Sunshine Sensor BF5 - Improved Design

Sunshine Sensor
Sunshine Sensor Sunshine Sensor
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Sunshine Sensor BF5 - Improved Design
· Measures global and diffuse radiation, and sunshine duration
· PAR reference sensor for SunScan System
· No moving parts, shade rings or motorised tracking
· Outputs can be PAR (mmol.m-2.s-1), Energy (W.m-2) or Lux
· New model includes heater as standard
The improved BF5 Sunshine Sensor is a versatile, multi-purpose solar radiation sensor. It uses an array of photodiodes with a unique computer-generated shading pattern to measure incident solar radiation. A microprocessor calculates the global and diffuse components of the radiation and determines the sunshine state. The BF5 is protected by patents EP 1012633 and US 6417500.
Two analogue voltage outputs give global and diffuse radiation, from which direct and diffuse radiation are derived. The sunshine state is represented by a digital output. The three outputs can be connected to appropriate channels on the GP1 or DL2e data loggers, or other loggers commonly used for environmental monitoring.
Improved Design
The BF5 Sunshine Sensorhas replaced the BF3 model. Its advantages include an integrated heater as standard plus superior connectors and cabling. The heater keeps the BF5 clear of dew, ice and snow down to -20 degrees C.
Sunshine Duration
The BF5 Sunshine Sensormeasures sunshine hours indirectly using a simple equation based on both the total PAR radiation, and the ratio of total to direct PAR. This sunshine algorithm corresponds closely to the World Met Office threshold of 120 Wm-2 in the solar beam for sunshine duration. The BF5 does not need to be adjusted