Solar Radiation Research Laboratory

The Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) is a unique research facility located on South Table Mountain in Golden, Colorado. At 6,000 feet above mean seal level and with an unobstructed view of the local horizon, the SRRL is well positioned to serve a variety of measurement needs afforded by outdoor and indoor facilities.

Since 1985, the lab has continuously measured solar and atmospheric radiation and other meteorological parameters important for renewable energy technologies and climate research. These Web-accessible archived data records and nearly real-time meteorological displays benefit a wide audience in government, industry, and academia.

Metrology Laboratory

Using reference standards traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the World Radiance Reference (WRR), the NREL Metrology Lab performs calibrations of a wide variety of measurement and test equipment. Emphasizing the needs of renewable energy technologies, the lab's calibrations capabilities include electrical properties (volt, ohm, power), physical properties (temperature, humidity, time, frequency), solar and atmospheric irradiances.

Optics Laboratory

The SRRL's Optics Lab provides NIST traceable measurements for Spectral Irradiance and Radiance Scale realization, calibration of user spectroradiometers, measurement of natural and artificial light sources spectral distribution, indoor/outdoor solar ultraviolet and filter radiometer calibrations, and pulsed/continuous light source characterization.

Electronics Laboratory

This portion of SRRL provides for the development, characterization, and maintenance of all data acquisition systems, supporting research equipment needed to make resource measurements (like automatic solar trackers), and other specialized electronic devices related to solar radiation measurements (radiometer signal simulators).

Data Acquisition Laboratory

The numerous data acquisition and processing systems needed to provide web-accessible data from the SRRL and other DOE-sponsored locales are developed and maintained in this lab. At the heart of this operation is the Measurement & Instrumentation Data Center (MIDC). The MIDC provides access to continuous solar and meteorological measurements at the SRRL, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and at other locations in the United States. More than 25,000 users from around the world access data from the site each year.