Silicon sensors for measuring solar irradiation
The Spektron 210, 320 and 485mb are silicon sensors used to measure solar irradiance. A silicon solar cell can be used as an irradiance sensor because the short-circuit current is proportional to the irradiance.
Areas of application
Easy handling
The Spektron can be connected directly to a voltmeter or a data logger. With the Spektron 210, the measured voltage can be converted into the irradiation unit (W/m²) using the calibration value printed on the sensor.
Robust construction
The Spektron can be used in all weather conditions and at all angles of inclination.
Spectron 210 Irradiance Sensor
The Spektron 210 irradiance sensor offers the possibility of evaluating irradiance between 0 and 1500 W/m2. It delivers a voltage proportional to the solar irradiance. In addition, the measured voltage can be converted into the irradiance unit (W/m2) using the calibration value printed on the sensor.
Spectron 320 Irradiance Sensor
The irradiation sensor offers the following options for evaluating irradiation between 0 and 1500 W/m2: voltage output 0 - 150 mV, voltage output 0 - 3.125 V, voltage output 0 - 10 V and current output for two-wire technology 4 - 20 mA. The maximum measurable irradiation is 1500 W/m2. Only one measurement output can be used at a time.
SPEKTRON 485mb Digital Irradiance Sensor SI-RS485
Our sensors consist of a monocrystalline solar cell connected to a shunt. Due to the low resistance of the shunt, the cell works next to a short circuit. The temperature coefficient of the short-circuit current produces a small error. Therefore, all our silicon sensors with the extension "TC" have an active temperature compensation that reduces this error by a factor of 20. The compensation is done via a special temperature sensor laminated to the back of the solar cell. The measurement signals of the short-circuit current of the cell and the resistance value of the temperature sensor are measured by a microcontroller. The calculated values for irradiance and temperature are transmitted to an RS485 port with customer specification protocol. The electronic circuitry is optimised for low power consumption. All sensors are calibrated in simulated sunlight against a reference cell of the same type. The reference cell is periodically calibrated against a reference cell calibrated by Fraunhofer ISE, Freiburg.