Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1529
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1529
24 Apr 2025
 | 24 Apr 2025

Solar power systems for polar instrumentation: why night consumption matters

Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit

Abstract. Autonomous instruments, powered using solar panels and batteries, are a vital tool for long-term scientific observation of the polar regions. However, winter conditions, with low temperatures and prolonged lack of sunlight, make power system design for these regions uniquely challenging. Minimising winter power consumption is vital to successful operation, but power consumption data supplied by equipment manufacturers can be confusing or misleading. We measured the night consumption (power consumption in the absence of sunlight) of 16 commercially available solar regulators and compared the results to the manufacturers' reported values. We developed a simple model to predict the maximum depth of discharge of a battery bank, for given values of regulator and instrument power consumption, solar panel size, location, and battery capacity. We use this model to suggest the minimum battery capacity required to continuously power a typical scientific installation in a polar environment, consisting of a single data logger (12 mW power consumption) powered by a 12 V battery bank and 20 W solar panel, for eight different models of solar regulator. Most of the tested solar regulators consumed power at or below the manufacturer's reported values, although two significantly exceeded them. For our modelled scenario, our results suggest that the mass of the battery required may be reduced by a factor of 26x by exchanging a solar regulator with high night consumption for a more efficient model. These results demonstrate that a good choice of solar regulator can significantly increase the chances of successful year-round data collection from a polar environment, eases deployment and reduces costs.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Dec 2025
Solar regulators for polar instrumentation: why night consumption matters
Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 14, 503–512, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-14-503-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-14-503-2025, 2025
Short summary
Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1529', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 May 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1529', Rolf Hut, 13 May 2025
  • AC1: 'Authors response to reviewers', Michael Prior-Jones, 11 Jul 2025

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1529', Anonymous Referee #1, 06 May 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1529', Rolf Hut, 13 May 2025
  • AC1: 'Authors response to reviewers', Michael Prior-Jones, 11 Jul 2025

Peer review completion

AR – Author's response | RR – Referee report | ED – Editor decision | EF – Editorial file upload
AR by Michael Prior-Jones on behalf of the Authors (29 Oct 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (07 Nov 2025) by Anette Eltner
AR by Michael Prior-Jones on behalf of the Authors (26 Nov 2025)

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Dec 2025
Solar regulators for polar instrumentation: why night consumption matters
Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 14, 503–512, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-14-503-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-14-503-2025, 2025
Short summary
Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit

Data sets

Data and plots for figures 1-5 Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15114766

Model code and software

Spreadsheet model M. Prior-Jones and J. Hawkins https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15115132

Michael R. Prior-Jones, Lisa Craw, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Elizabeth A. Bagshaw, Paul Carpenter, Thomas H. Nylen, and Joe Pettit

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Short summary
We tested solar regulators to find their suitability for use in powering instruments in the polar regions. We found that some models waste a lot of power and may result in instruments failing during the wintertime. We developed a model to illustrate this effect, and use it to show that a good choice of solar regulator means a greater chance of successful winter data collection and allows the use of a smaller, lighter, cheaper battery.
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