Internet of Things (IoT) based outdoor performance characterisation of solar photovoltaic module

Abstract

Outdoor performance characterisation of the Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) module is essential to while designing and commissioning a new SPV power plant. The health of SPV plant is monitored using a conventional method which underutilises the workforce and resources used for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of the SPV power plant. Outdoor performance characterisation of SPV module using reliable, compact, portable, and economical Current-Voltage (I-V) curve tracer having IoT capability and auto sweep capability is presented in this paper. The capacitive load method is used for I-V curve sweep, and the result is compared with the resistive load method. In this paper, the advantages of using a capacitive load method over resistive load method are observed and experimentally validated. The ease of using IoT feature makes this proposed I-V Curve Tracer (IVCT) device more reliable to trace Current-Voltage (I-V) curve and Power-Voltage (P-V) curve for outdoor performance characterisation of SPV module.