapor

Dominant factor DNI (scattering, absorption) Spectral absorber

Solar Constant

World Radiation Center, Davos, Switzerland http://www.pmodwrc.ch/

What Influences the Amount of Solar Radiation?

Earths Orbit:
Earth-Sun distance Relative tilt Time of day

Changes with Time & Location: Annual Cycle

Partly Cloudy Sky

Direct (Beam)

Global (Total)

Diffuse (Sky)

What Influences the Amount of Solar Radiation?

Direct down 22% Diffuse up by 100%

Inter-Annual Variability

Spectral Distribution of Solar Irradiance

3 microns

SW LW

Photoelectric Detectors
Fast, Low-Cost, with Reduced Spectral Response:

www.kippzonen.com

www.licor.com

Rotating Shadowband Radiometer

Unshaded GH Direct Horizontal Irradiance

Shaded Diff

DNI = (GH - Diff) / Cos (Z) Estimating Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) important for Concentrating Solar Power and Photovoltaic systems

Measuring DNI

Thermopile Pyrheliometers

1.8%

Measuring DNI

Rotating Shadowband Radiometers

2.5%

World Radiometric Reference (WRR)

Detector-Based Standard World Standard Group (WSG) +/- 0.3%

International Pyrheliometer Comparisons Next IPC in September 2010

Calibration Traceability

5 yr International Pyrheliometer Comparisons

NREL/ARM Reference Standards

Transfer Standards Annual NREL Pyrheliometer Comparisons

Broadband Outdoor Radiometer Calibrations

Reference Absolute Cavity Radiometer traceable to WRR Pyrheliometers Pyranometers

www.nrel.gov/solar_radiation
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

Radiometer Calibrations

Estimated Measurement Uncertainties Radiometer

Pyrheliometer PyranometerTP PyranometerPD

Measurement Uncertainty*
Direct Normal Global or Diffuse Global Diffuse +/- 2% +/- 5% +/- 8% +/- 15%

*U95 = (Random)2 + (Bias)2

Detectors: TP = Thermopile PD = Photo Diode (silicon)

Coverage Factor (K) = 2

Baseline Measurement System

1981 Present Resolution: 5-min to 1-min 100+ Data elements

Evaluation of Radiometers in Full-Time Use at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Solar Radiation Research Laboratory http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44627.pdf
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

National Solar Networks

1977-1980: New NOAA Network (co-funded by DoE) 38 stations hourly irradiances

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Innovation for Our Energy Future

National Solar Networks

1993 - Present: NOAA/ESRL/GMD SURFRAD Network 7 stations, 1-minute resolution

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Innovation for Our Energy Future

NoN Solar Resource Data

Industry needs for Crop Model inputs (www.solardatawarehouse.com)

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Innovation for Our Energy Future

Measuring Solar Radiation

Thank You!
General Information: www.nrel.gov/solar_radiation Measurement & Instrumentation Data Center www.nrel.gov/midc List of Instrument Manufacturers: thomas.stoffel@nrel.gov

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Innovation for Our Energy Future