Wireless Sensor Networks to Characterize Photovoltaic Panels in Harsh Environmental Conditions (original) (raw)

Development of a Wireless Sensor Network for Individual Monitoring of Panels in a Photovoltaic Plant

Sensors, 2014

With photovoltaic (PV) systems proliferating in the last few years due to the high prices of fossil fuels and pollution issues, among others, it is extremely important to monitor the efficiency of these plants and optimize the energy production process. This will also result in improvements related to the maintenance and security of the installation. In order to do so, the main parameters in the plant must be continuously monitored so that the appropriate actions can be carried out. This monitoring should not only be carried out at a global level, but also at panel-level, so that a better understanding of what is actually happening in the PV plant can be obtained. This paper presents a system based on a wireless sensor network (WSN) that includes all the components required for such monitoring as well as a power supply obtaining the energy required by the sensors from the photovoltaic panels. The system proposed succeeds in identifying all the nodes in the network and provides real-time monitoring while tracking efficiency, features, failures and weaknesses from a single cell up to the whole infrastructure. Thus, the decision-making process is simplified, which contributes to reducing failures, wastes and, consequently, costs.

A wireless sensor network for the monitoring of large PV plants

In this paper a new monitoring system, suitable for large photovoltaic fields, is presented. Differently from others available monitoring systems the new approach is based on a sensor network which collects detailed information about the electrical performances of each string forming a photovoltaic plant. A devised electronic board has been specifically developed and prototyped which embeds innovative functionalities. Among them the supercapacitor based harvesting stage for self powering of the sensor network and the wireless communication which prevent additional wiring. Moreover a new performances analysis logic has been developed and implemented in a control software tool which analyzes collected data and generate graphical reports for an immediate localization of faults and yield losses.

Smart Solar Panels: In-situ Monitoring of Photovoltaic Panels based on Wired and Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy Procedia, 2013

This article presents the design methodology for an in-situ solar panel monitoring system based on wired and wireless sensor network technologies. The system presented provides in-situ performance data for each solar panel of a solar park installation and allows through a web-based application the optimization of electric power production. The proposed platform is based on wired networking technologies combined with short range low-power wireless sensor nodes. Performance parameters are measured for each PV panel and are transmitted to a remote coordinator. Details about the developed platform are presented with preliminary results.

Energy Efficient Wireless Performance Monitoring System For Solar Panel

For a PV array, system monitoring is considered important to analyze the stability and performance. The simple monitoring system involves a data logging system with wired cables for transmitting data. Removing all those drawbacks observed in the existing system this proposed work is designed for the wireless monitoring of photovoltaic cell as a high precision solar array monitoring system. It is planned to measure the basic PV array characteristics like Module Temperature (T), Open Circuit Voltage (Voc), Short Circuit Current (Isc) and wirelessly transmit the data into real time GUI in the computer. The GUI was developed using the PROCESSING software. The commercially available WPAN hardware module ZigBee is used for implementation with API protocol for exchanging information. A sensor node with XBee and a set of analog sensors (eliminating the use of controllers at the sensor node) for measuring current and voltage generated in the PV array has been deployed. A coordinator node with Atmel microcontroller and Xbee connected with a PC to analyze the parameters.

Solar Panel Condition Monitoring System based on Wireless Sensor Network

Continuousmonitoring the condition and detecting the faults to ensure the stable power delivery of Solar panel in remote area is our contribution in this paper, this work is part of project. I am working on this project at Optimized Solutions Pvt. Ltd. as a part of curriculum activity in my final year project at Maharaja Sayajirao University. This paper describes the hardware and software implementation for fault detection and continuous monitoring system for solar panel in remote area. This research problem has been stated by engineers working in Solar panel maintenance system. As proposed solution to this wireless sensor node is provided with Voltage sensor, Current sensor, Light sensor, Temperature sensor and Dust sensor and XBeeS2 to implement WSN. Data are being continuously stored and monitored at central station called HUB and through that data are being sent to server via Ethernet. A friendly GUI using Python is implemented to visualize monitoring process and save data on Excel file. The designed system is built and satisfactory results has been obtained.

Wireless Sensor Network for Photovoltaic modules monitoring

— A wireless system for photovoltaic plant monitoring is presented. The system detects faults in each individual photovoltaic module connecting several electronic circuits in parallel to each module and connecting them with a Wireless Sensor Network to a central wireless control unit. The general system and a first prototype of the electronic circuit for a single photovoltaic module are presented. The system was designed in terms of easy implementation and low cost, without any extra sensors.

Design and Construction of Wireless Instrumentation System for Measuring Solar Module Performance Parameters

Journal of Natural Sciences Research, 2019

This paper presents the development of a wireless instrumentation system for accurate characterization and evaluation of solar modules performance parameters under variable atmospheric conditions. A wireless transmitter that operate at 5V (315MHz) was designed and constructed to transmit electrical parameters of three different solar panels measured via current, temperature and voltage sensors to a constructed Omni-directional receiver that is made up of inbuilt storage system. The measured electrical parameters from individual panels were evaluated in terms of their responses to variable atmospheric conditions and compared with that of manufacturer's ratings. The results based on the plotted curves show that as individual panel temperature increases the output voltage also increases. Increase in output voltage result into increase in output current measured across the load resistor which also results into corresponding increase in output power of individual panel. The measured electrical parameters are within the manufacturer's ratings range, except maximum output currents and maximum powers which show little differences from that of manufacturer's ratings due to choice of load resistors used in the design which impede the free flow of current to some extent.

Implementation of wireless remote monitoring and control of solar photovoltaic (PV) system

2012 Sixth IEEE/PES Transmission and Distribution: Latin America Conference and Exposition (T&D-LA), 2012

This paper describes the implementation of a wireless remote monitoring and control system of a solar photovoltaic distributed generator (PV-DG) for microgrids applications. To this aim, a small-scale PV-DG system is implemented using a 1.28 kWp assembly of PV polycrystalline modules connected to a single-phase utility grid through a commercial inverter. Then, a flexible, robust and reliable measurement and control system based on wireless sensor network (WSN) architecture is deployed. The wireless communication technology utilizes a full duplex digital system using the ZigBee protocol, based on the IEEE 802.

Development of Solar Powered Feeding Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks in low Solar Density Conditions / Bezvadu Sensoru Tīklu Elektroapgādes Sistēmas Izstrāde, Kas Izmanto Saules Paneļus Un Darbojas Pazeminātas Saules Radiācijas Apstākļos

Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences, 2015

In the recent years, there has been significant research focus on the safety and reliability of data harvesting and optimal energy consuming by wireless sensor network nodes. If external electrical power fails, the node needs to be able to send notifications to the utility demanding the use of backup energy strategies. The authors of the research offer an approach that can help to use PV panels as an alternative power source for WSN nodes in particular irradiation conditions. Survey and testing of the main types of PV panels offered on the market in conditions closed to real ones, in which WSN nodes are maintained, have been implemented. Based on the test results, maximum power control module parameters can be calculated in order to achieve the best effectiveness of the power control system for a selected type of PV panel or panel group. The novelty of the research is an approach that includes an original test bed design for PV testing, PV testing method and selection of design and ...

Experimental Analysis and Monitoring of Photovoltaic Panel Parameters

International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 2023

In this article, we establish a technique based on the internet of things to simultaneously monitor the main values that characterize a photovoltaic solar panel. This technique allows to discover the problems and the monstrosities during the operation. This study also allows to collect the parameters and quantities measured for analysis. This method is based on exploiting the advantages of IoT technology. For this it will be a good choice to use and exploit the Esp32 microcontroller, because the two WIFI and Bluetooth modules are integrated. The design process began by creating a system to measure the intensity of the electric current delivered by the photovoltaic panel. A current sensor was implemented for this purpose. To prevent damage to the microcontroller, a voltage divider was proposed to decrease the voltage at the pin level of the Esp32 for measurement. Next, the power and energy values were calculated to estimate the production capacity. In the final stage, a lowpower Bluetooth link was created to transmit the four quantities to a smartphone or other compatible device. Real-time values were presented as graphs on the free ThingSpeak platform and displayed on both, an LCD screen and the serial monitor of the Esp32 microcontroller. The system was tested without any problems or errors.