Industry
Flow, pressure, temperature and electrical measurement for solar, wind, storage and heat-pump systems.
Renewable energy is the sector where instruments are most often expected to work with nobody present. Sites are remote, spread out and frequently unmanned, so the measurement has to be autonomous, tolerant of weather and able to deliver its record over a link that may not be reliable. That single condition shapes more of the specification than the physical quantity being measured does.
The second characteristic is that the quantities are frequently used to support a performance claim rather than to control a process. Irradiation, wind speed and direction, energy output and performance ratio determine whether a plant is producing what it was predicted to produce, and a commercial dispute about output is settled with measurement evidence. That places the emphasis on calibration, sampling interval and completeness of the record rather than on response speed.
The third is the diversity inside the industry. A photovoltaic plant measures irradiation and inverter output, a wind farm measures wind with an availability requirement that has commercial consequences, a hydro plant measures flow and level, and a storage system measures current, voltage and battery temperature. Treating these as one instrumentation category is a mistake: what they share is the operating model, not the physics.
Irradiation, module and ambient temperature, inverter output and delivered energy. These measurements establish the performance ratio, so calibration and completeness of the record matter as much as sensor accuracy.
Wind speed and direction, nacelle conditions, vibration and power output. Availability of the measurement has commercial consequences, and the instruments are exposed to weather continuously.
Flow, level, pressure and temperature of the working fluid, plus the process instrumentation around a thermal plant. Media are frequently abrasive or corrosive, and the plant often runs unattended for long periods.
Current, voltage, power, energy, temperature and the state of the battery system. These measurements are electrical and thermal, and they frequently feed both control and protection.
| Measurement | What is measured in this sector | Instruments commonly specified |
|---|---|---|
| Irradiation and weather | Solar irradiance, ambient and module temperature, wind speed and direction, rainfall and humidity | Pyranometers and reference cells, temperature sensors on the module and in the air, and wind sensors chosen for the exposure and for the maintenance interval the site can support |
| Flow | Working fluid in hydro and thermal plant, heat transfer fluid, cooling water and process water | Electromagnetic and ultrasonic meters for water and conductive fluids, and vortex or differential-pressure installations for steam and gas in a thermal plant |
| Level and pressure | Reservoirs, tanks, hydraulic circuits and cooling systems | Hydrostatic and radar transmitters, pressure transmitters with sealing suited to the medium, and switches for protection where a level excursion has a cost |
| Temperature | Module and ambient temperature, battery and inverter temperature, bearings and gearboxes, and process temperature | RTDs and thermocouples for surface and process measurement, and non-contact measurement for rotating or inaccessible parts |
| Electrical | Voltage, current, power, energy, power quality and insulation state | Power meters and analysers for the grid interface, insulation testers for maintenance, and acquisition channels rated for the system voltage and waveform |
| Vibration and condition | Turbine, gearbox and rotating machinery vibration | Accelerometers and proximity measurement, frequently connected to a condition monitoring system because the site is unmanned |
The operating model matters as much as the physics here. Power available at the measurement point, remote access and the maintenance interval should be stated with the measurement itself.
Frequently asked
The questions that come up in this sector before an order. If yours is not here, send it with the duty and we will answer it alongside the quotation.
By comparing the energy actually delivered against what the measured irradiation and the module temperature would predict for that array, so both the irradiance measurement and the energy measurement are part of the figure. That means the calibration of the irradiance sensor, the cleanliness of its dome and the completeness of the record all affect the result directly. A performance ratio is an argument built from measurements, and it is only as strong as the weakest of them.
Speed and direction at the height that matters, with an availability the commercial agreement can rely on. That places the emphasis on the sensor surviving the exposure, on having a maintenance regime that keeps it working, and on the data reaching the operator. Where a measurement supports a resource assessment or a settlement, the calibration of the sensor and the completeness of the record are as important as its accuracy.
Through a combination of low power design and local generation, and the specification has to account for both. Battery capacity sets the deployment length, a small local supply extends it, and the sampling interval determines how quickly the power is consumed. Where nothing is available, the measurement is often stored locally and collected on a visit, which changes the memory depth requirement rather than removing it.
Electrical measurement that satisfies the network operator, which normally means power, energy and power quality recorded to a defined standard, and sometimes protection functions alongside the measurement. Because the waveform at an inverter interface is not a clean sinusoid, the measurement principle and the bandwidth matter as much as the range. State the connection agreement and the system voltage before choosing the instrument.
Current and voltage at the string and system level, temperature at several points in the battery, and the environmental conditions around the enclosure. Temperature is the measurement that most often determines life and safety, and a single average figure across a large battery is rarely sufficient. Whether the measurement also feeds protection should be stated, because that requires independence and a defined behaviour on failure.
The technology and the measurement, the site conditions and exposure, the power available and how the data has to reach the operator, the sampling interval and record length, whether the measurement supports a commercial or regulatory obligation, and the system voltage where the duty is electrical. The operating conditions at the site frequently change the answer more than the measurement does.
Published products
ESPC3-20 / N4 · Wireless Data Loggers
Two-port wireless serial data logger that records equipment traffic to a TF card and serves live and historical logs over Wi-Fi, with UDP and MQTT reporting.
Send the process conditions and the standard you have to meet, and we will confirm the instrument, availability and documentation that can accompany the order.
Request for quotation
Send the technical detail and we will confirm availability, lead time and terms. In-stock items ship within 48 hours; customized specifications typically take 2-10 days. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.