{"id":2777,"date":"2012-09-20T16:25:30","date_gmt":"2012-09-20T23:25:30","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-07-18T13:44:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T20:44:45","slug":"2777","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/2777","title":{"rendered":"Pyranometer Troubleshooting and FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"\/product\/pyranometer\/\">Pyranometer<\/a> (<nobr>PYR-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/h3>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/manuals\/pyr-bta\/\">Specifications and User Guide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/product.pyr-bta._hero.001-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary Test:<\/strong> Make sure that the sensor detects sunlight. A bright sunny day should approach a thousand Watts\/square meter in irradiance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secondary Test:<\/strong> If there is no sun, you can use an incandescent lamp, which should produce a couple hundred Watts\/square meter at a few centimeters range. If the Pyranometer is used with artificial lighting, be aware that there may be flicker in the lamp brightness, which can cause confusing signals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/413\/\">What is the conversion from lux to W\/cm<sup>2<\/sup> ?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Specifications<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sensing Unit: Apogee,SP-110, 5-volt pyranometer<\/li>\n<li>Irradiance Range: 0 to 1100 watts\/m<sup>\u00b2<\/sup> (in full sun)<\/li>\n<li>Absolute Accuracy: \u00b15%<\/li>\n<li>Repeatability: \u00b11%<\/li>\n<li>Long-Term Drift: Less than 3% per year<\/li>\n<li>Cosine Response:<br \/>\u26ac 45\u00b0 zenith angle: \u00b11%<br \/>\u26ac 75\u00b0 zenith angle: \u00b15%<\/li>\n<li>Wavelength range: 360 nm to 1120 nm<\/li>\n<li>Current draw: 300 \u00b5A<\/li>\n<li>Output signal: 0 to 4.4 V (dark to full sunlight)<\/li>\n<li>Typical Resolution: 0.3 Watts\/m\u00b2<\/li>\n<li>Sensor dimensions:<br \/>\u26ac Diameter: 2.4 cm<br \/>\u26ac Height: 3.3 cm<\/li>\n<li>Materials: Anodized aluminum with cast acrylic lens<\/li>\n<li>Operating Environment:<br \/>\u26ac \u201340 to 70 \u00baC<br \/>\u26ac 0 to 100% relative humidity<br \/>\u26ac Designed for continuous outdoor use<br \/>\u26ac Sensor can be submerged in water. The black electronics box should be kept dry.<\/li>\n<li>Default calibration coefficients: Slope 250 W\/m\u00b2\/V; Intercept 0 W\/m\u00b2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Calibration<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calibrate? No. The sensor is set to the stored calibration before shipping. If you are suspicious about the calibration, there are two ways to check.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Compare the readings value with another Pyranometer.<\/li>\n<li>Use the Clear Sky Calibration method. You will need a sunny day with no clouds or pollution effects.\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:lower-alpha\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Access the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.clearskycalculator.com\">Clear Sky website<\/a> where you can enter data into the web application to have the expected irradiance calculated.<\/li>\n<li>Input values for the calculation including latitude, longitude, altitude, time of day, day of year, air temperature, and relative humidity. <\/li>\n<li>You can compare the calculated irradiance with the reading on the Pyranometer.<\/li>\n<li>This procedure should be done at several different times. If the readings are consistently off, contact Vernier.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Note: <\/strong>Debris build-up on the lens of the Pyranometer Sensor is a common cause of inaccurate readings. Salt deposits can accumulate on the sensor from evaporation of sprinkler irrigation water and dust can accumulate during periods of low rainfall.<\/p>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Products<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/par-sensor\/\">PAR Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>PAR-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-par-photosynthetically-active-radiation\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup>  PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation)<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-PAR<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-pyranometer\/\">Go Direct\u00ae Pyranometer<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-PYR<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Products<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This sensor is great for use with current and voltage probes in solar energy studies with solar cells.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SMALL SOLAR CELLS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/kidwind-2v-400ma-solar-panel\/\">KidWind 2V\/400mA Solar Panel<\/a> (<nobr>KW-SP2V<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/vernier-energy-sensor\/\">Vernier Energy Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>VES-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-energy-sensor\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Energy Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-NRG<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/vernier-variable-load\/\">Vernier Variable Load<\/a> (<nobr>VES-VL<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/current-probe\/\">Current Probe<\/a> (<nobr>DCP-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-current-probe\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Current Probe<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-CUR<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/differential-voltage-probe\/\">Differential Voltage Probe<\/a> (<nobr>DVP-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-voltage-probe\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Voltage Probe<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-VOLT<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>LARGER SOLAR PANELS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/high-current-sensor\/\">High Current Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>HCS-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/30-volt-voltage-probe\/\">30-Volt Voltage Probe<\/a> (<nobr>30V-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/vernier-energy-sensor\/\">Vernier Energy Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>VES-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-energy-sensor\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Energy Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-NRG<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specifications and User Guide Troubleshooting Additional Troubleshooting Specifications Calibration Calibrate? No. The sensor is set to the stored calibration before shipping. If you are suspicious&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9585,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4648,720,4647,4646,4644,4645,4649],"class_list":["post-2777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-irradiance","tag-maintil","tag-pryanometer","tag-pyr-bta","tag-pyranometer","tag-pyranometermain","tag-pyrmain"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9585"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2777\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}