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We realized that stretching I2C wires over long distances is problematic due to noise and increased capacitance, which would decrease the stability of our information. Adding an I2C extender should improve stability.
The irradiance sensors have unchangeable addresses, resulting in address conflicts. Adding a mux will allow us to have multiple I2C connections.
Why have we used RTDs specifically for temperature measurements? Thermistors and thermocouples are more commonly used for solar panel temperature measurement.
D2 said they can embed thermocouples into the solar modules. These would give us more precise data about the solar module temperature.
We can also use our own temperature sensors to measure the ambient temperature (temperature of the air around the solar panel). Thermistors are cheaper and more accurate than RTDs, and while RTDs go up to higher temps, for our application thermistors should cover our range.
Adding a mux to decrease the number of pins needed to read temperature data (and decrease number for R2Ds needed)
Considering the possibility of putting the temperature sensors and irradiance sensors on the same board (blackbody c). This could reduce wiring needs, especially if we also end up using the back-of-module sensors.
Decisions
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Blackbody A
Hardware Requirements:
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