SteadiQ Helps in Solar Panel Testing

In environments where dramatic temperature swings can affect spectrometer performance, an environmentally controlled box such as SteadiQ can help keep your spectrometer operating reliably. Temperature effects such as baseline drift are lessened or eliminated.

In one recent case our customer, a well regarded international standards-setting organization, was faced with the challenge of making quality control measurements of photovoltaic panels being tested outdoors, where conditions ranged from -20 ºC to +50 ºC. The application required an unusual but effective custom configuration to cover UV-NIR wavelengths (200-1700 nm): a QE65000 in a SteadiQ-UV and a NIRQuest512 in a SteadiQ-VIS.

The SteadiQs were connected with a bifurcated mixed fiber (one leg UV-VIS and one VIS-NIR) with a customized glass-domed integrating sphere at the common end. The sphere itself was quite clever, with a dry air pump to prevent condensation inside the dome. The complete system was calibrated and used to perform absolute irradiance measurements under extreme conditions.

A tool like SteadiQ can be very effective for applications where environmental conditions are likely to create challenges. While some spectrometers have thermoelectric cooling functions, the benefit they provide may be limited to a certain level below the ambient temperature and, if large temperature changes are anticipated, may take a long time to reach the set point (stability).