Solar irradiance meters - anyone tried one?

Re: Solar irradiance meters - anyone tried one?

there is already a formula posted by Great BB somewhere in the forums to calculate W/m² from Solar Panels output. 8)

Re: Solar irradiance meters - anyone tried one?

This is from Solar Pro magazine. I used the Apogee for a few weeks and it is nice. You really only need these if the buyer requires it. As others have said, it really can be done with a solar panel and ammeter. The best way to learn is to watch a dual axis tracker for a year.
Irradiance meters. If you want to estimate real-time system performance with confidence or field-check a pyranometer in a data acquisition system, you need a handheld solar irradiance meter or pyranometer. In field applications, having laboratory-quality equipment is less crucial than having reasonably accurate, durable equipment that can stand up to local conditions.
The most popular devices are Daystar’s DS-05 Solar Meter, Apogee Instruments’ MP-200 and Seaward’s Solar Survey 100. The Daystar DS-05 [about $160] is a compact and lightweight meter that can measure between 0 and 1,200 W/m2 with an accuracy of ±3%. The Apogee MP-200 [about $410] is a pyranometer sensor with a handheld meter that displays and stores measurements; it has a measurement repeatability of less than 1% and can be used as a calibrated standard to check monitoring system sensors against. The Solar Survey 100 from Seaward is an all-in-one device that includes an irradiance meter, an inclinometer, a compass and two channels for measuring temperature.
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PNjunction wrote: »

Has anyone tried the Amprobe Solar-100 meter, or the Dr.Meter SM206?

Both have W/m2 readouts, which is what I'm interested in, not BTU. I've got a feeling that the Amprobe would be more accurate, but really have no idea. I'm a backyard enthusiast, but still want to be as precise as possible without breaking the budget...