[uncle_bob]

Step 6 - Construction of Solar Radiation Meter

Just to whet your appetite I'll start by saying that choosing another OP and changing the calculation of earnings is possible to get the data from this sensor can be read directly by a Davis VP2. No arduino without extra power, nothing ... just even everything that has been previously exposed and knowledge of voltage values used in the Davis VP2.

As for the physical construction of the sensor there are many possibilities to do so, the result is dependent on availability of materials, imagination and flair of each. That said, what follows I will describe is just the way I chose, certainly there will be other ...

The sensor will be the sun, rain, cold and heat, so that the primary consideration is to arrange something capable of withstanding these conditions and climatic safely accommodate the electronic components.

One of the ideas that occurred to me was to use one of those luminarias that are used normally entrenched in the soil for vertical illumination. Are structurally quite sturdy and waterproof, they are designed for outdoor use.
In the figure below you can see that the drive already installed and contruida.



In the first phase of testing, was installed in a small electronics "breadboard" and placed inside the illuminate after removing the original content. The photovoltaic cell was installed beneath the glazed part.



After several weeks of tests and measurements, the "breadboard" was replaced by a printed circuit board.



The card you see in the picture was designed thinking about the possibility of using the same "wrapper" for install also one UV sensor, which later then actually be done.

In the image below one can see the placement of the photovoltaic cell, as with UV sensor side.
A small note: The installation of UV sensor led to the replacement of the top cover glass that was originally by a Plexiglass. The ordinary glass absorbs between twenty to thirty percent of ultraviolet radiation, significantly altering the measurements, since the acrylic plastic is virtually transparent to ultraviolet radiation.



As I said at the beginning, the construction illustrated above is only a possibility, there are many others. The following are a few more ideas ... with simple materials!





It is thus concluded this article, I hope it's useful for someone.

If you liked this article, please collaborate in its rating by clicking on the "stars" at the top of the page. Thank you.