International Research Journal of Education and Technology

There is a problem of availability of sufficient and functional instruments for measuring solar radiation in India due to higher importation costs and maintenance. So, it is preferred to construct devices from locally available equipment. This paper reviews the pyranometer to measure solar radiation, to assess the availability of solar energy arriving on Earth, it is important to measure solar radiation at some locations. From the reviewed existing research works, Silicon Photodiode-based pyranometers are preferred to thermopile-based pyranometers as the former has lower cost, more portable and requires little maintenance.

Keywords—Solar radiation, thermopile, silicon based Photodiode