Which Meteo Sensors are Sufficient for Solar Power Plants?

You have decided to use SEVEN Sensor Solutions products for your solar power plant. So, which sensors should the set you buy include? Which meteo sensors will be able to measure the clear data of your power plant or which sensors will be unnecessary for you? Many questions can be derived in this way. In an age where solar energy is so effective, you made the right decision and wanted to install sensors in your power plant, and if these questions waste your time, let’s answer them all together.

It is the Irradiance Sensors that form the basis of the meteorological station. Without a solar Irradiance Sensor, a solar meter set is never conceivable. These sensors measure the irradiation coming to the environment where your power plant is located by means of a mini-PV cell in its structure, and allow you to view instant data. At the same time the performance of PV cells varies significantly with temperature, as you know. Since our Irradiance Sensors are essentially mini-PV cells, they also allow to evaluate the performance changes with temperature. As we mentioned, the temperature of your power plant also creates great changes in the amount of energy that can be produced. Therefore, you should definitely use a SEVEN Sensor Solution’s Module Temperature Sensor.

We talked about two factors that determine the amount of energy produced and our sensors that measure and evaluate these elements. Will only the Irradiance Sensor and Module Temperature Sensor be sufficient to evaluate the performance of your plant? The answer to this question is of course “NO”. Because there are other parameters that affect the solar irradiation in the environment and the temperature of your cells.

For example; In windy weather, convection will be the effective heat transfer mechanism that allows your cells to cool down. As it is known, the convection coefficient will change according to the wind speed and air density. Therefore, wind speed must also be measured. We know that, cells should be installed at certain angles to the earth (tilt angle), depending on the location and conditions in order to be used at their maximum efficiency. Therefore, the wind acting on the plane of the array in different directions and angles also causes differences in convection coefficient. The reason for this is that the effective area changes according to the direction of wind, and winds coming from certain directions at certain locations have different characteristics. For this reason, SEVEN Sensor Wind Speed sensor and Wind Direction Sensor are very important for performance evaluation of power plants where variable wind speeds and directions are important.

So, what is the importance of sensors that measure ambient temperature and relative humidity in environment? We measure and evaluate temperature of plane array, which directly affects performance of our plant, with Module Temperature Sensor. So, what is the effect of ambient temperature on performance? Like all parameters, ambient temperature creates effects that increase or decrease performance of plant. While some of these effects affect performance directly, some affect them indirectly. As we mentioned earlier, some of the important factors for heat convection were wind speed and air density. Since the air density changes with the temperature of the environment, it is directly effective in cooling cells. Ambient temperature directly affects performance as it allows our cells to be cool or warm depending on the absolute difference with cell temperature. At the same time, the amount of humidity that the air can hold depends on temperature and pressure parameters. Therefore, we can say that; ambient temperature is the main factor that determines relative humidity. Effects of relative humidity on solar power plants are; refraction of incoming solar irradiation and cooling by increasing heat transfer from surface of the cells.

SEVEN Sensor Solutions provides support and products to their customers by explaining all these parameters. If you want to clearly view the performance of your power plant, you can contact us for supplying the Meteo Sensors to monitor the factors exposed to the array plane.