American Journal of Scientific Research

ISSN 1450-223X Issue 10 (2010), pp. 78-86

© EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2010
http://www.eurojournals.com/ajsr.htm

Design of A Radio Telemetry Solar Radiation

Sensor Using Solar Cell

Sharif M. Raihan
Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia

Riza Muhida
Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia

M. Habib Ullah
Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia
E-mail: habib_ctg@yahoo.com

Lily Sulastri
Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia

Abstract

Solar radiation sensor is a device that is used to measure solar radiation in W/m2.
Determining the solar radiation and its interaction with the atmosphere and the earth's
surface is important because atmospheric circulation is driven by solar radiation. Moreover,
solar radiation accounts for almost all of the energy available to the earth. They are also
used in meteorology to measure solar radiation. Meteorology is the scientific study of the
atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. In this paper, the solar
radiation sensor uses silicon solar cell or photovoltaic as sensor. Furthermore, wireless
measurement system using FM transmitter and FM radio receiver is also applied. There are
seven steps to obtain the final graph of the solar radiation. Firstly, a solar radiation sensor
using solar cell needs to be designed. Than a photocurrent circuit is designed. The short
circuit current of the solar cell is directly proportional to the energy incident on the solar
cell or the solar radiation. The solar cell is used as input and the photocurrent circuit
converts the current to voltage. Then signal conditioning needs to be designed so that it can
amplify the voltage from the photocurrent circuit which produces a voltage in a more easily
usable range. Next, a voltage-to-frequency converter is assembled that can convert
measured variable information voltage from the signal conditioning into a variable
frequency. Afterward, an FM Transmitter circuit is constructed that can transmit frequency
to an FM radio. The output of the FM radio is analyzed and simulated using LabVIEW.
Finally, after sampling and some calculation, the graph of the solar radiation is obtained.

Keywords: Radiation Sensor, Solar Cell, FM Transmitter, Photocurrent, FM Receiver.

1. Introduction
A pyranometer or also known as a solar radiation sensor is a type of actinometer used to measure
broadband solar irradiance on a planar surface. In other words, solar radiation sensor is a sensor that is
designed to measure the solar radiation flux density in watts per meter square (W/m2) from a field of
79 Sharif M. Raihan, Riza Muhida, M. Habib Ullah and Lily Sulastri

view of 180 degrees. Pyranometers are frequently used in meteorology, climatology, solar energy
studies and building physics [1].
Solar radiation is radiant energy emitted by the sun, particularly electromagnetic energy. There
are two ways solar radiation reaches the earth's surface. The first is direct solar radiation where the
solar radiation is directly transmitted through the atmosphere. The second is diffused solar radiation
where the incoming solar radiation is scattered or reflected to the earth's surface. About half of the
radiation is in the visible short wave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The other half is mostly in
the near infrared part, with some in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. The portion of this ultraviolet
radiation that is not absorbed by the atmosphere produces suntan or sunburn on people who have been
in sunlight for extended periods of time. Solar radiation is thermal radiation emitted from the surface of
the sun, which is powered by nuclear fusion [3].
Because of the wide availability and importance as an alternative power source, it is tempting to
use silicon solar cell or photovoltaic as detector. In principle, a solar cell based instrument that
responds to solar radiation is very simple. When solar energy falls on a solar cell, the cell produces
electrons. If a perfectly conducting wire is connected between the positive and negative terminals of
the solar cell, the flowing electrons produce a current, the magnitude of which is directly proportional
to the energy incident on the cell. This current is called the short circuit current.
Atmospheric circulation is driven by solar radiation. Determining the solar radiation and its
interaction with the atmosphere and the earth's surface is important, since solar radiation accounts for
almost all of the energy available to the earth [4].
As mentioned earlier, solar radiation sensor is a type of actinometer used to measure broadband
solar irradiance. Actinometers are actually instruments used to measure the heating power of radiation.
They are used in meteorology to measure solar radiation [2]. Meteorology is the scientific study of the
atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting. Meteorological phenomena are
observable weather events which illuminate and are explained by the science of meteorology. Those
events are bound by the variables that exist in earth's atmosphere. They are temperature, pressure,
water vapor and the gradients and interactions of each variable and how they change in time. The
majority of earth's observed weather is located in the troposphere [3].
The most important factors influencing how much shortwave radiation reaches the earth's
surface and how much is absorbed in a day of year, cloud cover, and albedo. The intensity of solar
radiation varies significantly over the course of a year ranging from no solar radiation during the polar
winter to a maximum of 350 to 400 W/m2 in the summer. Over the course of a day, the sun's angle
above the horizon (solar altitude) influences the intensity of solar radiation. The noon sun is more
intense than the rising or setting sun. The maximum altitude of the sun depends on time of year and
latitude. Of course, during the polar winter the sun is below the horizon for 24 hours, and there is no
solar radiation, while at midsummer the sun changes little in altitude over the course of a day.
Clouds reflect some incoming radiation back to space, thereby reducing the amount of radiation
that reaches the earth's surface. However, clouds also reradiate infrared energy back toward the earth's
surface, thereby moderating the temperature of the lower atmosphere. Globally, clouds have a cooling
effect on the earth atmosphere system, because of their high albedos. In polar region, however, clouds
seem to have a net warming effect as the reduction in solar radiation is outweighed by the effect of
clouds in increasing long wave radiation to the surface [5].
Incoming solar radiation that strikes the earth's surface is partially reflected and partially
absorbed, in proportion to surface reflectivity (albedo). Darker surfaces have a lower albedo and absorb
more solar energy than do lighter surfaces. The albedo of a surface is also a function of the incidence
angle of solar radiation, i.e., the amount of solar energy a surface absorbs depends on the solar altitude
[4].
Design of A Radio Telemetry Solar Radiation Sensor Using Solar Cell 80
Figure 1: Solar radiation sensor block diagram.

The main objective of this paper is to design a solar radiation sensor using solar cell. The aim is
to obtain the final output graph of the solar radiation. Basically the objectives are:
1. To use solar cell as sensor in building the solar radiation sensor.
2. To design a solar radiation sensor that powered from a power supply.
3. To apply wireless measurement system using FM transmitter and FM radio receiver.

1.1. Solar Cell

The dimension of the solar cell that is used to build the solar radiation sensor is 0.65 cm wide and 2.7
cm height. The voltage across the solar cell in the room under room light is 156.1 mV and in sunlight is
602 mV.

1.2. Photocurrent
The short circuit current of the solar cell is directly proportional to the energy incident on the solar cell
or the solar radiation. The solar cell is used as input and the photocurrent circuit will converts the
current to voltage. The value of resistor, Rf = 508Ω is used in experiment. An experiment is done using
the photocurrent circuit and also the solar cell and the results are as follows:
• Voltage in sun light = 9.61 V
• Voltage in dark (sun light) = 0.0012 V

Figure 2: Photocurrent circuit diagram.

81 Sharif M. Raihan, Riza Muhida, M. Habib Ullah and Lily Sulastri

Figure 2 demonstrates the circuit diagram of photo current. From the results, graph and the
transfer function can be obtained. So the experimental transfer function is Vout = 525.41 Isc, where Vout
is output voltage and Isc is short circuit current.

1.3. Signal Conditioning

This signal conditioning circuit can amplify the voltage from the photocurrent circuit so that it
produces a voltage in a more easily usable range [7]. The solar cell itself can produce voltage in the
range of 0.0012V to 9.61V as mentioned earlier. Each day the intensity of the sun is different so it is
assumed that the solar cell can produce voltage in the range of 0.0012V to12.53V. From the test the
V/F converter circuit connected to the FM transmitter circuit and find the frequency on FM radio when
varied the input voltage from the V/F converter. Only when the voltage is from 0.422V to 1.582V, the
waveform of the FM radio can get a square wave that is shown through the oscilloscope in Figure 3. It
is assumed that the range of voltage is from 0.422V to 2V to make it in a wider range. From this
experimental result of the FM radio, the signal conditioning needs to be designed so that the solar
radiation sensor produces range of voltage from 0.422V until 2V.
Vout = (m) Vin + Vo is used to develop the signal conditioning that produces output voltage in
the range of 0.422V to 2V.

Solar cell: 0.0012V 12.53V

Signal conditioning: 0.422V 2V

Instrumentation amplifier is used as the signal conditioning. Instrumentation amplifier is

actually differential amplifier with high input impedance and low output impedance. Voltage follower
is connected to the instrumentation amplifier for isolation. So the transfer function is Vout = 0.1259 Vin
+ 0.4218 or Vout = 0.1259 (Vin + 3.3503).

Figure 3: Graph of Frequency_Radio (kHz) vs Voltage (V).

1.4. Voltage-Frequency Converter

V/F converter undergoes an analog to digital conversions with the aim of converting measured variable
information, Vin from the signal conditioning into a variable frequency. The IC used is LM331.
Design of A Radio Telemetry Solar Radiation Sensor Using Solar Cell 82
Figure 4: V/F converter circuit diagram.

The input voltage need to be varied in order to obtain the value of frequency and the results are
graphed. From the graph, the experimental transfer function is obtained as ƒout = 1847 Vin. The graph
of Frequency versus Voltage is illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Graph of Frequency (kHz) vs Voltage (V).

1.5. FM Transmitter and FM Radio

The FM transmitter can transmit on any FM radio station from 88-108 MHz. Basically, both FM
transmitter and FM radio have the same frequency. FM transmitter transmits the frequency to FM radio
and FM radio acts as the receiver of the wireless measurement system.

2. Design Specification
The result from the FM radio is then being transferred to the computer for analysis or doing experiment
by using National Instruments LabVIEW 7.1. The data acquisition card (DAQ) is connected to the
computer. In this paper, PCI 6014 with BNC 2021 is used for data acquisition between the FM radio
and the computer. A cable for the headphone is connected to the FM radio. The other end of the cable
is connected to the BNC 2120 at channel 0. In order to obtain the final output graph of the solar
radiation, the solar radiation sensor needs to be sampled for one day. The programming language of the
LabVIEW needs to be designed including both block diagram and front panel. Fourier transforms are
83 Sharif M. Raihan, Riza Muhida, M. Habib Ullah and Lily Sulastri

used to convert from time domain into the frequency domain. The output of the solar radiation sensor
is sampled in certain duration of time and the value of voltage is obtained. From the value of voltage,
the value of current is obtained by inserting the value of voltage to Vin = 66.1491 Isc + 0.418. Figure 6
shows the front panel in LabVIEW for experiment.

2.1. Testing the Whole Circuit

The whole circuits that are the solar cell itself connected to photocurrent circuit and then connect it to
the signal conditioning circuit, V/F converter circuit and finally connect it to the FM transmitter circuit
is tested including the FM radio. The solar cell is exposed to the spotlight instead of sunlight. It is hard
to control the sunlight to produce required output voltage of the solar cell. The input voltage from the
spot light is varied and the value of frequency of FM radio is obtained. Figure 6 shows the front panel
waveform and Figure 7 presents the Graph of Whole Radio Frequency vs. Voltage.

Figure 6: Front panel waveform for experiment.

Figure 7: Graph of Frequency_Radio_Whole (kHz) vs Voltage (V).

Design of A Radio Telemetry Solar Radiation Sensor Using Solar Cell 84

3. Experimental Result
The results are graphed and the experimental transfer function is obtained. The experimental transfer
function of FM radio is ƒout = 2074.95 Vin. As mentioned earlier, the experimental transfer function of
photocurrent is Vout = 525.41 Isc. The experimental transfer function of signal conditioning is Vout =
0.1259 (Vin + 3.3503). The transfer function is Vout = 66.1491 Isc + 0.4218. The experimental transfer
function of the whole circuit is ƒout = 2074.95 Vin. Integrating the earlier transfer function with the
whole circuit transfer function, the transfer function is ƒout = 2074.95 (66.1491 Isc + 0.4218). The
overall transfer function is then Vin = 66.1491 Isc + 0.418. Figure 8 shows the front panel view
experiment.

Figure 8: Front panel for experiment.

Experiment is done every 5 seconds. The final graph of voltage and current versus time
obtained.

Table 1: Experimental Results.

Voltage (V) Current (A) Voltage (V) Current (A) Voltage (V) Current (A)
0.82 0.006020 1.45 0.015544 1.18 0.011462
0.86 0.006624 1.44 0.015392 1.29 0.013125
0.90 0.007229 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
0.93 0.007683 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
0.98 0.008439 1.44 0.015392 1.44 0.015392
1.21 0.011916 1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392
1.39 0.014637 1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392
1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392
1.46 0.015695 1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392
1.46 0.015695 1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392
1.46 0.015695 1.44 0.015392 1.30 0.013276
1.38 0.014485 1.45 0.015544 0.86 0.006624
1.15 0.011008 1.45 0.015544 0.69 0.004054
1.14 0.010857 1.44 0.015392 0.56 0.002089
1.28 0.012974 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.46 0.015695 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.46 0.015695 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
85 Sharif M. Raihan, Riza Muhida, M. Habib Ullah and Lily Sulastri
1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.45 0.015544 1.44 0.015392 1.45 0.015544
1.45 0.015544 1.16 0.011160 1.45 0.015544
1.45 0.015544 1.45 0.015544

Figure 9: Graph of Voltage (V) vs Time.

Graph of Voltage (V) vs Time

1.6

1.4

1.2

1
Voltage (V)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
12:00:00 AM 2:24:00 AM 4:48:00 AM 7:12:00 AM 9:36:00 AM 12:00:00 PM 2:24:00 PM 4:48:00 PM
Time

Moreover from the sampling, the value of voltage is obtained and the results are tabulated in
Table 1. The value of current, Isc is obtained by inserting the value of voltage and is also recorded in
Table 1. The final graph of solar radiation in terms of voltage and current are obtained as shown in
Figures 9 and 10. The voltage versus time graph is shown in Figure 9 and the current versus time graph
is shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Graph of Current (A) vs Time.

Graph of Current (A) vs Time

0.018

0.016

0.014

0.012

Current (A)
0.01

0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0
12:00:00 AM 2:24:00 AM 4:48:00 AM 7:12:00 AM 9:36:00 AM 12:00:00 PM 2:24:00 PM 4:48:00 PM
Time
Design of A Radio Telemetry Solar Radiation Sensor Using Solar Cell 86

4. Conclusion
The solar radiation sensor using solar cell has been constructed. All the circuits required to design this
solar cell have also been constructed and tested. The circuit used to design this solar radiation sensor is
powered from a ±15V power supply. This power supply has also been constructed. Moreover, the
mechanical part of the solar radiation sensor has been built. After integrating the FM transmitter part
and FM radio receiver part of the solar radiation sensor, the experiment using LabVIEW 7.1 is done.
After sampling and some calculation of the results from LabVIEW, the final graph of the solar
radiation is obtained.

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