Abstract: A silicon-based total solar radiometer for outdoor use is designed.The silicon solar cells of the same technology type are used as sensors, and the silicon solar cells are encapsulated by photovoltaic module manufacturing process. The temperature measuring thermistor is used to measure the working temperature of the silicon cell, and the temperature correction is added to the irradiance measurement value. In addition, a suitable sampling resistor is connected in series to the positive and negative terminals of the silicon solar cell to make the silicon solar cell work approximately in the short-circuit current. Finally, the irradiance contrast test is conducted with standard silicon solar cells under outdoor natural light. The maximum error is 1.2%, the minimum error is 0.2%, and the average error is 0.4%.