Solar Radiometer Comparison

Ground-based measurements of solar surface irradiance are needed for real-time monitoring, capturing high-variability of irradiance, and applications requiring the highest possible accuracy. Particularly, a growing PV sector has pushed for recent advancements in radiometer designs including internal heating and ventilation of pyranometers, as well as the development of several low-cost radiometers capable of measuring diffuse radiation. However, the characteristics of many of these radiometers remain largely unknown and users are left with only unverified performance claims from the manufacturers. This study presents a one-year campaign featuring 26 commercially available radiometers. The aim of the study is to provide key performance characteristics of low-cost radiometer solutions as well as compare the performance enhancements of internal and external heating and ventilation.