Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements

Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements

by Frank Vignola, Joseph Michalsky, Thomas Stoffel
Released December 2017
Publisher(s): CRC Press
ISBN: 9781351833264

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Book description

The rather specialized field of solar and infrared radiation measurement has become more and more important in the face of growing demands by the renewable energy and climate change research communities for data that are more accurate and have increased temporal and spatial resolution. Updating decades of acquired knowledge in the field, Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements details the strengths and weaknesses of instruments used to conduct such solar and infrared radiation measurements.

Topics covered include:

  • Radiometer design and performance
  • Equipment calibration, installation, operation, and maintenance
  • Data quality assessment
  • Methods to use measured data to estimate irradiance for any surface

With a broad range of content that will benefit students and more experienced readers alike, this resource serves as a primer and technical reference that presents the basic terminology and fundamentals for resource assessment. It explores the history of solar radiation instruments and addresses direct normal, global, diffuse, and tilted measurements, as well as the characteristics of instruments used for these measurements. The authors consider methods of assessing the uncertainty of solar measurements and then cover albedo, infrared, net, and spectral irradiance measurements and instrumentation. The book devotes a section to other meteorological instruments, and another to the basics for installing and operating a solar monitoring station. Appendices include information on solar resource assessment modeling and satellite-derived irradiance, along with other useful material.

This book’s authors are experts who each have more than 30 years of experience developing and operating multiple measurement stations, working with industry to improve radiometry, and conducting various research projects.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Chapter 1 Measuring Solar and Infrared Radiation
    1. Questions
  6. Chapter 2 Solar Resource Definitions and Terminology
    1. 2.1 Introduction
    2. 2.2 The Sun
    3. 2.3 Extraterrestrial Radiation
    4. 2.4 Solar Coordinates
    5. 2.5 Zenith, Azimuth, and Hour Angles
    6. 2.6 Solar, Universal, and Local Standard Time
    7. 2.7 Solar Position Calculation
    8. 2.8 Sunrise and Sunset Times
    9. 2.9 Global, Direct Normal, and Diffuse Irradiance
    10. 2.10 Solar Radiation on Tilted Surfaces
    11. 2.11 Spectral Nature of Solar Radiation
    12. 2.12 Fundamentals of Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer
      1. 2.12.1 CONDUCTION
      2. 2.12.2 CONVECTION
      3. 2.12.3 RADIATIVE HEAT TRANSFER
      4. 2.13 Photodiodes and Solar Cell Prerequisites
    13. 2.14 Models
    14. Questions
  7. Chapter 3 Historic Milestones in Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurement
    1. 3.1 Introduction
    2. 3.2 Earliest Observations of the Sun and The Nature of Light
    3. 3.3 Nineteenth-Century Radiometers
      1. 3.3.1 POUILLET'S PYRHELIOMETER (1837)
      2. 3.3.2 CAMPBELL-STOKES SUNSHINE RECORDER (1853, 1879)
      3. 3.3.3 Ångström Electrical Compensation Pyrheliometer (1893)
      4. 3.3.4 CALLENDAR PYRANOMETER (1898)
      5. 3.3.5 ANGSTROM TULIPAN PYRGEOMETER (1899)
    4. 3.4 Operational Radiometers of the Twentieth Century
      1. 3.4.1 ABBOT SILVER-DISK PYRHELIOMETER (1906)
      2. 3.4.2 SMITHSONIAN WATER-FLOW PYRHELIOMETER (1910)
      3. 3.4.3 MARVIN PYRHELIOMETER (1910)
      4. 3.4.4 ÅNGSTRÖM PYRANOMETER (1919)
      5. 3.4.5 KIPP & ZONEN SOLARIMETER (1924)
      6. 3.4.6 ROBITZSCH BIMETALLIC ACTINOGRAPH (1932)
      7. 3.4.7 EPPLEY 180O PYRHELIOMETER (1930)
      8. 3.4.8 EPPLEY MODEL PSP (1957)
      9. 3.4.9 YANISHEVSKY PYRANOMETER (1957)
      10. 3.4.10 EPPLEY MODEL NIP (1957)
      11. 3.4.11 EPPLEY MODEL FIR (1968)
      12. 3.4.12 PRIMARY ABSOLUTE CAVITY RADIOMETER (PACRAD) (1969)
      13. 3.4.13 EPPLEY MODEL 8–48 (1969)
      14. 3.4.14 LI-COR MODEL LI-200SA (1971)
      15. 3.4.15 ROTATING SHADOWBAND RADIOMETER (1975)
      16. 3.4.16 WORLD STANDARD GROUP (1979)
    5. 3.5 Recent Advances in Solar Measurements
      1. 3.5.1 AUTOMATIC HICKEY-FRIEDEN CAVITY RADIOMETER
      2. 3.5.2 TOTAL IRRADIANCE MONITOR (TIM)
      3. 3.5.3 PMOD MODEL 8 (PM08)
    6. Summary
    7. Questions
  8. Chapter 4 Direct Normal Irradiance
    1. 4.1 Overview of Direct Normal Irradiance
    2. 4.2 Pyrheliometer Geometry
    3. 4.3 Operational Thermopile Pyrheliometers
    4. 4.4 Absolute Cavity Radiometers
    5. 4.5 Uncertainty Analysis for Pyrheliometer Calibration
    6. 4.6 Uncertainty Analysis for Operational Thermopile Pyrheliometers
      1. 4.6.1 WINDOW TRANSMITTANCE, RECEIVER ABSORPTIVITY, AND TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY
      2. 4.6.2 SOLAR ZENITH ANGLE DEPENDENCE
    7. 4.7 Uncertainty Analysis for Rotating Shadowband Radiometer Measurements of Direct Normal Irradiance
    8. 4.8 Direct Normal Irradiance Models
      1. 4.8.1 GROUND-BASED MODELING
      2. 4.8.2 SATELLITE MODEL ESTIMATES
    9. 4.9 Historical and Current Surface-Measured Direct Normal Irradiance Data
    10. Questions
  9. Chapter 5 Measuring Global Irradiance
    1. 5.1 Introduction to Global Horizontal Irradiance Measurements
    2. 5.2 Black-Disk Thermopile Pyranometers
      1. 5.2.1 THERMAL OFFSETS
      2. 5.2.2 NONLINEARITY
      3. 5.2.3 SPECTRAL RESPONSE
      4. 5.2.4 ANGLE OF INCIDENCE RESPONSE
      5. 5.2.5 RESPONSE DEGRADATION
      6. 5.2.6 TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
      7. 5.2.7 ICE AND SNOW ON DOME—VENTILATORS
      8. 5.2.8 AN OPTICAL ANOMALY
    3. 5.3 Black-And-White Pyranometers
      1. 5.3.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF BLACK-AND-WHITE PYRANOMETERS
      2. 5.3.2 LACK OF THERMAL OFFSET
    4. 5.4 Photodiode-Based Pyranometers
      1. 5.4.1 CHARACTERIZING A PHOTODIODE PYRANOMETER
      2. 5.4.2 CORRECTIONS MADE TO PHOTODIODE PYRANOMETERS
      3. 5.4.3 REFERENCE SOLAR CELLS
    5. 5.5 Calibration of Pyranometers
      1. 5.5.1 SHADE-UNSHADE CALIBRATION METHOD
      2. 5.5.2 SUMMATION METHOD CALIBRATION
    6. 5.6 Pyranometer Calibration Uncertainties
      1. 5.6.1 UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS APPLIED TO PYRANOMETER CALIBRATION
      2. 5.6.2 AN EXAMPLE OF THE GUM PROCEDURE APPLIED TO THE CALIBRATION UNCERTAINTIES OF A PYRANOMETER
    7. Questions
    8. Useful Links
  10. Chapter 6 Diffuse Irradiance
    1. 6.1 Introduction
    2. 6.2 Measurement of Diffuse Irradiance
      1. 6.2.1 FIXED SHADOWBAND MEASUREMENTS OF DIFFUSE IRRADIANCE
      2. 6.2.2 CALCULATED DIFFUSE IRRADIANCE VERSUS SHADE DISK DIFFUSE
      3. 6.2.3 ROTATING SHADOWBAND DIFFUSE MEASUREMENTS
    3. 6.3 Calibration of Diffuse Pyranometers
    4. 6.4 Value of Accurate Diffuse Measurements
    5. Questions
  11. Chapter 7 Rotating Shadowband Radiometers
    1. 7.1 Introduction
    2. 7.2 Rotating Shadowband Radiometer
    3. 7.3 Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer
    4. Questions
  12. Chapter 8 Measuring Solar Radiation on a Tilted Surface
    1. 8.1 Introduction
    2. 8.2 Effect of Tilt on Single Black Detector Pyranometers
    3. 8.3 Effect of Tilt on Black-and-White Pyranometers
    4. 8.4 Effect of Tilt on Photodiode Pyranometers
    5. 8.5 Recommendations for Tilted Irradiance Measurements
    6. 8.6 Notes on Modeling PV System Performance With Data From Photodiode Pyranometers
    7. Questions
  13. Chapter 9 Albedo
    1. 9.1 Introduction
    2. 9.2 Broadband Albedo
    3. 9.3 Spectral Albedo
    4. 9.4 Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function
    5. 9.5 Albedo Measurements
      1. 9.5.1 BROADBAND ALBEDO
      2. 9.5.2 SPECTRAL ALBEDO
    6. Questions
  14. Chapter 10 Infrared Measurements
    1. 10.1 Introduction
    2. 10.2 Pyrgeometers
    3. 10.3 Calibration
    4. 10.4 Improved Calibrations
    5. 10.5 Other Pyrgeometer Manufacturers
    6. 10.6 Operational Considerations
    7. Questions
  15. Chapter 11 Net Radiation Measurements
    1. 11.1 Introduction
    2. 11.2 Single-Sensor (All-Wave) Net Radiometers
    3. 11.3 Two-Sensor Net Radiometers
    4. 11.4 Four-Sensor Net Radiometers
    5. 11.5 Accuracy of Net Radiometers
    6. 11.6 A Better Net Radiation Standard
    7. 11.7 Net Radiometer Sources
    8. Questions
  16. Chapter 12 Solar Spectral Measurements
    1. 12.1 Introduction
    2. 12.2 The Extraterrestrial Solar Spectrum
    3. 12.3 Atmospheric Interactions
      1. 12.3.1 RAYLEIGH SCATTERING
      2. 12.3.2 AEROSOL SCATTERING AND ABSORPTION
      3. 12.3.3 GAS ABSORPTION
      4. 12.3.4 TRANSMISSION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
    4. 12.4 Broadband Filter Radiometry
      1. 12.4.1 PHOTOMETRY
      2. 12.4.2 PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION (PAR)
      3. 12.4.3 UVA AND UVB
    5. 12.5 Narrow-Band Filter Radiometry
      1. 12.5.1 AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH
      2. 12.5.2 WATER VAPOR
      3. 12.5.3 SUN RADIOMETERS
    6. 12.6 Spectrometry
      1. 12.6.1 SPECTROMETERS
      2. 12.6.2 SPECTRAL MODELS
    7. Questions
  17. Chapter 13 Meteorological Measurements
    1. 13.1 Introduction
    2. 13.2 Ambient Temperature
      1. 13.2.1 TYPES OF TEMPERATURE SENSORS
      2. 13.2.2 RESPONSE TIMES
      3. 13.2.3 MEASURING TEMPERATURE
    3. 13.3 Wind Speed and Wind Direction
      1. 13.3.1 SENSOR TERMINOLOGY
      2. 13.3.2 ANEMOMETER
      3. 13.3.3 CUP ANEMOMETERS
      4. 13.3.4 PROPELLER ANEMOMETERS
      5. 13.3.5 SONIC ANEMOMETERS
      6. 13.3.6 INSTALLING ANEMOMETERS
      7. 13.3.7 WIND VANES
    4. 13.4 Relative Humidity
    5. 13.5 Pressure
      1. 13.5.1 ANEROID DISPLACEMENT TRANSDUCERS
      2. 13.5.2 PIEZORESISTIVE BAROMETERS
      3. 13.5.3 PIEZOCAPACITANCE BAROMETERS
    6. 13.6 Recommended Minimum Accuracies for Operational Instruments
    7. Questions
  18. Chapter 14 Setting Up a Solar Monitoring Station
    1. 14.1 Introduction
    2. 14.2 Choosing A Site
    3. 14.3 Grounding and Shielding
    4. 14.4 Data Logger and Communications
    5. 14.5 Measurement Interval
    6. 14.6 Cleaning and Maintenance
    7. 14.7 Record Keeping
    8. 14.8 Importance of Reviewing Data
    9. 14.9 Quality Control of Data
    10. 14.10 Field Calibrations
    11. 14.11 Physical Layout of a Solar-Monitoring Station
    12. Questions
  19. Appendix A: Modeling Solar Radiation
  20. Appendix B: Solar Radiation Estimates Derived from Satellite Measurements
  21. Appendix C: Sun Path Charts
  22. Appendix D: Solar Position Algorithms
  23. Appendix E: Useful Conversion Factors
  24. Appendix F: Sources for Equipment
  25. Appendix G: BORCAL Report
  26. Appendix H: Sunshine Duration
  27. Appendix I: Failure Modes
  28. Index

Product information

  • Title: Solar and Infrared Radiation Measurements
  • Author(s): Frank Vignola, Joseph Michalsky, Thomas Stoffel
  • Release date: December 2017
  • Publisher(s): CRC Press
  • ISBN: 9781351833264