Monitoring of total solar radiation using solar array

The aim of this paper is to introduce a new manner of solar monitoring. The project is being developed in the Analog-Digital Systems Laboratory of the University of Brasilia. An approach which no longer requires a dedicated sensor has been investigated by the authors. The original point is the monitoring of the solar radiation by the solar array energy collector. This idea is included in the project and construction of a remote meteorological station with minimum operational cost, specifically designed for the Amazon environment. The meteorological station is totally automatic and its energy is supplied by a battery which is charged by a solar panel. The station saves information in static memories. Regularly, an operator collects the stored data through a portable microcomputer and verifies if there is any equipment needing repair.