ZENO
®
Weather Station Manual
12
if you can mount it on the side of prevailing wind it is acceptable. It should be no higher than 1
meter.
3.4
Pressure
The location of the pressure sensor is inside of the enclosure and then it is vented to the air so that
it can measure the air pressure. Since the enclosure is usually mounted at a height that is
convenient to access it – this is an acceptable location for the pressure sensor. If your system is
being used for aviation it will be important to know exactly how high off the ground the sensor is
and an offset be entered in the firmware (ZENO
®
) or the software (Aviation INTERCEPT
®
).
3.5
Solar Radiation
Solar radiation sensors should be mounted where they will always be exposed to the sun and away
from any reflective or shiny surfaces (like enclosures or buildings, windows, etc.). The height is
not critical for the accuracy of the measurement but typically solar radiation sensors are mounted
at 3 m or less so they are easy to level and clean.
3.6
Soil Temperature
The area of soil to measure soil temperature should be at least 1 square meter and level.
Standard measurement depths:
5.0 cm, 10.0 cm, 50.0 cm, 100.0 cm
3.7
Visibility
The visibility sensor should be mounted in a location free from reflections and as representative of
the area you wish to measure as possible. It measures the visibility between the two sensor heads
(about 2-3 feet). It is not “outward looking” so consider this when locating your tower. It should
be 2 to 3 meters from the ground, however you should also consider snow depth if you have snow
in your location. It is also a sensor with windows and optics so you will want to be able to reach
and clean the windows, the frequency of such depending on your location (dusty, industrial, etc.)
3.8
Cloud Height
The cloud height sensor should be mounted pointing away from the tower and any other
obstructions that may be in its “line of sight” to the sky. You should also consider maximum
snow depth if your location has snow.
3.9
Lightning/Thunderstorm Detection
Coastal offers several lightning/thunderstorm sensors and so you should follow the siting
instructions provided with the sensor you ordered. In general you want it at least twice the width
of the tower away from the tower, or on a separate pedestal some distance from the tower. It may
have difficulty “seeing” some strikes that would be “behind” the tower so consider this when
choosing a location and distance.