Outdoor Wind Speed Sensors

Several sensor types detect wind speed, including cup anemometers, ultrasonic anemometers, and optical scintillation sensors. OSI's LOA-005 is a long-baseline optical anemometer that uses optical scintillation technology to detect crosswind velocity and Cn² air turbulence simultaneously, offering distinct advantages in reliability and range over mechanical or ultrasonic alternatives, with no moving parts and no field calibration needed.

Mounting location depends on the application. For fenceline monitoring, sensors are installed at the perimeter of industrial facilities. For aviation, they are positioned along runways or approach paths. The LOA-005's transmitter and receiver are mounted on fixed structures — poles, buildings, or towers — facing each other over a baseline from 100 meters up to 10 km, measuring the air column between them.

The LOA-005 measures crosswind velocity and Cn² atmospheric turbulence over a path-averaged baseline ranging from 100 meters to over 10 km. This long-range capability makes it uniquely suited for applications where area-wide wind and turbulence data is required, such as airport runway monitoring, industrial fenceline compliance, and large-scale environmental research sites.

No field calibration is required thanks to the DSP-based design of the LOA-005. Routine preventative maintenance is minimal, consisting of cleaning the optical windows and checking alignment every six months. AGC circuitry compensates for LED output power drop, contaminated optics, and dusty air, ensuring measurement accuracy even in harsh outdoor environments without frequent servicing.

The LOA-005 has been approved by NOAA, the Environmental Technology Laboratories (ETL), and the EPA. It holds CE certification and is manufactured under an ISO 9001:2015 quality management system. The sensor is also RoHS compliant. These approvals make it suitable for use in regulated applications such as EPA fenceline monitoring, FAA aviation weather observation, and environmental compliance programs.

OSI's outdoor wind speed sensors are deployed across aviation (airports and helipads), oil and gas refineries, chemical plants, power utilities, environmental monitoring agencies, national laboratories, and wind energy facilities. Customers include the FAA, NASA, NOAA, the U.S. military, major oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Shell, and leading research universities and national laboratories worldwide.