On-site quality control of insolation measurements

The instrumentation used to collect minute averages of more than thirty solar-meteorological parameters at the U.S. Department of Energy-Trinity University observation station is described. The objective of the station is to compile a data base in which the total errors in the minute averages are less than two percent. In addition to careful maintenance and calibration, the objective of highly accurate data required the development of a variety of on-site quality control procedures. This paper describes the hardware and software quality control procedures which have been implemented.