Accurate Flux Calculations Using Thermographic IR cameras in Concentrated Solar Power Fields

As part of the solar field control system, BrightSource uses thermographic IR cameras that monitor the receiver temperature. The IR cameras are located outdoors in the solar field. By measuring receiver temperature, the accurate radiative flux per area of the receiver is calculated [1] along with the total input flux of the solar field. This paper describes the method of extracting the flux calculations from the IR temperatures maps. The paper also discusses the work done on obtaining accurate readings from the cameras.