A Spectral Guide: The Analysis of Solar Irradiance and Soiling Through Spectroradiometry

The influence of soiling on photovoltaic (PV) modules has been investigated in many research projects before, but this project extended the methods of soiling analyses on photovoltaic (PV) modules through the implementation of spectroradiometry. The objective with the implementation of a spectrometer was to remove the associative characteristics of PV modules within the measurements. Since spectroradiometric measurements are not often used for this application, several measuring and analysis methods are discussed in terms of PV applications. Previous research either failed to consider the module characteristics (such as temperature and manufacturing variances) or spectrometers have not been implemented in the measurement of irradiance and soiling under natural conditions.

Solar Irradiance

Authors: Carmen Lewis

Spectral Evolution is a leading manufacturer of field-portable UV-Vis-NIR remote sensing spectroradiometers and spectrometers for applications including geological remote sensing, ground-truthing, spectral remote sensing, environmental and climate research, crop and soil research, vegetative studies, forestry and canopy studies, radiometric calibration transfer, upwelling and downwelling measurement and more. Our UV-Vis-NIR spectrometers and spectroradiometers provide the best combination of high resolution and high sensitivity resulting in the most precise field portable instruments available on the market.

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