Thermally compensated intelligent irradiation sensor

This paper presents the detailed design, working principle and testing of a thermally independent irradiation solar sensor. The sensor is based on a photoelectric cell, and incorporates a sensor circuit which assures proper short circuit conditions and accomplishes temperature compensation as well. Our sensor sensitivity is 3 mV/W/m
²
and resolution is 0.5 W/m
²
. Mean error of the compensated output signal was ±1 %. Irradiation sensor can be accessorized with different communication unit types, like RS-232, USB and RS-485.