insolation / irradiance monitor

[bladerunnerpv]

Hi folks, had a hunt on the forum but didn't find anything...

is anyone aware of a solar irradiance monitoring widget I could place on shed roof for a week or so and capture how much sunlight reaches the roof, I'm unsure how much shading it suffers during the day - when I'm mostly out

I've seen this type of thing
https://instrotech.com/pvm210-irrad...tm_term=1102300487369&utm_content=Ad group #1
but it's not what I'm thinking of as it's hand-held, presumably used for spot checks

thanks

 

[torbrowser]

That will only give you a 'spot' reading at that particular time of year and time of day.

Are you trying to calculate the system generation ?

There are tables that will work out yearly irradiance from a post code, angle of roof and orientation from south (in degrees)


https://mcscertified.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MIS-3002_Solar-PV-Systems-V4.0.pdf
Page 26.

 

[bladerunnerpv]

I'm trying to see how much sunlight the shed actually gets in real life.

I'm familiar with the irradiance/insolation data from PVGIS for example thanks and other tools for system generation

It's more the in-situ shading aspects vs time of day I'm trying to capture.

 

[torbrowser]

Oh, in that case probably rig up a go-pro on time lapse and catch what's happening that way. but again , you only get that days sun path.

I have this app on my iphone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sunnytapps.sunnytrack&gl=US

Costs a fiver but will give you the sun position any time and date from the position you are stood in, plus quite a few other tricks

I thought it was a bargain.

 

[bladerunnerpv]

Hmmm, thanks for the thought torbrowser, can it overlay that on an image taken from where you are,
Can it accept different heights above ground, i.e. ground level, shed roof level, house roof level? This is part of the shading problem I'm trying to solve.

For monitoring I guess a security camera like this might be a step forward if I can make it take pix of the shed roof at intervals, bit cheaper than a go-pro too!
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9395132Q&A suggests no subscription necessary, just record to local SD card
but wasn't quite what I was thinking of

I'm hoping there's something out there which I can use to capture the irradiance in-situ vs time, not finding anything via web searches yet though....
plenty of hand held kit like these :
https://www.tester.co.uk/environmental-and-temperature/solar-equipment/irradiance-meters
but not exactly what I'm looking for so far...

 

[binky]

You need one of these https://www.solardesign.co.uk/mcs-shading.php

 

[Joules]

Hi folks, had a hunt on the forum but didn't find anything...

is anyone aware of a solar irradiance monitoring widget I could place on shed roof for a week or so and capture how much sunlight reaches the roof, I'm unsure how much shading it suffers during the day - when I'm mostly out

I've seen this type of thing
https://instrotech.com/pvm210-irrad...tm_term=1102300487369&utm_content=Ad group #1
but it's not what I'm thinking of as it's hand-held, presumably used for spot checks

thanks

Bought this Insolation tester from AliExpress last year for $58 but it’s not a data logger. Use search string SM-206 solar meter to find other resellers. Once you have the Insolation value in Watts/m2 look at your panels power curves to obtain some idea of the watts that they should be generating for the level of insolation. On a day to day, basis I use the Insolation value from my Aercus Instruments weather station which is a data logger; not too accurate at this time of year because its sensor points upwards.

 

[binky]

Bought this Insolation tester from AliExpress last year for $58 but it’s not a data logger. Use search string SM-206 solar meter to find other resellers. Once you have the Insolation value in Watts/m2 look at your panels power curves to obtain some idea of the watts that they should be generating for the level of insolation. On a day to day, basis I use the Insolation value from my Aercus Instruments weather station which is a data logger; not too accurate at this time of year because its sensor points upwards.

If you search the web, I think you can find such an information without buying a gadget. One of my customers accessed such data from Plymouth University

 

[Joules]

If you search the web, I think you can find such an information without buying a gadget. One of my customers accessed such data from Plymouth University

Yes! But was it fake news?

 

[binky]

WTF are you on about, weather data is weather data FFS

 

[Joules]

WTF are you on about, weather data is weather data FFS

The OP wants to measure in real time w/m2 falling on his shed roof at his location. Please explain to us how is able to measure in real time insolation not half a mile away or two miles away but directly over his shed roof. I bet Santa knows

 

[binky]

The OP wants to measure in real time w/m2 falling on his shed roof at his location. Please explain to us how is able to measure in real time insolation not half a mile away or two miles away but directly over his shed roof. I bet Santa knows

The insolation for an area isn't going to be much different, unless his house is on a mountain top covered in mist. So you can get the figures without buying a gadget. That can then be adjusted using the shade assessment. Okay it's not as accurate, but saves spending money that would be better spent on the panels and inverters imho.

Thought you were off on some conspiracy theory. Santa is real though, NORAD track him every year

https://www.noradsanta.org/en/

 

[Joules]

Boys will be boys and need their toys. I'm sure will provide. I asked Alexa about shading on the shed roof and she said WTF are you on about FFS ask NORAD