Solar Data Logger with Silicon Pyranometer

Overview

Determining the amount of solar power from the available sunlight at a location is the main purpose of the project where the cumulative incident solar energy received during the deployment is being recorded.

Explanation

A solar radiation sensor, using silicon pyranometer, and a data logger are combined to create a self-contained irradiance logger to measure and record at regular intervals the solar irradiance for until 170 days at a time.

The use of SDL-1 for a planned solar power system will provide aid in determining the best location and optimal tilt for the solar panels. For solar systems already installed, further monitoring of system performance over time is provided by SDL-1. A basis of tracking system performance can be gathered by comparing the cumulative incident solar energy from SDL-1 and the actual energy produced from the production meter of the system.

A weatherproof enclosure can be used to house the device which can be powered by a standard 9V battery with 2 years typical battery life. The main component of the SDL-1 is the microchip PIC16F88 microcontroller where a non-volatile memory stores the data which can be analyzed after transferring to a computer via USB.