Solar Power Monitoring and Maintenance System

Abstract:

Solar power systems are also widely used due to the increased demand of renewable energy. Nevertheless, the overall performance of solar panels is greatly influenced by environmental and electrical factors including temperature, humidity, light intensity and electrical changes. In this paper, the design and development of a Solar Panel Power Monitoring and maintenance system is described based on an Arduino embedded platform. With several sensors, the system constantly measures the voltage, the current, temperature, humidity, and the intensity of light. The output of the collected data is processed in real time and seen on an I2C LCD module that could easily be observed. Also, the system has an automated maintenance system in which there is a cooling fan that is controlled by a relay and which is turned on when the temperature has surpassed a predetermined level. This assists in keeping the best operating conditions and it enhances the general efficiency. The system proposed is affordable, capable and applicable on smaller scale solar systems and in learning institutions. The experimental findings prove that the system is effective in real-time monitoring and automatic control.

Keywords: Solar Panel, Arduino, Renewable Energy, Monitoring System, DHT11, Voltage Sensor, Current Sensor, IoT, Embedded System