Classification of pyranometers according to ISO 9060:2018

Article published in the 21st edition of Canal Solar Magazine. I clicked here and download now for free!

Customers who need to monitor the performance in photovoltaic plants commonly use weather stations.

Among the important variables for determining the performance of the photovoltaic plant are the ambient temperature, the temperature of work of photovoltaic modules, relative humidity, wind speed and the radiation global horizontal, global inclined and diffuse (some specifications require a pyranometer to be placed, to measure the albedo, on the back of the bifacial modules).

To measure radiation values, the pyranometer, with the classification of this equipment being the focus of this technical document.

The reference standard for classifying pyranometers is the ISO 9060:2018, whose form of classification is through the accuracy of the equipment in the tests defined by the standard.

According to the results, pyranometers are classified as Class A, Class B or Class C.

Although the Standard has been on the market for a relatively long time, it is common for pyranometers to still be classified according to the ISO 9060:1990, which classifies equipment into Secondary Standard, First Class or Second Class.

In this way, the study of the main differences between the versions of the ISO 9060:2018 and from ISO 9060:1990 is relevant for a possible discussion with suppliers and customers.

Introduction

In general, customers adopt the EPE Technical Instruction (hence the term: “EPE standard meteorological station”) as a reference for classifying pyrometers for photovoltaic projects. 

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