Most people I’ve talked to confirmed that they are already measuring with pyranometers and only sought advice on maintenance, calibration and expanding to a higher accuracy. To measure, or not to measure, with pyranometers is no longer a question.
As the marketing communication specialist at Kipp & Zonen, Intersolar is the first major event of the year where all my work comes to expression. From the booth design, to the animation on the screen, the new solar energy brochure and let’s not forget our popular giveaways. It’s fantastic to see it all fall into place with a beautiful and effective booth as the end result.
Together with my colleagues Paulien Adema, Xander van Mechelen, Foeke Kuik, Dmytro Podolskyy and Joop Mes; and Rolf and Marc Gengenbach from Gengenbach Messtechnik e.K., we welcomed a great variety of visitors from all over the world. Each with their own questions and needs, but some things really stood out:
Calibrate your pyranometer every 2 years
Our pyranometers are installed at the majority of solar energy power plants, but some users tend to forget they need maintenance and care (although our sensors are known for their durability and stability, especially the ISO Secondary Standard ones). Of course there is the basic cleaning of domes but calibration is also important to maintaining the original performance and accuracy. We recommend calibration of the sensitivity of our pyranometers every two years. But some internal QA/QC procedures in solar energy operators require annual calibration.
Did you know that pyranometer calibration is not only performed at our head office in Delft, the Netherlands? Our three sales offices can also provide this service. You can send your pyranometers directly to our colleagues in France, the USA or Singapore!
No changing of desiccant with the CMP10 and SMP10
We also received a lot of appreciation for the new CMP10 and smart SMP10 Secondary Standard pyranometers at Intersolar this year. The fact that you do not have to check or exchange the desiccant of these two instruments cuts down the maintenance by a significant amount. There is no external drying cartridge, the desiccant is inside the instruments and lasts up to 10 years to keep humidity out of your sensor. Moreover, when you have them calibrated at one of our service departments we will refresh the desiccant at the same time!
Accuracy of the measurement chain
The accuracy of our sensors is what we are known for. But, how to remain the highest accuracy in your measurement chain? During the exhibition, we were approached for advice on the optimal sensor installation, cabling and data-logger specifications and settings.
We have already planned a PV Solar Measurement Workshop in the UK and based on the feedback received at Intersolar, we plan to repeat this in different locations. Our customers are ready to take the next step and to get the most out of the accuracy of our instruments.
On behalf of the entire team I would like to thank all the visitors to our booth at Intersolar Europe 2015. Thanks to you it has been another great exhibition and experience. We hope to see you all again next year!
Blog written by Kelly Dalu-Karlas, Marketing Communication Specialist at Kipp & Zonen.