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The Solar Radiation Monitoring Station ([http://resu.humboldt.edu/?q=node/259 SoRMS]) project is one of Humboldt’s Renewable Energy Students Union’s ([http://resu.humboldt.edu/ RESU]) responses to the need for more renewable energy. The basic idea behind this specific system is not to create power but to collect information on solar power. As dimenstrated in [http://www.appropedia.org/File:Solar_radiation.jpg Fig.1], the usable Solar Radiation is more complicated than simply what the sun puts out.  The atmosphe in which the radiation travels through needs to be taken into acount due to it's distorting effects on usable energy at the surface.
The Solar Radiation Monitoring Station ([http://resu.humboldt.edu/?q=node/259 SoRMS]) project is one of Humboldt’s Renewable Energy Students Union’s ([http://resu.humboldt.edu/ RESU]) responses to the need for more renewable energy. The basic idea behind this specific system is not to create power but to collect information on solar power. As dimenstrated in [http://www.appropedia.org/File:Solar_radiation.jpg Fig.1], the usable Solar Radiation is more complicated than simply what the sun puts out.  The atmosphere in which the radiation travels through needs to be taken into acount due to it's distorting effects on usable energy at the surface.


Because of the localized weather in coastal zones, most solar research facilities do not deal with the thick cloud cover found there.  The focus of the SoRMS project is to collect local solar radiation data and make that data available to the public.  Although conducted in Arcata on the Northern Coast of California, the SoRMS project is producing data that will help to fill in the informational gap for other areas with similar atmospheric conditions.  In this manner SoRMS is contributing to a more comprehensive idea of the energy that can be expected from solar systems.  With measurements of local solar energy people will have a better idea about solar powers productivity in areas that deal with more clouds and fog.  This information can be used to help determine solar array sizing, battery stroage requirements, and project payback.   
Because of the localized weather in coastal zones, most solar research facilities do not deal with the thick cloud cover found there.  The focus of the SoRMS project is to collect local solar radiation data and make that data available to the public.  Although conducted in Arcata on the Northern Coast of California, the SoRMS project is producing data that will help to fill in the informational gap for other areas with similar atmospheric conditions.  In this manner SoRMS is contributing to a more comprehensive idea of the energy that can be expected from solar systems.  With measurements of local solar energy people will have a better idea about solar powers productivity in areas that deal with more clouds and fog.  This information can be used to help determine solar array sizing, battery stroage requirements, and project payback.   

Revision as of 07:47, 12 December 2009

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Fig.1 A mass balance of earth's solar radiation http://www.archive.arm.gov/Carbon/dataneeds/radiation_pres.jpg


The Solar Radiation Monitoring Station

What Is SoRMS


The Solar Radiation Monitoring Station (SoRMS) project is one of Humboldt’s Renewable Energy Students Union’s (RESU) responses to the need for more renewable energy. The basic idea behind this specific system is not to create power but to collect information on solar power. As dimenstrated in Fig.1, the usable Solar Radiation is more complicated than simply what the sun puts out. The atmosphere in which the radiation travels through needs to be taken into acount due to it's distorting effects on usable energy at the surface.

Because of the localized weather in coastal zones, most solar research facilities do not deal with the thick cloud cover found there. The focus of the SoRMS project is to collect local solar radiation data and make that data available to the public. Although conducted in Arcata on the Northern Coast of California, the SoRMS project is producing data that will help to fill in the informational gap for other areas with similar atmospheric conditions. In this manner SoRMS is contributing to a more comprehensive idea of the energy that can be expected from solar systems. With measurements of local solar energy people will have a better idea about solar powers productivity in areas that deal with more clouds and fog. This information can be used to help determine solar array sizing, battery stroage requirements, and project payback.


How The Project Works


Fig.4 A visual representation of what goes on inside of a PSP http://www.yesinc.com/products/data/uvb1/uvb1_img1.gif
Fig.2 Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP)
Fig.3 The unobstructed PSP to the left measures global radiation while the PSP on the right measures only diffuse radiation with the use of a shadowband.

The amount of energy coming from the sun is measured with the use of an Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP) seen in Fig.2. This measurement is done by comparing the heat absorbed through radiation of an absorptive black surface and a reflective surface. There are two of these PSP’s, one is in the open sunlight and one is covered by what is called a shadow band. The shadow band is seen bent around the PSP on the right of Fig.3, and is only blocking the direct sun light.

The PSP that is exposed to direct sunlight measures what is called global radiation. This global radiation is a composition of direct radiation, coming straight from the sun directly to the PSP and the diffuse radiation which is other light waves that have been bounced, bent, or reflected though the earth’s atmosphere. The second PSP, with the shadow band blocking the direct radiation, only receives diffuse radiation. By using the data from each of these PSP’s, the diffuse radiation is subtracted from the global radiation to obtain the amount of direct radiation which is the primary source of solar energy.

The diagram in Fig.4 shows what happens inside the PSP. As the solar radiation comes from the sun, it is then transmitted through the top UV glass dome. Visible light, with the exception of small amounts of red wavelength light, is filtered first using a UV transmitting black glass. The light that passes through this filter hits a UV-B sensitive phosphor. The phosphor collects the UV light and sends it back as visible light, mostly as green wavelengths. Then another glass filter, this time green, sends the light from the phosphor filter and blocks the remaining red light that may have passed through the black glass. The lights intensity is then measured by the solid state photodiode.




Project Progression


The SoRMS project began as an idea of two students, David Carer and Duntin Jolley. These two students realized the usefulness of reliable and local solar energy data. With help from faculty they achieved a grant for the purchase of two PSP's before they graduated. Leaving behind this necessary equipment left the door open for someone to pick up where they left off. In 2006 RESU got the system started and began measuring solar radiation on California's north coast.

California's north coast and coastal data on solar radiation is scarce and thus there was a demand to get this data into a bigger picture. The solution was NREL. In these beginning stages the information collected had to be collected from the site and entered by hand into a computer. This information was then emailed to NREL. This information was collected at all times except when the PSP's were shipped out to be re-calibrated. Because of the somewhat haphazard way the info was being sent to NREL, and the encontinuity while recalibrating, SoRMS could not acquire the status of what NREL calls a "primary site". In order to make the most out of the project, SoRMS saw this as the next necessary step.

In order to be considered a primary site, SoRMS had to improve on these downfalls and have the ability to pass continuous data directly to NREL. There were two improvements that would take care of this issue, install an Ethernet jack on the library roof and purchase another PSP. With the Ethernet transmitting the information directly from SoRMS to NREL and a third PSP allowing recalibration to take place in rotation the SoRMS project would now become a NREL primary solar monitoring site.

How To Access Data


With the operating issues eliminated, the SoRMS project now submits data to NREL. The data that SoRMS produces is collected by a Campbell ScientificCR510 data logger, and connected to the internet using a NL-100 Network Link Interface. With this Network Link Interface, the information collected by the SoRMS project is now promptly accessible to the public as Daily Charts and in a Calendar View. It also allows NREL access to download SoRMS data remotely which also has a link to the data. The graphical interpretation of a day's data is shown in Fig.5.

Fig.5 An example of the data SoRMS collects

Making Use Of SoRMS Data


With access to information on the direct radiation in the area, one is able to make use of it in many ways. By averaging the Daily Data, one can calculate average daily solar radiation levels. This information can be of use to engineers building passive solar power in the area, as they can get an idea of energy input and determine the necessary scale of the operation. If there is not much solar radiation in the area, there would need to be more panels to produce a necessary amount of energy. With more radiation in the area, there would not need to be as many panels for the same energy output.

Local farmers and gardeners can use the data to decide what crops would be ideal to grow based on the amount of sunlight available, as well as determine the proper harvest times based on past monthly data. With the monthly data, it would become possible to see yearly solar radiation highs and lows, and thus decide on ideal dates to plant and harvest different crops.

Having access to information amount of solar radiation, one can find out when a solar power project would begin to pay itself off, or in some cases if it would payoff at all. By examining graphs, one can get an idea of the local climate as well. By noticing frequent short arks, indications that the location is not as sunny, one leads to assume there is often clouds or other forms of weather present in the given location. The opposite can be said about tall lengthy arks on the graph, there would be more sun with less forms of weather obstructing the solar radiation.



Maintaining The Project


Fig.6 Aaron Parker wiping off dew
Fig.7 Aaron Parker adjusting the Shadowband


The SoRMS project is maintained by California's Humboldt State University (HSU), Renewable Energy Student Union (RESU), which collaborates with the Schatz Energy Research Center. All the people working to keep this project running are volunteers. These volunteers keep the information as accurate as possible by maintaining the consistency of the system. Every morning one of the RESU volunteers clears the PSP’s of any dew accumulation (Fig.6) and adjusts the shadowband (Fig.7). The dew accumulation, if left on the PSP, can cause short term spikes and holes in the energy absorption due to the light bending as it passes through dew droplets. The Shadowband is adjusted accordingly year round in relation to the earths rotation and position of the sun. Seen below in Fig.8 are some of the integral people who keep this project going. From left to right, the names are:(Top row) James Robinson, James Apple, Peter Johnstone, Heidi Benzonelli, Andrea Allen, Ranjit Deshmukh, Colin Sheppard, Lucas Siegfried, Arne Jacobson (Bottom row) Kristen Radecsky , Juliette Bohn



Fig.8 The People that make this happen


Funding Required


Because this project is maintained by volunteers, and the continuous operation is powered by solar panels, the only funding required is to cover the costs of shipping the PSP’s to NREL for recalibration, which is done about every two years. However, the system exists today only because of the initial support of the HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Redwood Alliance, Schatz Energy Research Center, HSU's Environmental Resources Engineering department, HSU Plant Operations, Marty Reed - HSU Equipment Technician, and the HSU library staff. [1]

References

Beth's Comments

Be sure to search on others. L9, CT4, W2, L-10 C9. You could a little more concise. C3!!!! Be sure to include more links to relevant info. Just ask me for input if needed. C- 12 Be sure you have some very descriptive captions. The cost information should probably not be in the maintenance section. I would put the volunteer information toward the end. ...the organization of the information is reasonable...

Could have a section on project history... to explain how the project came to be. This project is another example of ERE student initiative and you could highlight that aspect more here.

Good Start!

Codes

Use introductory paragraphs and/or table of contents to tell the reader how the document or a section of the document is organized. 

W1 Avoid using words such as: “thing”, “done”, “be”, “like”, “good”, “bad”, “ones”, “show”, “kind”, “nice” “look”, “ come up”, ”way”, “take”, “being”, “make” “figure out”, “it” “cheap” “really” “got”, “cheap”. Usually you can communicate your idea more clearly if you use a more specific noun, verb or phrase.

L-10

Link to relevant information within the text the first time the reader comes upon the information 

C9 Be sure to cite your references properly. Use APA style as shown here http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm

C3 Make your figure and table captions as detailed and specific as possible. Be sure to cite source of any figures, tables or images you use.

C-12

Be sure to review this site for ideas of how to use citation, link and reference conventions http://www.appropedia.org/Arcata_Marsh_chlorination?
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