Development of a Cheap Deployable Pyranometer: Interim

Report

Date: 31/10/2012

Student Name: Tom Cartlidge

Matriculation: s0786957

School of Engineering and Electronics

University of Edinburgh

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 Abstract

This interim report documents the research associated with the design of a cheap deployable
pyranometer, many of which will eventually form a dense wireless network in Edinburgh to assist
studies in cloud cover effects on photovoltaic generation. The background motivations of a solar
power framework set up by a research partnership (UKSIS) between the University of Edinburgh and
University of Reading are presented, and a comprehensive literature review of the main design
features and considerations is performed. Recommendations and industry standards in sensor type,
data acquisition, calibration and quality control are analysed as options for this new design.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Background............................................................................................................................ 4
1.2 UK Solar Integration Study (UKSIS) Initiative........................................................................... 4
1.3 Objectives & Planning ............................................................................................................ 4
2. Principles of Solar Radiation....................................................................................................... 7
3. Pyranometer Types.................................................................................................................... 8
4. Data Acquisition ........................................................................................................................ 9
5. Calibration and Quality Control ................................................................................................ 10
6. Pyranometer Classification ...................................................................................................... 12
7. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 14
8. References............................................................................................................................... 15

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 1. Introduction

1.1 Background

As future global energy supply tends towards the reliance on a cocktail of renewable technologies,
solar photovoltaic (PV) power is constantly developing and becoming more commercially available
and reliable. International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts estimate that by 2050, PV cells will provide
approximately 11% of global electricity production, offsetting 2.3 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions
annually (International Energy Agency, 2010). Optimal technological advances and cost reduction in
the field are essential to achieving this vision.

A pyranometer is a device used for measuring global solar irradiance; the total solar energy available
at the sensors location at any given time. This is the sum of both direct (direct line from sun) and
diffuse (scattered by atmospheric particles) solar radiation, measured in W/m2 (British Standards
Institution, 2000). Pyranometers have multiple applications including climatology, meteorology,
agriculture (Trnka, et al., 2007), solar energy studies (Ertekin, Evrendilek, & Kulcu, 2008) and building
physics. This interim report will focus on the design of a cheap deployable pyranometer in the
context of photovoltaic (PV) generation and provide a review of some of the key literature
surrounding the topic.

1.2 UK Solar Integration Study (UKSIS) Initiative

UKSIS, a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and the University of Reading, have
compiled a research framework in view of optimising solar PVs contribution capacity and stability
into the UKs national electricity grid. This comprises a number of separate work packages which will
combine to create a state of the art solar energy model. Work package 3 aims to deliver a sub-grid
cloud model which will stochastically approximate spatial variation solar data at a very local level,
downscaled from models approximating data to 3km2 resolution. The importance of this is in
understanding the effect of cloud cover on global solar irradiance, the dominating yet presently
sparsely understood factor in PV generation. Previous attempts have been carried out at a 400m
resolution under stratocumulus cloud conditions (Venema, Garc, & Simmer, 2010) with promising
results here analysis of other cloud types will be possible.

Around 75 bespoke pyranometer designs with wireless data logging will be implemented across
Edinburgh in order to record accurate data at a high spatial density, for comparison and validation of
the mathematical models. This paper is the beginning of the design of such a sensor network, aiming
to deliver each individual unit for around 300; 25% the cost of existing options.

1.3 Objectives & Planning

Project objectives are defined as follows:

1. Research and present the principles behind current pyranometer technologies and solar
radiation databases.

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 2. Select/refine most appropriate sensor design.
3. Select/refine optimal data storage design.
4. Employ data transmission method.
5. Merge components and develop cheap deployable pyranometer product.
6. Build & test at least one prototype document in final report.

From these objectives a more detailed work breakdown structure was written, and by consideration
of critical paths, a project plan Gantt chart was drafted. This can be seen in Figure 1:

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ID Task Name Duration Start Finish Qtr 4, 2012 Qtr 1, 2013 Qtr 2, 2013
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
1 Pyranometer Design Project 147 days Thu 20/09/12 Mon 15/04/13
2 Project Kick Off 0 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 20/09/12 20/09
3 Project Proposal submission 0 days Thu 27/09/12 Thu 27/09/12 27/09
4 Interim Report & Literature Review 0 days Thu 01/11/12 Thu 01/11/12 01/11
5 Interview with Project Examiner (TBC) 0 days Mon 14/01/13 Mon 14/01/13 14/01
6 Web Page submission (TBC) 0 days Mon 11/02/13 Mon 11/02/13 11/02
7 Final Report submission 0 days Thu 04/04/13 Thu 04/04/13 04/04
8 Oral Exam (TBC) 0 days Mon 15/04/13 Mon 15/04/13 15/04
9 Research 31 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 01/11/12
10 General topic reading 31 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 01/11/12
11 Existing technologies 31 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 01/11/12
12 Industry Standards 31 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 01/11/12
13 Industry Practises 31 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 01/11/12
14 Identify potential advancements 31 days Thu 20/09/12 Thu 01/11/12
15 Sensor Design 7.5 days Fri 02/11/12 Tue 13/11/12
16 Technology comparison 0.5 wks Fri 02/11/12 Tue 06/11/12
17 Select/design optimum 1 wk Tue 06/11/12 Tue 13/11/12
18 Data Logging 15.5 days Tue 13/11/12 Tue 04/12/12
19 Investigate commerically available solutions 1 wk Tue 13/11/12 Tue 20/11/12
20 Comparison to custom design 0.5 days Tue 20/11/12 Tue 20/11/12
21 Custom build circuitry 2 wks Wed 21/11/12 Tue 04/12/12
22 Processing (Raspberry Pi?) & Operating System 2 wks Wed 21/11/12 Tue 04/12/12
23 Communication 33 days Wed 05/12/12Fri 18/01/13
24 Data Transmission 15.5 days Wed 05/12/12Wed 26/12/12
25 Evaluate necessity 0.5 days Wed 05/12/12 Wed 05/12/12
26 Research and decide on best method 1 wk Wed 05/12/12 Wed 12/12/12
27 Design transmission circuitry 2 wks Wed 12/12/12 Wed 26/12/12
28 Data Receiver 17.5 days Wed 26/12/12Fri 18/01/13
29 Receiver design 1.5 wks Wed 26/12/12 Fri 04/01/13
30 Data handling software 2 wks Mon 07/01/13 Fri 18/01/13
31 Design integration 25 days Mon 21/01/13Fri 22/02/13
32 Integrate sensor, logger & transmitter 1 wk Mon 21/01/13 Fri 25/01/13
33 Mechanical packaging design 2 wks Mon 28/01/13 Fri 08/02/13
34 Finalise drawings & schematics for manufacturing 1 wk Mon 11/02/13 Fri 15/02/13
35 Create Bill of Materials (BOM) 1 wk Mon 18/02/13 Fri 22/02/13
36 Prototyping & Testing 22.5 days Mon 25/02/13Wed 27/03/13
37 Source & procure full BOM 1 wk Mon 25/02/13 Fri 01/03/13
38 Build Prototype 1 wk Mon 04/03/13 Fri 08/03/13
39 Test Prototype 2 wks Mon 11/03/13 Fri 22/03/13
40 Design improvements study 0.5 wks Mon 25/03/13 Wed 27/03/13
41 Final Project Report 6 days Wed 27/03/13Thu 04/04/13
42 Write report 5 days Wed 27/03/13 Wed 03/04/13
43 Check report 1 day Wed 03/04/13 Thu 04/04/13

Task Project Summary Inactive Milestone Manual Summary Rollup Deadline

Project: 003-Project Plan Split External Tasks Inactive Summary Manual Summary Progress
Date: Fri 12/10/12 Milestone External Milestone Manual Task Start-only
Summary Inactive Task Duration-only Finish-only

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 2. Principles of Solar Radiation

The sun is by far our closest star and therefore responsible for the significant part of solar radiation
reaching the earths atmosphere. The power produced by the sun is around 3.9x1026W (Brooks,
Monitoring Solar Radiation and Its Transmission Through the Atmosphere, 2006) and its transmitted
intensity follows the inverse square law. The solar constant is defined as the average power density
of solar radiation falling on a surface of a sphere at distance r from the sun, described by Equation
(1):
(1)
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where:
S0= solar constant (Wm-2)
E= total power of sun (W)
r = distance from sun (m) (=150,000,000,000m to edge of earths atmosphere)

At the edge of earths atmosphere the solar constant is taken as 1370 Wm-2. More accurately, it is in
the range 1324<S0<1417 when the variation of r is accounted for due to eccentricity of the earths
orbit. It has been calculated that around 70% reaches the surface of the earth, giving a global
irradiance of around 1000Wm-2 on a clear-sky day (Brooks, Measuring Sunlight at Earth's Surface:
Build Your Own Pyranometer, 2007). The breakdown of irradiance sources are shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2 Direct, diffuse, and total insolation for a standard atmosphere, with relative air mass of 1.5 (Brooks, Monitoring
Solar Radiation and Its Transmission Through the Atmosphere, 2006)

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It is seen that the energy density varies across the spectrum 99% of global solar radiation incident
at earths surface is in the range 300<<3000nm (ISO, 1990). The light spectrum is divided as in Table
1:

Table 1 Light categories by wavelength (Brooks, Monitoring Solar Radiation and Its Transmission Through the
Atmosphere, 2006)
Category Approximate wavelength (nm)
UV-C 100-280
UV-B 280-315
UV-A 315-400
Visible 400-750
Infrared (IR) 750+

Because we know the solar constant value at the top and have knowledge of the properties of
various atmospheric constituents (e.g. aerosols, ozone, CO2, H20), we can indirectly deduce what is
happening in the sky by placing a pyranometer at the bottom of the atmospheric column.

3. Pyranometer Types

Different sensor types are capable of measuring solar irradiance. Ideally, the spectral response
should be flat so every wavelength is accounted for equally. A bandwidth of 300nm 3000nm is
common in thermal pyranometers (World Meteorological Organisation , 2008), the most popular of
which uses a thermopile (multiple thermocouples connected in series) to produce a voltage output
proportional to the heat and hence incident solar radiation (Kipp & Zonen, 2012).

Black and white type pyranometers, which use thermopile sensors, are extremely tilt sensitive
(McArthur, et al., 1995). Additional to direct and diffuse radiation, tilted collectors receive radiation
reflected from surrounding ground objects which can account for up to 25% of total energy incident
on the cell. This highlights the important of sensor orientation in a near perfect horizontal place.

Many commercial pyranometers rely on thermopile sensors due to their increased accuracy.
However, they can thousands of pounds and therefore it is not financially viable to deploy them in
dense networks. A subset of solar radiation sensors known as surrogate pyranometers (Brooks,
Monitoring Solar Radiation and Its Transmission Through the Atmosphere, 2006) exist at a fraction
of the price and rely on silicon based photodetectors (King & Myers, 1997). Such detectors include
reference solar cells, photodiodes and light emitting diodes (LEDs) in reverse biased mode. These
optical components produce tiny currents proportional to the intensity of light they absorb, which
are often passed through transimpedence amplifiers to produce voltages large enough to be read by
data loggers (Forrest, 2003).

Si-photodetectors are sensitive to spectral effects (McArthur, et al., 1995), as illustrated in Figure 1.
This also explains the biggest inefficiency in PV cells the movement of electrons in the p-n doped
semiconductor is only excited by a small portion of the spectrum; the remainder is wasted as heat
energy.

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 Figure 3 Typical Spectral Response of Silicon Photodetector (Brooks, Measuring Sunlight at Earth's Surface: Build Your
Own Pyranometer, 2007)

Despite this drawback, surrogate pyranometers are so commercially viable for denser networks that
much research has been put in to understanding and improving them (King & Myers, 1997). It has
already been shown possible to classify cloud amount and types with these devices, even when data
is not highly accurate (Duchon & O'Malley, 1998).

Device internal temperature sensors can be used for calculating temperature sensitivity correction
coefficients, and make it possible to specify accuracy values over various operating temperature
ranges (McArthur, et al., 1995).

4. Data Acquisition

Data acquisition (DAQ) is the process of reading the analogue input signal from the system sensors
and converting them into digital signals which computers can then process. This section presents
literature recommendations on the topic.

The input voltage range from the sensors must be established (amplified or not). Processing
accuracy is governed by bit resolution, as expressed in Equation (2):

.
= (2)
(2 1)

For instance, a logger with a 0 to 2.5V input with 12-bit resolution will achieve accuracy to 0.6mV per
individual reading. Required accuracy is relative to the magnitude of input signals (Brooks,
Measuring Sunlight at Earth's Surface: Build Your Own Pyranometer, 2007). It should typically be 10
times better than the accuracy required for the signal.

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Multiplexing is required where there is more than one input channel into the DAQ. For example,
inputs from radiation and temperature sensors would be switched sequentially into a single voltage
measuring unit. This is achieved by either magnetic relay contacts or semiconductor switches
(McArthur, et al., 1995). It is recommended that relay multiplexing be used for radiation
measurements due to their small contribution to noise (1 2V). Semiconductor multiplexing is
suitable where number of input channels is much greater and so higher switching rate is required,
but at the cost of additional noise.

Overall system uncertainty must be kept as low as possible; a DAQ uncertainty of <5V over a 10
minute mean voltage input is ideal (McArthur, et al., 1995). Below this, the DAQs contribution to
overall system is insignificant. Anything up to <15V (0.3% of signal) is acceptable, equivalent to
around 2Wm-2.

Measurement frequency of the data logger is described by two time parameters. The recording
interval is the length of time that the recorded average value is taken over. Instantaneous readings
are prone to much greater inaccuracies and so time averages are taken to smooth them out. One
recommendation is to set the recording interval at 1 minute; longer time intervals are then
computable with higher quality control ability (McArthur, et al., 1995). Storage media size and
transmission/processing rates will place constraints on this. The second time parameter is the
sampling interval, defined as the period between successive measurements on any single input.
This is ideally less than 0.5 of the pyranometer response time but because radiation changes are not
particularly quick, 2s is appropriate. If connected to an alternating current (AC) power supply,
sampling duration is an important factor. If sampling is set at the same frequency e.g. 50Hz then the
device will be insensitive to power line frequency noise. This is not a factor when using a direct
current (DC) source.

An ideal system is inevitably compromised by logistics, accuracy, convenience and cost. With this in
mind it will be worth considering a separate central server for data logging, with the field device
merely transmitting raw calibrated data. Full feasibility studies will be carried out at this later stage
in the project.

5. Calibration and Quality Control

Sophisticated calibration techniques and device maintenance is crucial to the success of

pyranometry; professional laboratory calibration is advisable, certainly for any credible commercial
product (Brooks, Measuring Sunlight at Earth's Surface: Build Your Own Pyranometer, 2007).

ISO 9847 is the standard for the calibration of field pyranometers against a reference pyranometer
(British Standards Institute, 1993). It provides guidance and instructions to instrument calibration
either indoor (by artificial light) or outdoor in natural light under a particular condition (advises to
pick a condition that is typical of the field the instrument will be measuring). The procedure involves
recording output from the two devices in the same orientation at the same time and then calculating
calibration factors based on mathematical treatment of the error ratios. It has guidance where more
advanced treatment is desired, for example temperature variation compensation and factors for
special values of solar angles. The reference pyranometer should always be of higher quality/class

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than the instrument being calibrated. All procedures are traceable to the world radiometric
reference (WRR), which has been the basis for meteorological radiation measurements for the last
25 years (Redi & Finsterle, 2012).

Additional correction factors (King & Myers, 1997) and more exhaustive implementations of the
standards (Martinez, Andjar, & Enrique, 2009) are available, tailored specifically towards silicon-
photodiode type detectors. One idea for a more rigorous calibration is to have conditional correction
factors, relative to what noise is being detected in the readings for at that time. This would be in
attempt to remove the error caused by the calibration being performed under just one specific
condition. It is known that clear skies are less noisy than cloudy skies (Brooks, Monitoring Solar
Radiation and Its Transmission Through the Atmosphere, 2006).

A final error to explore is directional response - deviation away from the ideal cosine response to
incidence angle of the sun, described by Equation (3):

= cos( ) (3)

where:
Iz = irradiance at any zenith angle z
I0 = irradiance at zero zenith angle
z = zenith angle

The orientation of solar zenith angle is measure as shown in Figure 4:

Figure 4 Measuring solar zenith angle (Science Glossary, 2011)

No real device has a perfect cosine response due to build imperfections, spectral response and light
reflection rather than absorption into the photodetector at larger solar zenith angles. This can be
alleviated physically by applying a layer of Teflon over the sensor window/dome, improving the
spectral transmission properties (Brooks, Measuring Sunlight at Earth's Surface: Build Your Own
Pyranometer, 2007).

Global solar irradiance now is computed according to Equation (4):

= (4)

where:
E = mean irradiance (Wm-2)
Vs= mean signal voltage (V)

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V0= mean night voltage (V) for long term testing this can be based on two 1hr means, one 1hr
after sunset and the other 1hr before sunrise (saves recording unnecessary dark values)
R = overall corrected calibrated response (VW-1m2)

Researchers (McArthur, et al., 1995) claim that by following their guidelines with a good quality
pyranometer and DAQ system holding 10x greater resolution than the accuracy required in the
measured signal, overall system uncertainty in the region of 15 25 Wm-2 should be achieved(over a
10 minute averaging period). There is no quote for 1min time averages however.

Guidelines advise quality control measures such as taking device resistance, electrical zeros, lead
resistance and outside inductance effects to including further correction factors to reduce
undesirable effects. Other good practises in quality control include alerts on data out with the range
-6<E<1050 W/m2. It is not uncommon for night time signals to give small negative outputs(McArthur,
et al., 1995). Furthermore, producing a daily graphical record at 1 minute resolution can be used to
screen for any data spikes in data, which may have been caused by measurement dropouts, animal
shadows etc.

The aim here is to build a trustworthy sensor network and by building in such intelligence will assist
data reliability.

6. Pyranometer Classification

There are three classification categories of pyranometer, shown in order from best to worst:
Secondary standard
First Class
Second Class
Criteria for each are defined by ISO 9060 (ISO, 1990) and presented in Table 2:

Table 2 Pyranometer specification list (ISO, 1990)

Pyranometer category
Reference
Specification Secondary
No. First class Second class
standard
Response time:
1 time for 95% response <15s <30s <60s
Zero offset:
a) Response to 200wm-2 net +7Wm-2 +15Wm-2 +30Wm-2
thermal radiation
2
(ventilated)
b) response to 5Kh-1 change 2Wm-2 4Wm-2 8Wm-2
in ambient temperature
Non-stability
3a Percentage change in responsivity 0.8% 1.5% 3%
per year

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 Non-linearity:
Percentage deviation from the
3b responsivity at 500Wm-2due to 0.5% 1% 3%
change in irradiance within
100Wm-2 to 1000Wm-2
Directional response (for beam
radiation):
The range of errors caused by
assuming that the normal
3c incidence responsivity is valid for 10Wm-2 20Wm-2 30Wm-2
all directions when measuring from
any direction a beam radiation
whose normal incidence irradiance
is 1000Wm-2
Spectral selectivity:
Percentage deviation of the
product of spectral absorbtance
3d 3% 5% 10%
and spectral transmittance from
the corresponding mean within
0.35m and 1.5m
Temperature response:
Percentage deviation due to
3e 2% 4% 8%
change in ambient temperature
within an interval of 50K
Tilt response:
Percentage deviation from the
3f responsivity at 0deg tilt (horizontal) 0.5% 2% 5%
due to change in tilt from 0deg to
90deg at 1000Wm-2 irradiance

The criteria for the uniform spectral responsivity can only be realised with thermal sensor types
equipped with absorbing surfaces, and so strictly speaking a surrogate pyranometer does not meet
classification requirements. However, the standard (ISO, 1990) does also state that a pyranometer
may be categorised as first class for solar energy test applications only if criteria for azimuth and
cosine response are satisfied.

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 7. Conclusions

The design of a bespoke cheap deployable pyranometer with wireless transmission is being
developed to make it financially viable to host dense irradiance sensor networks

The data will validate mathematically models and provide insight to effects of cloud cover on PV
potential

Si-photodetector (surrogate) type designs are likely to be used for cost reduction and it is
understood that the success of these device relies on good design practices and advanced
calibration techniques based on ISO 9847

It is important to use DAQ systems with a high enough bit-resolution to minimise accumulating
system errors

Calibration aims to smooth out deviations caused by poor spectral responsivity, temperature effects
and imperfect cosine responses

Although surrogate pyranometers do not strictly meet the full criteria set to be classified by IS 9060,
they can be termed first class if they are for solar energy tests and satisfy both azimuth and cosine
response requirements

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 8. References

British Standards Institute. (1993). BS 7621:1993 ISO 9847:1992Calibrating field pyranometers by

reference to a reference pyranometer. BSi.

British Standards Institution. (2000). Solar energy - vocabulary. BS EN ISO 9488 , 10.

Brooks, D. (2007, February). Measuring Sunlight at Earth's Surface: Build Your Own Pyranometer.
Retrieved October 27, 2012, from Institute for Earth Science Research and Education:
http://www.instesre.org/construction/pyranometer/pyranometer.htm

Brooks, D. (2006, August). Monitoring Solar Radiation and Its Transmission Through the Atmosphere.
Retrieved 10 28, 2012, from Drexel University:
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~brooksdr/DRB_web_page/papers/UsingTheSun/using.htm#where

Duchon, C. E., & O'Malley, M. S. (1998). Estimating Cloud Type From Pyranometer Observationa.
Journal of Applied Meterology , 132-141.

Ertekin, C., Evrendilek, F., & Kulcu, R. (2008). Modeling spatio-temporal dynamics of optimum tilt
angles for solar collectors in Turkey. Sensors , 2913-2931.

Forrest, M. M. (2003). Gettin Started in Electronics. Lincolnwood: Master Publishing.

International Energy Agency. (2010). Solar photovoltaic energy. Technology Roadmap , 5.

ISO. (1990). Solar energy - Specification and classification of Instruments for measuring
hemispherical solar and direct solar radiation. ISO 9060 .

King, D. L., & Myers, D. R. (1997). Silicon Photodiode Pyranometers: Operational Characteristics,
Historical Experiences, and New Calibration Procedures. Albuquerque: Sandia National Laboratories.

Kipp & Zonen. (2012). Passion for Precision. Retrieved from Kipp & Zonen:
http://www.kippzonen.com/?product/20151/SMP3.aspx

Martinez, M. A., Andjar, J. M., & Enrique, J. M. (2009). A New and Inexpensive Pyranometer for the
Visible Spectral Range. sensors , 4615-4634.

McArthur, L., Dahlgren, L., Dehne , K., Hamalainen, M., Leidquist, L., Maxwell, G., et al. (1995). Using
Pyranometers in tests of solar energy converters. International Energy Agency Solar Heating and
Cooling Program .

Redi, I., & Finsterle, W. (2012). The World Radiometric Reference and its Quality System. World
Radiation Centre.

Science Glossary. (2011). Retrieved October 30, 2012, from My NASA Data:
http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/glossaryapp/

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Trnka, M., Eitzinger, J., Kapler, P., Dubrovsk, M., Semerdov, D., alud, Z., et al. (2007). Effect of
stimated daily global solar radiation data on the result of crop growth models. Sensors , 2330-2362.

Venema, V., Garc, S., & Simmer, C. (2010). A new algorithm for the downscaling of cloud fields.
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society , 91-106.

World Meteorological Organisation . (2008). WMO-No.8. Guide to Meteorological Instruments and

Methods of Observation , I7-1 to I.7-40.

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