The solarimeter presented in this work is easy to assemble It is calibrated and its performance is validated by means of Hottel's method (Hottel 1976) Finally, the curves obtained with this solarimeter are compared to the ones obtained with a commercial solarimeter This device is based on the evaluation of the heat flow in a metal rod In consequence, measurements are not affected by ambient temperature van Mons On the other hand there is a linear relationship between the temperatures measured at the rod ends and the incident radiation, as can be concluded both from the theory of its operation and the calibration lines obtained The results obtained from the global irradiance measurements in the area of Los Polvorines (Buenos Aires Province), together with a preliminary evaluation of the solarimeter's response time, are presented in this work (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved