Sensor-based collection of solar and meteorological data

Sensors are versatile devices used in a wide variety of applications, including scientific research, consumer electronics, industrial processes and automation, environmental monitoring, and medical practices. They are designed to detect changes in their environment and convert them into a measurable signal related to the specific type of physical phenomena, chemical quantity, or environmental condition. The measured signal can be a voltage change, resistance variations, or even light pulses depending on the sensor type and the measured quantity. In general, the measured signal requires some conditioning prior to further use, such as signal amplification, filtering, or calibration, and, if necessary, analog-to-digital conversion. After the preprocessing stage, the signal is eventually captured by a data acquisition (DAQ) system and converted to a suitable data format for storage and analysis. Overall, sensors act as the initial step in the data collection process, as they translate real-world phenomena into a digital representation that can be processed and analyzed to be used for various ever-growing applications. In this chapter, we explore real-world examples of sensor-based data collection systems detailing the sensor body and specifications, the principle of operation, and the data collection process. Some figures in this chapter are adapted from the thesis work in [1]. The examples shown cover instruments and observations of atmospheric, solar, and meteorological parameters, including a lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging)-ceilometer measuring the backscatter profile of the atmosphere, solar radiation monitoring station with radiometers, a weather station for meteorological measurements, and an all-sky imager. We also describe the corresponding DAQ systems used and provide examples of data collected with these sensors.