SunCounter: Software for automated reading of sunshine duration recorded by heliographs

The aim of this study was to develop software for reading and managing sunshine duration recorded by Campbell–Stokes heliographs. The software employs digital image processing techniques, such as mean filtering, thresholding, and opening, to interpret digitized images of record cards containing suns...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of renewable and sustainable energy 2024-07, Vol.16 (4)
Main Authors: Raniero, Matheus Rodrigues, Calça, Marcus Vinicius Contes, Franco, José Rafael, Dal Pai, Alexandre
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automation
Bias
Correlation coefficients
Digital imaging
Error analysis
Estimates
Image filters
Image processing
Irradiation
Mean square errors
Root-mean-square errors
Software development
Solar radiation
Spectroheliographs
Sunlight
Weather stations
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Summary:The aim of this study was to develop software for reading and managing sunshine duration recorded by Campbell–Stokes heliographs. The software employs digital image processing techniques, such as mean filtering, thresholding, and opening, to interpret digitized images of record cards containing sunshine duration measurements. The software's validation was conducted by comparing global solar irradiation measurements with estimates of global solar irradiation generated from sunshine duration obtained automatically by the software and manually by a meteorological observer. Estimates generated by the automated method showed better performance (mean bias error: 0.084, relative mean bias error: 0.500, root mean square error: 2.045, relative root mean square error: 12.109, and correlation coefficient: 0.954). Additionally, the automated method was significantly faster, taking an average of 41.825 s less than the manual method to perform the readings. This suggests that the software can be used to automate, standardize, and speed up reading sunshine duration data. Furthermore, the use of the software enabled the creation of a daily sunshine duration database, common in meteorological stations, and an hourly database, which is a novelty due to the complexity of the manual reading method.
ISSN:1941-7012
1941-7012
DOI:10.1063/5.0220104