EKO delivered the second unit of MS-713 near-infrared (NIR) spectroradiometer to Meteorological Research Institute (MRI).

The Meteorological Research Institute (MRI) is a Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) facility that conducts research to clarify and support the prediction of meteorological, terrestrial, and hydrological phenomena and develop associated techniques, also contributes to the advancement of fundamental technology for meteorological services. 

MRI has been moving towards installing precise spectral irradiance observation instruments which can measure in the range from 300nm and 2550nm for researching the effects of aerosol and clouds on the earth radiation budget.

Recently, MRI installed EKO’s spectroradiometers MS-711, MS-712, MS-713.During the latter half of 2017, MRI installed a second unit of the EKO Instruments near-infrared (NIR) spectroradiometer, the MS-713 and STR-32G heavy-duty sun tracker. In this research, inspections of spectroradiometers properties and research of calibration method for spectroradiometers using Langley calibration method had been performed.

The MS-713 (3) is shown above on the EKO STR-32G heavy duty sun tracker (4). This image was taken from the NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory, located on the island of Hawaii. The MS-713 was calibrated using the Langley method. Other instruments that were calibrated at this time include the MS-711 (1) and MS-712 (2) spectroradiometers. Each instrument can be used with collimating tubes to measure the spectrum of direct normal irradiance. The MS-713 will help MRI research as it is a rare field deployable field instrument capable of measuring spectral irradiance from 900 nm to 2,550 nm. If combined with MS-711 and MS-712, spectral irradiance in the wide wavelength range can be measured with very high accuracy.

To the Meteorological Research Institute website

2018 looks to be another booming year for installed solar power sites around the world. In addition to traditional major markets in Europe, China, and the United States, emerging countries in the Americas and Middle East look to big movers as the install larger projects. As solar power plants have increased in size and numbers, new standards were needed to help a fast-changing industry. During 2017, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) released a new standard, 61724-1, Photovoltaic system performance – Part 1: Monitoring. The standard provides guidance as to the measurements needed to attain a specific level or classification of accuracy. The standard provides all the details as to when and how to measure the critical environmental parameters. It also provides information on the differences in requirements based on installation size and power generating technologies and methods. Only considering the most common form of power generation, non-concentrating photovoltaic (PV) installations, the standard provides 3 classifications or levels of accuracy.

This new standard will provide crucial guidance to various stake holders as to what measurements are needed. Couple this information with EKO’s 90 years of intense development and you have the right combination to make certain any PV site is monitoring at the optimal level. For the highest level of performance, EKO recommends using the MS-80 series pyranometer with the MV-01 heated ventilator. The MS-80 surpasses the requirements of ISO 9060 and sets a new bar for pyranometer performance. While the IEC standard calls for recalibration annually, the MS-80 has a 5 year recommended recalibration interval. The MS-80 has been designed such that the user does not need to change the desiccant. As for performance, the MS-80 has fastest response time of any secondary standard on the market. It also is immune to thermal offsets, monitoring with the MS-80 provides greater confidence in measurement accuracy as well as the ability to detect fast changes in irradiance with passing clouds.

With a global presence and a persistent drive to improve solar radiation measurements, EKO stands ready to help the solar energy industry with any project, regardless of size or complexity. Please contact your local or regional EKO Instruments office.

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency in Thailand adopted the MS-700 spectroradiometer for their research. EKO is a leading manufacturer of spectroradiometer for outdoor measurements. Our spectroradiometers are well accepted for research and well known as a standard instrument to measure solar radiation.

Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) in Thailand have installed our spectroradiometers MS-700, on 23 observation stations nationwide in Thailand. The system integration and installation were completed perfectly by our partner, Campbell Scientific Southeast Asia, in Thailand.

The spectroradiometers will be utilized for:

• Early Warning Crop Disease Forecast
• Agrometeorology
• Ground-Truthing Satellite Imagery

Wath for more information about the project through the link https://www.gistda.or.th/main/en/node/265

The MS-90 sensor measures the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) without the need for a sun-tracker. It is a reinvention of the MS-093 sunshine duration meter which is a reliable and accurate sunshine duration meter deployed within the AMeDaS network in Japan for over 10 years. More than 800 stations gather precise sunshine duration information every day. The MS-90 is a cost effective solution to be applied in solar energy monitoring systems and meteorological networks.

New and improved cost effective design recommended for standard global radiation measurements. Three different models are available, all fully compliant with ISO 9060 standards for First Class pyranometers. The compact sensor with double dome surpresses offsets and easily integrates all value added features such as a ventilator, heater and different industrial interfaces.