Alignment Of The Sun Sensor - Kipp & Zonen SOLYS2 Instruction Manual

Before inserting the cable please check if the pyrheliometer is perfectly aligned and the M8 bolts are secured.
Then, unscrew the cap from the sun sensor connector on the underside of the SOLYS and connect the sensor connector.
Figure 3.14. The bottom of the SOLYS
When the sun sensor is connected for the first time, the tracker will reset (go to its home position) and return and starts using the
sun sensor. Now its needs to be aligned.

3.11.1 Alignment of the sun sensor

It is required to have the SOLYS correctly tracking the sun before adjusting the sun sensor.
The sun sensor can only be aligned when the direct radiation is above 300 W/m2. This can be checked by the status LED. When the
sun sensor is connected and the status LED is green the radiation is above 300 W/m2, when blinking the radiation is too low to align
the sun sensor. Once the sun sensor is connected and the direct radiation is above 300 W/m2 it will correct the tracker position.
The initial position of the sun sensor as indicated in figure 3.13 should be 21 mm from the pyrheliometer mounting clamp. This
initial adjustment is important; otherwise the sun sensor is too far off to find the sun.
When enough sun is present the sun sensor can be fine-tuned. The correct position can be obtained from the alignment target of
the pyrheliometer. If no pyrheliometer is present the alignment targets of the two mounting brackets can be used. Both brackets
have a hole and the light beam falling through the first hole should make a circle just around the second hole. The information
from the sun sensor is updated every 10 seconds, so after a changed alignment this interval should be waited before the new
position is affected. Of course when the green status LED starts blinking no further adjustments are possible because the direct
radiation is too low. The position of the sun sensor has to be adjusted using the 3 screws that hold the sun sensor in place. It is best
to start adjusting one of the screws half a turn to see the effect. If the sunspot moves further away from the target, the direction of
rotation should be reversed. Every time wait 10 seconds for the SOLYS to update its position according to the new sun sensor
angle. Adjust all three sun sensor screws until the alignment target is exactly positioned at the sun.
When the sun senor is disconnected the SOLYS has to recalculate its position and will first move to the home position before
starting tracking again. When reconnected the sun sensor information will be used directly (after 10 seconds) when the status LED
is constantly green.
The position information from the sun sensor is not stored because the misalignment can be different for different positions (different
times of the day). The sun senor will start every day with active tracking when the direct radiation is above the 300 W/m2.
Ethernet RS-485 Sun Sensor
40
DC Power Input
AC Power Input