SolarSIM User Manual
Contents
1. order to modify the Settings ini file the user may have to change their user account con trol settings in Windows Control Panel gt Action Centre gt Change User Account Control Settings gt Never notify f es E i p ooo A ee GS JE Software builds SSIM Control gt My Application 69 W Seorch My Application yy A one RE i Organize Open Includeinlibrery Sh rewith Bum New folder amp Hr Favoritas Name j Date modified Type Sie EE Desktop Dos 1 14 2015317PM File folder J Downloads de Logs 1 14 2015317PM File folder Dropbox de Settings 1 14 2015 3 17 PM File folder de Google Drive L_ SSIM DAQ aliases 12 16 2014 5 18 PM ALIASES File 1 K8 de Electrical S SSIM DAQ 12 16 2014 5 18 PM to 2458 KB de Literature SSIM DAQ 12 16 2014 5 18PM Configuration sett 1 KB amp OneDrive y Settings Date modifi File folder M Open dk Copy Name Date modified Type Size OS 20141117 _12 00_SSIM_SN102_Calibration 11 22 2014310PM_ CAL File LKB D 2014 Version l 2 20141210 13 54 SSIM SN104 Calibration 12 15 2014 1 50PM CAL File 1 KB 5 e Wanlys dil 6 22 2011 10 23 AM Application extens 1 148 KB ros ip Program_Settings 11 15 2014 8 59 AM Configuration sett IKE TI Libraries 5 _ Program Settings Date modified 11 15 2014 8 59 AM File Edit Format View Help J Configuration settings Size 73 bytes Altitude lt 70 0 gt m Rong isuee lt 75 6772. spectrum is shown Before the user can start the data acquisition the desired data timer rate should be set in the Settings tab as shown in Figure 10 The data timer value can be set between 0 5 s and 600 s 10 min with 0 1 s resolution Finally the user can press the Start DAQ button to begin data collection from the SSIM The functions of all buttons and control are summarized in Table 2 15 COFOVO ENERGY Table 2 SSIM software buttons and controls description Feature Type Function Start DAQ Button Starts SSIM data collection Stope DAQ Button Stops SSIM data collection Acquire Button Acquires one measurement from the SSIM Clear graphs Button Clear all graphs Abort program Button Aborts and exits the program Send Button Sends the desired command to the SSIM Data timer Control Sets the SSIM s data collection rate in seconds Serial number Indicator Displays the SSIM s serial number Specific port Control Allows manual selection of the SSIM s serial port Port Control Allows to input the serial port of the SSIM le SSIM Control ts n e oo E leds Spectrum statoaa stoppaa Acquire cteargrapns Abort program send Currrent Getsinge canner T Ambient pressure 25 8 DNI 280 4000nm ae rame _ A DNI 350 1830nm Sa 1o Aerosol optical depth asa Ozone content 2 25 55 Water vapour 2554 h Elevation w oi Azimuth D 2535 DNI 280 4000nm 0 0 W m sl i DNI 350 1830nm 0 0 W
3. Instruction Manual Solar Spectral Irradiance Meter COFOVO Energy Inc 2014 COFOVO ENERGY User information COFOVO Energy strongly recommends reading this instruction manual prior to operating the Solar Spectral Irradiance Meter If you have any comments about this manual please send them to COFOVO Energy Inc 800 King Edward Ave Suite 3014 Ottawa Ontario Canada KIN 6N5 Tel 1 613 562 5800 x1032 info cofovo com www cofovo com COFOVO Energy reserves the right to make modifications to the posted specifications with out prior notice Warranty and liability COFOVO Energy guarantees that the Solar Spectral Irradiance Meter has been thoroughly tested to ensure that it meets all of the stated specifications A two year warranty is provided from date of invoice subject to correct installation and operation COFOVO Energy accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from improper usage of this product COFOVO NERGY Contents User information Warranty and liability Introduction Installation 1 1 Contents of delivery 1 2 Mechanical installation 1 3 Electrical installation Connectivity 2 1 Option 1 PC ox sure 2 2 Option 2 Serial over Ethernet 2 3 Option 3 Datalogger Main components of the SSIM 3 1 Front cap Li reins 3 2 Front glass 3 3 Bandpass filters 3 4 Photodiodes 3 5 Enclosure 3 6 Ba
4. ckplate 22 6444 44 3 7 Connector ie redes Maintenance A 4 2 Alignment 43 Desiccant 4 4 Recalibration SSIM control software 5 1 Software installation 5 2 Geographical settings 5 3 Using the software JI ot Ot Ol CO OW 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 14 14 COFOVO NERGY Oe Datastor ge c eee Bs SAS EES ARE SEE ERD Re ERE BESS 17 List of Figures 1 Assembled SSIM on a mounting plate 6 2 Dimensional drawing of the mounting plate 6 3 The pinout of the RS 485 to USB converter from US converters 8 4 The exploded view of the main components of the SSIM 11 5 Main dimensions of the SSIM 11 6 Installation of the SSIM software 13 7 Adjustment of the SSIM s geographical settings 14 8 SSIM is found message 2 4 44464 6644454 cera d bat 15 9 SSIM control software main page 16 10 SSIM control software settings a 17 11 SSIM spectrum file snippet 18 12 SSIM daily summary file snippet lt lt lt 2 18 List of Tables 1 Electrical connection to the SSIM 3x5 se a 7 2 SSIM software buttons and controls description 16 COFOVO ENERGY Introduction Dear custom
5. ector 3 1 Front cap The front cap is used to seal the front window glass to the enclosure via six screws 3 2 Front glass The front glass prevents the ingress of moisture and debris 3 3 Bandpass filters Each of the six bandpass filters transmits a narrow band of sunlight that is transmitted through the collimation tube toward the photodiodes 3 4 Photodiodes Six silicon photodiodes sense the spectral irradiance that is transmitted through the bandpass filters 3 5 Enclosure The anodized aluminum enclosure secures all of the components in place while providing robust protection from the environment 3 6 Backplate The anodized aluminum backplate seals the back of the enclosure with four screws 3 7 Connector The connector screws into the backplate and provides external access to the power and communication pins of the SSIM 10 COFOVO NERGY Front plate Front window Bandpass filters N Enclosure Connector a Backplate Figure 4 The exploded view of the main components of the SSIM 124 mm 115 mm Figure 5 Main dimensions of the SSIM COFOVO NERGY 4 Maintenance Once installed the SSIM needs very little maintenance The most important task is to make sure that the front window of the SSIM is clean at all times 4 1 Cleaning As a general rule we recommend cleaning the SSIM s front glass with a dry non abrasive cloth or paper towel once per week in ord
6. er thank you for purchasing the Solar Spectral Irradiance Meter SSIM from COFOVO Energy Please become familiar with this instruction manual for a full understand ing of the use of your SSIM The SSIM is designed to be a cost effective tool for accurately determining the solar spectra and direct normal irradiance DNI as part of on site solar resource assessments and module performance characterization studies The instrument uses low cost silicon photodiodes in tegrated with hard coated bandpass filters to measure the solar spectral irradiance in several narrow wavelength bands within a solid angle of 5 SSIM s proprietary software then uses these measurements to resolve the direct solar spectrum in addition to major atmospheric processes such as air mass Rayleigh scattering aerosol extinction ozone and water vapour absorptions If you have any questions please feel free to contact a COFOVO Energy representative or e mail info cofovo com COFOVO NERGY 1 Installation 1 1 Contents of delivery The received package should contain the following items as shown in Figure 1 e SSIM e Communication cable 1 e Communication box 1 optional e Mounting plate 1 optional Mounting screws 3 Mounting springs 3 USB key loaded with the SSIM software Please check the contents of the package and note if any damage has occurred during ship ment A claim should be filed with the shipment carrier should this be t
7. er to maintain optimum performance This frequency can be altered depending on the SSIM s local climatic conditions 4 2 Alignment With each cleaning it is also advised to check the alignment of the instrument via the pinhole provided it is sunny If the sun s spot size is not centred within the pinhole adjust the appropriate mounting screws to re align the SSIM 4 3 Desiccant To maintain appropriate humidity levels within the SSIM desiccant is used to adsorb water vapour within the unit To begin with the desiccant should appear blue as visible through the front window Once the desiccant is saturated it will turn red The colour of the desiccant should be checked regularly as part of the cleaning procedure The lifetime of the desiccant is expected to exceed two years although it may vary based on the SSIM s local climatic conditions The desiccant can be replaced as part of the SSIM s re calibration procedure 4 4 Recalibration We recommend that the SSIM is returned to COFOVO Energy for recalibration every two years in order to maintain the SSIM s specified accuracy 5 SSIM control software The SSIM control software provides the user with the real time status of the instrument data acquisition and storage daily data plots and more 12 COFOVO NERGY 5 1 Software installation The software installation is performed by executing the setup exe inside the SSIM setup folder located on the provided USB ke
8. ess interface between a 12 VDC power adaptor with barrel jack a USB cable from a PC and the SSIM cable The second custom approach requires the user to provide a 12 VDC voltage source to the blue and white wires of the SSIM cable and to connect the black and brown wires to a RS 485 to USB converter all connected as per Table 1 COFOVO Energy recommends the RS 485 to USB converter from US Converters com PN MWE820A depicted in Figure 3 In this case the pins T T and GND should be connected to the pins D D and GND of the SSIM Converters from other manufacturers can be used at user s risk Figure 3 The pinout of the RS 485 to USB converter from US converters The pins T T and GND should be connected to the pins D D and GND of the SSIM respectively 2 Connectivity 2 1 Option 1 PC SSIM connects via RS 485 to a small interface box the SSIM Connection Box or custom design for power and USB conversion which connects via USB to a PC The USB line from the interface box to the Laptop PC is a standard USB cable 3 6ft The RS 485 line could be up to 1000m http www usconverters com usb rs485 adapter mwe820a 8 COFOVO NERGY 2 2 Option 2 Serial over Ethernet The SSIM can connect to a networked PC server via a suitable serial over ethernet SOE device such as the ICP DAS I 71882E2 The D and D lines in the SSIM cable connect to the RS 485 inputs on the SOE device The SOE devices s
9. gt degrees ESET Latitude lt 45 459 gt degrees Figure 7 Adjustment of the SSIM s geographical settings altitude latitude longitude 5 3 Using the software The SSIM software is launched by double clicking the SSIM DAQ exe in the installation directory It should be noted that the user may need to run this executable in the ad ministrator mode depending on your PC s settings right click on software icon gt Run as administrator Once launched the program automatically searches for the SSIM If found 14 COFOVO NERGY the software displays the message as shown in Figure 8 and allows the user to verify the ge ographical parameters inputted as per section 5 2 If the geographical settings are wrong please abort the program and change the settings as per section 5 2 F 13 Message SSIM with serial number 102 is initialized 2 Please verify these geographical parameters Altitude 70 m Longitude 75 68 Latitude 45 46 Figure 8 SSIM is found message with the user s geographical settings The main window of the software is displayed in Figure 9 The software displays the daily plots of the currents from the photodiodes the ambient temperature the ambient pressure the DNI in the 350 1830 nm and the 280 4000 nm ranges the aerosol optical depth the ozone content the water vapour amount and elevation and azimuth angles Furthermore the instantaneous plot of the solar
10. he case Additionally COFOVO Energy should be contacted in order to facilitate the repair or replacement of the instrument and its accessories 1 2 Mechanical installation The SSIM assembly requires fastening it to the mounting plate via three M4 mounting screws and three mounting springs as demonstrated in Figure 1 The mounting plate is 4 8 mm thick with four mount holes of 4 5 mm diameter for external fastening as shown in Figure 2 The screws for these mount holes are not provided The procedure for mechanical installation is described as follows 1 Place the SSIM on the mounting plate with a pinhole orientation that matches Figure 2 2 Place the mounting spring under the SSIM so that it roughly aligns with one of the mounting holes on the SSIM 3 Insert the mounting screw through the SSIM s mounting hole and mounting spring Then thread the screw into the mounting plate for a few revolutions only COFOVO NERGY Mounting plate 3 x Mounting screws 3 x Mounting springs Figure 1 Assembled SSIM on a mounting plate 165 mm SSIM pinhole orientation 4x 4 5 mm 140 mm Figure 2 Dimensional drawing of the mounting plate wu GET COFOVO NERGY 4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the remaining two mounting screws and two mounting springs 5 Tighten the three mounting screws to compress the mounting springs by about 10 mm Please note that the mounting screws will protrude from the b
11. m ll Sun elevation ene 25 15 Air temperature 25 8 C 251 Ambient pressure 101 6 kPa a i 15 22 1525 15 28 15 31 1534 15 37 15 40 15 43 15 46 Ozone content 0 00 cm Time Water vapour 0 00 cm Figure 9 SSIM control software main page COFOVO NERGY z ven s Daa Settings Datatimer 50s Serial number 101 Specific port m Port COM51 Error code d 1073676293 VISA Read in SSIM_Read vi gt Check_for_SSIM_SN vi gt SSIM_Control vi Figure 10 SSIM control software settings 5 4 Data storage The SSIM control software stores the SSIM data in the Data folder located in the same directory as the installed software The software outputs two data files types the Solar Spectral files and the Daily Summary Data files Each solar spectrum is stored in its own csv file format in the Data Spectra yyyymmdd directory where yyyy mm and dd correspond to the current year month and day respectively A snippet of a SSIM spectrum file is shown in Figure 11 As shown the wavelength column is not included in order to minimise the file size Rather the 3721 values of the spectral irradiance in units of W m nm are presented in a single column format The value in row 2 corresponds to the spectral irradiance at 280nm while the value in row 3722 corresponds to the spectral irradia
12. nce at 4000 nm With the Research Plus upgrade the spectral ozone absorption water vapour absorption and aerosols transmission are also recorded in this file The Daily Summary Data files are stored in a csv file format in the Data folder A snippet of this file is depicted in Figure 12 The daily summary file contains the values for the elevation and azimuth angles the ambient temperature the ambient pressure the internal humidity the DNI in the 350 1830 nm and the 280 4000 nm ranges the aerosol optical depth at 500 nm the ozone content the water vapour amount and the current from the photodiodes for each time stamp within that day 17 COFOVO ENERGY maa TI Home Insert Page Layout Formulas po Calibri 1 Aa Paste ma cory GB Format Painter Clipboard a Font P40 M fe 4 A _1 Spectral irradiance from 280 4000nm W m2 nm al 6 43E 42 13 3 81E 38 4 5 39E 34 ES 7 75E 32 6 9 29E 29 EA 8 72E 27 ea 2 62E 24 9 4 51E 22 10 1 47 19 Ar 1 01E 17 EA 6 56E 16 13 1 49E 14 14 7 40E 13 15 7 20E 12 16 1 19E 10 Era 9 21E 10 Figure 11 SSIM spectrum file snippet 2d 0e gt A a ETET Excel Home Insert Page Layout Formulas Data Review View Ageing B M Canton cu AR mme Soot General gt E E Fom Ja Good Neutral Coteutetion a a RA Bf UE MA ME EAS E ch AE Condtionsl Format Explonotory A Unkedcel Note met Delete Capboara O Font Alignment g Number a S
13. network connection is configured thorugh the SOE device s software and requires that the SOE device is assigned an IP address on the local network We recommend this communication option for test site applications 2 3 Option 3 Datalogger The SSIM can also connect to a datalogger If your on site data logger has RS 485 commu nication capability one free channel is needed to acquire data from each SSIM We provide the commands required for the datalogger to request data from the SSIM The data strings are then processed into spectra using our software based on a prescribed data file format The user would need to write or modify scripts that e enables the datalogger to communicate with the SSIM and extract data from it e sends data from the datalogger to the users database e extracts SSIM data from the database and formats it into a csv file suitable for the SSIM software to process into spectra e takes the spectra files output from the SSIM software and puts them back into the database if desired to extract data from the database into a format csv suitable for the software to process 3 Main components of the SSIM The exploded view of the main components of the SSIM is shown in Figure 4 The SSIM s main components include e Front cap e Front window e Bandpass filters http www icpdas com products PAC i 7188_7186 i 7188e2 htm 9 COFOVO ENERGY e Photodiodes e Enclosure Backplate Conn
14. ottom of the mounting plate for compression distances greater than the thickness of the mounting plate Care must be taken when mounting the SSIM in order avoid the interference of the SSIM s mounting screws with the mounting surface on your solar tracker Drill outs on your tracker corresponding to the location of the SSIM s mounting screws can be used if necessary to avoid this problem 6 Once the SSIM is on sun adjust the mounting screws to align the SSIM to the sun using the alignment pinhole 1 3 Electrical installation The SSIM communicates via a four pin external connector located at the back of the unit There is only one orientation in which the supplied communication cable will mate to the SSIM s external con nector The communication cable contains four colour coded wires as described in Table 1 Note the SSIM only accepts 12 VDC as its volt age source Supplying the SSIM with a voltage higher than 12 VDC is strongly discouraged as it will damage the on board electronics Table 1 Electrical connection to the SSIM Colour Symbol Function Blue V Positive power input White GND Common ground Black D Negative RS 485 input Brown D Positive RS 485 input 12 VDC only COFOVO ENERGY If the SSIM is to be connected directly to a PC there are two options e via the optional SSIM Ccommunication Box Accessory recommended e custom wiring The SSIM Communication Box allows a seaml
15. tiet Cem vaz te vaz Ba i at A e c D E F G H i Sak t M N o P a 1 Time stamp Elevation deg Azimuth deg Ambient temperature C Ambient pressure kPa Humidity 9 ONI 280 4000nm ONI 350 1830nm O3 cm H2O cm AOD S00nm 11 UA I2 uA I3 ua M uA IS uA 16 uA 2 3 15 03 PM 11452 222 986 25 036 101 636 25 331 o o o o o o o o o o 0 3 3 15 08 09M 11 482 223 003 25 005 101 632 25 336 o o o o o o o o o o o 4 3 15 13PM 11432 223 021 25 024 101 633 25 341 o o o o 0 o o 0 0 0 0 5 31518PM 11422 223 038 25 005 101 63 25 313 o o o o o 0 o 0 o o o 6 315 23PM 11412 223 056 25 017 101 634 25 331 o o 0 o o o 0 o o 0 0 7 3 15 28 PM 11402 223 073 25 03 101 633 25 331 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 o 0 o o 8 3 11392 223 09 25 024 101 627 25 336 o o o o o o o o o o o 3 3 1538PM 11 381 223 108 25 03 101 631 25 341 0 o o 0 0 o o 0 o o 0 10 3 15 44 PM 11371 223 125 25 024 101 623 25 321 0 o 9 o 0 9 o o o o 9 AL 3 15 49 PM 11 361 223 143 25 024 101 619 25 341 o o o o o o o o o 0 o 12 3 15 54 PM 11 351 223 16 25 036 101 625 25 336 0 o 0 o 0 o o 0 o o o 13 315 59PM 11 341 223 178 25 03 101 624 25 341 o o o o o o o o o o o 14 3 16 04 PM 133 223 195 25 042 101 627 25 338 o o o o o 0 o o o o 0 Figure 12 SSIM daily summary file snippet
16. y as shown in Figure 6 The user should follow the installation instructions as prompted by the software r E Es gO gt Computer USB DISK E SSIM setup gt 69 Search SSIM setup p Organize v Open Burn New folder g a Ji 2014 Version ES Name 2 Date modified Type Size di Group_Presentation 3 di bin 12 16 2014 5 19 PM File folder LS mir license 12 16 2014 3 17 PM File folder A Libraries y 3 di supportfiles 12 16 2014 5 21 PM File folder Documents ae E d Musi nidist id 12 16 2014 5 21 PM ID File 1KB usic q i setup 6 11 2013 6 00 PM Application 1 394 KB li Pictures p setup 12 16 2014 5 21 PM Configuration sett 18 KB E Videos E Computer l l os C 1 USB DISK E db RS 485_ Driver d SSIM setup Pron a 43 setup Date modified 6 11 2013 6 00 PM Date created 12 17 2014 5 14 PM E Application Size 1 36 MB Figure 6 Installation of the SSIM software 13 COFOVO ENERGY 5 2 Geographical settings Once the SSIM software is installed the user must adjust the location specific geographic settings in order for the SSIM to work properly This process is accomplished by changing the values found in the Program_Settings ini file located in the Settings folder in the installation directory as shown in Figure 7 There are three parameters altitude latitude longitude that the user must change to match the SSIM s actual location settings Note in
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