Establishing a solar monitoring station with auxiliary measurements

Abstract

A considerable amount of thought and planning should occur when considering the establishment of a solar monitoring station. One needs to understand the goals and limitations of the project and what can be accomplished with the instruments that fit within the budget. Other initial issues are: how the station will be maintained; how the data will be collected and analyzed; and how long the station will be operating. Of paramount importance is how the data are going to be used. For example, there is a considerable difference between monitoring to evaluate the long-term variability of the solar resource and using site data to provide the performance estimates to help obtain financing for a solar electric facility. This chapter consists of eleven sections. Section 1 will discuss overall considerations that set the basis for how the station should be configured. Section 2 will cover the instrumentation. The choice of location for the solar monitoring site is discussed next. Sections 5–7 cover the data logger and logistics such as maintenance and communications. Section 8 describes auxiliary measurements, and Sect. 9 will cover other useful instruments. Section 10 is on grounding, and Sect. 11 presents the physical layout of a hypothetical solar monitoring station.