Kipp and Zonen all smart, with six new instruments
Kipp and Zonen have announced an expansion of their Smart range of instruments with the new SMP6, SMP21 and SMP22 pyranometers, the SGR3 and SGR4 pyrgeometers, and the SUV5 total UV radiometer.
The Smart range has as the main benefit a RS-485 Modbus interface, combined with an amplified analogue output the company says. Instruments can be connected directly to a digital data acquisition system for live radiation measurements, to monitor the status and power supply and to keep track of the calibration history.
Both digital and amplified analogue outputs can be run through hundreds of meters of cable. Moreover, multiple Smart instruments (up to 247) can be digitally connected to one network cable, saving a significant amount of cabling costs.
Reprogramming data loggers after recalibration is history with the Smart range because all our Smart instruments have standardised output ranges. This makes them easily exchangeable, saving time and cost. Another time saving development is that all new Smart instruments will have the internal desiccant with a guaranteed lifespan of 10 years. No need to inspect drying cartridges and change desiccant anymore.
Kipp & Zonen has combined the research-grade CMP21 and CMP22 with the Smart features to provide even better performance, in the new SMP21 and SMP22 models. All Smart instruments have active temperature correction but in these pyranometers it is individually optimised, making measurements even more accurate. Smart pyranometers are also faster. The response time of the secondary standard models provides a good match with PV requirements.
Pyrgeometer detectors produce a "˜net' output signal that represents the difference between the temperature of the detector and the temperature of the sky. It is necessary to measure the pyrgeometer temperature and apply an equation to calculate the actual downward long-wave far infrared irradiance. SGR3 and SGR4 perform this calculation internally, accurately and in real-time, avoiding possible external processing errors. The digital output includes net radiation, downward radiation and temperature.
SUV5 improves on the CUV5 by adding temperature correction and linearisation. This makes it ideal for use with high power UV lamps in environmental testing.
The new, free, SmartExplorer computer software allows configuration of the instrument communication settings, monitoring of the measurements and status parameters, and logging of the data. Even if the communication parameters are lost, or unknown, the software is able to establish communication and set the instrument back to a defined state.
