Low-Cost Multiparameter Device for Solar Resource Applications

The National Renewable Research Laboratory (NREL) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL), in collaboration with Arable Labs Inc., deployed, calibrated, and characterized Arable Lab's Mark low-cost, multiparameter sensor system. Arable Labs was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for a small business voucher to work with NREL to tap into the knowledge and expertise Arable needs to tailor and evaluate the Mark device for broader solar energy applications. The device is a complete and independent unit. It is a self-powered, off-the-shelf solution for remote solar irradiance and meteorological sensing and data collection. Calibration of devices against the SRRL instruments provides an understanding of the quality of a new instrument compared to peers. The characterization process provides an understanding of the variability compared to high-quality instruments and essentially provides methods to correct the sources of the variabilities.