A sunlight logger measures the amount of solar radiation in a particular area. There are various types of recorders, including the Marvin, Campbell-Stokes, and Blake-Larsen models. Solar radiation can be direct or diffuse. The data collected is used for weather forecasting, architectural efficiency, and building considerations. Less intensive models are available for casual users.
A sunlight logger is a device that measures the amount of sunlight a particular region or area receives at any given time. There are a couple of different types of recorder, often with slightly different specifications. The ways they work may also be different, but the end result is usually more or less the same: namely, getting an accurate and reliable solar input reading. Most of these types of devices are more or less permanent. They may be technically portable, but in most cases they are used to collect readings from the same place over a long period of time so that averages can be tabulated and comparisons made from month to month, year to year, and decade to decade. decade. Researchers use this data for all sorts of things. Weather forecasting and heat indexes are some of the more common applications, but solar output readings are also important for things like architectural efficiency and building considerations. The most accurate and reliable recorders tend to be quite bulky and often very expensive, but smaller players are becoming more available to more casual users.
Basic concept
The sun provides most of the energy needed to sustain life on earth and is a powerful force. However, solar radiation is not uniform everywhere. The earth’s distance from the sun at different times of the year certainly plays a role, but there are also a number of other factors – the energy absorption of nearby materials, the density of the natural landscape, and so on – which can also have a impact on the total amount of radiation entering a given location. The main idea behind a solar logger is to quantify the solar energy as it hits the earth and to measure both its strength and volume.
Marvin Flutes
There are several tools that researchers can use to obtain solar readings. One of the oldest is the Marvin recorder. This device is powered by a chronograph watch and works with the help of two colored bulbs, and works by measuring the pressure of the heated air inside the bulbs, which in turn forces the mercury inside a compressed tube so much like a thermometer. In this way the device converts the change into a meaningful and traceable number that can be used by researchers and scholars. This type of device usually works best in direct sunlight, although it can still read most radiation on cloudy or overcast days. However, these readings aren’t always that accurate.
Campbell-Stokes recorders
One way to measure the duration of sunlight is with a Campbell-Stokes sunlight logger. This is one of the most used devices in the category. It consists of a glass container or sphere that directs sunlight onto paper treated with a special chemical. Sunlight burns or marks the paper. This markup, called a trace, is measured and converted into a duration of time.
The card is usually changed once a day. It is relatively accurate and gives a total duration of sunshine to the nearest tenth of an hour each day of the year. The sun changes elevation several times during the year and in most cases there are also three different cards that can be used. The cards are associated with the different seasons and are created to adjust to the elevation of the sun.
Blake-Larsen recorders
Devices known as “Blake-Larsen” recorders tend to be among the most technologically advanced. These are powered by computer software programs, and most will translate their results directly into web-hosted websites or databases almost instantly. The actual processing is similar to the Campell-Stoke model, but the way the results are tabulated and reported is often very different.
These types of loggers are often very popular with government weather agencies and private interest groups who want to monitor radiation in a particular location. Architects and engineers are also usually interested in the near-instantaneous results of these kinds of readings, as they can help determine the best places to build and the most advantageous placement for things like solar panels.
Less intensive models
The electronic solarimeter is a newer, smaller, and simpler device that serves a similar purpose. It can read the intensity of solar radiation and expresses its data in watts per square metre. In general, solar radiation can be of two forms: direct or diffuse. If it is direct radiation, the radiation reaches the solarimeter directly from the sun. In the case of diffused radiation, on the other hand, it reaches the solarimeter after being dispersed by dust, particles in the atmosphere and gas molecules. The readings from these and similar devices aren’t always as precise or detailed as those from more intensive recorders, but for more casual purposes they can work just as well at a fraction of the cost.
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