The major purpose of this paper is to develop an uncertainty estimate for the calibration of thermopile instruments used to measure solar radiation parameters. We briefly describe the solar radiation parameters most often measured, instrumentation, reference standards, and calibration techniques. The bulk of the paper describes elemental sources of error and their magnitude. We then apply a standard error analysis methodology to combine these elemental error estimates into a statement of total uncertainty for the instrument calibration factor. Our results allow one to evaluate the accuracy of a radiometric measurement using thermopile instrumentation in the light of the application, such as engineering test evaluation or for validation of theoretical models.