PI Lite article
Article in Photovoltaic International lite, issue 01-2010: Radiation Measurement Principles for PV Performance Rating by Alexander Los, (c) Photovoltaic International
In a technical paper about radiation measurements for the evaluation of PV system performances the author, Dr. Alexander Los, supplies field practice and background information about radiation sensor technology.
Abstract
Pyranometers have been widely used for decades to measure solar radiative fluxes, especially in studying the Earth's climate. As photovoltaic technology matured and became available for electrical power generation, radiation sensors became necessary to rate photovoltaic system performances. While pyranometers have been used traditionally to measure solar irradiance, PV reference cells are commonly encountered in PV performance rating applications. This article aims to contribute to the improvement of radiation measurements by supplying field practice and background information about radiation sensor technology. The first section of the article describes when and why particular radiation sensors are used in PV performance rating applications, concluding with a description of state-of-the art radiation measurement methods and some best-practice recommendations for solar radiation measurements.
The article can be downloaded here (no reproduction allowed, discribution with permission of the publisher).