Creation of an Internet of Things (IoT) system for the live and remote monitoring of solar photovoltaic facilities

Abstract

Reliable and widely accepted, renewable energy sources stand as the optimal substitute for fossil fuels in meeting our growing energy demands. Specifically, solar energy can be harnessed into electrical power through solar cells. Many solar installations are situated in remote locations like rooftops, mountains, and deserts. Effective monitoring of these solar photovoltaic systems is crucial to maximize their performance. Monitoring solutions come in various configurations. The simplest approach involves offline data collection, entailing the placement of a data collection device on the installation which then stores data locally for a specific timeframe. However, this conventional monitoring method falls short in providing real-time data. In contrast, leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology to oversee solar photovoltaic power generation offers a substantial performance boost. This project aims to develop an IoT-powered system for real-time remote monitoring of solar photovoltaic installations. The collected data is stored in the IoT cloud, accessible through an application via an active internet connection from anywhere worldwide. This grants immediate insights into the installation’s status, facilitating maintenance and prompt fault detection.

Keywords

• Real-time PV surveillance
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• ThingSpeak
• Sensor