IoT Based Automatic Solar Panel Monitoring System

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 09 Issue: 07 | July 2022 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2022, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.529 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 2773
IoT Based Automatic Solar Panel Monitoring System
Saurabh Verma1, Amit Kumar2, Tushar Chotlani3
1,2,3Department of Computer Engineering, VES Institute of Technology, Mumbai - India
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Abstract - Abstract - The internet of things (IoT) defines
everyday physical objects being able to communicate data
with other internet-connected gadgets by identifying
themselves to them. This technology helps with system
monitoring, upkeep, and performance improvement. Energy
conservation is the main issue facing society. Even though
there is a lot of research being done insolarenergy, consumers
still do not readily accept sun-based applications. This may be
due to minimum knowledgeofsuchapplications. Theproposed
system aims to continuously supervise the monitoring and
maintenance of the solar panels using IoT. The system should
maximize its production and for that it being rotated as per
sun’s direction. The rotation of the panel will be in accordance
with the real time position, intensity of the sun’s radiationand
climatic condition. In case the system is ineffectual to harness
the required amount of energy for all when using home
appliances at a set time, additional energy will be obtained
from other sources. electricity. The project highlights in
providing analysis of the system data along with user friendly
interface to the people. Timely notifications willbeprovidedto
the user regarding dust accumulation to restore the efficiency
of the system and minimizing its effects in energy production.
Key Words: Internet of Things, Solar Panel, Sensors,
Rotation, Automatic
1. INTRODUCTION
Solar panel is a collection of photovoltaic cells, which
generates electricity through thephotovoltaic effectwiththe
help of sunlight.
These structures of the cells are like grid on solar panels
surface. Generating power from photovoltaic plants is
mobile because of variation in temperature, solar radiance,
and soiling. Thus, remote monitoring is crucial.
An inverter receives the sunlight first as it strikes the panel.
The inverter then converts the electricity from DC to AC,
which is used to power the residential locations or
industries. The system will probably produce more energy
during peak daylight hours compared to customers’ usage,
thus, excess energy is stored in grids for later use. It is
simple, clean and it’s getting more efficient as well as
affordable.
Fig. 1. Solar Energy Conversion
As shown in figure 1, solar panel produces energy whichwill
be provided to the charge controller.
Charge controller is used to keep batteries from
overcharging. The variable direct current output of a solar
panel is converted into alternating 240V current by the
inverter.
The remote examining will help to eliminate the risks
associated with the wiring systems to measure data and
supervising process simpler and cost-effective.
IoT systems take an enormous leap towards monitoring
systems by intelligent decision-making from the web. The
current architecture of the remote monitoring systems and
its flexibility of implementation makes it reliable for
industrial issues.Theremotemonitoringsystemsmustfetch,
analyse, transmit, manage, and feedback the remote
information by utilizing the most advanced science and
technology in the field of communication technology and
other areas.
The efficiency of the panels depends on the solar cell’s
material. Depending on its different types of solarpanels are
listed below:

TABLE I. DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOLAR PANELS
Solar cells
materials
Efficiency
percentage
(approximat
ely)
Advantages Disadvantag
ees
Monocrystal
line
20% High
efficiency
rate,
preferable
for
commercial
use, high life
expectancy
Expensive
Polycrystalli
ne
15% Low price Sensitive to
high
temperature
and lower
lifespan
Thin-Film:
Amorphous
Silicon
(A-SI)
7-10% Low cost,
easy to
manufacture
Short term
warranties &
lifespan
Concentrate
d
photovoltaic
Cell
41% High
performance
and
efficiency
rate
Tracking and
cooling
system
required
Applications of solar energy:
Following are the few applications of the solar energy:
1.Homes: Residential gadgets can utilize electricity
generated through solar power.[7]
2. Commercial use: The panels can supply enough electricity
to different offices of an organisation in a reliable way.[7]
3. Swimming pools: Pool water can be kept hot by adding
solar blanket to it.[7]
4. Solar lights: These lights store sun’s energy during
daytime and then convert it into electricity at night.[7]
5. Solar Cars: An electric vehicle can be charged with solar
energy or sunlight.[7]
Wi-Fi technology is used for remote monitoring and control
of the photovoltaic system for household applications. Wi-Fi
(IEEE 802.11g) operates at 2.4GHz and offer data rate as
high as 54Mbps in contrast to ZigBee (250Kbps). However,
this solution is preferred only for microgrid network
architecture.[9]
The suggested system is concerned with overseeing the
operation and monitoring of the solar panels. The website
seeks to present a suggested technique that aids the user in
acquire the information regarding the condition and status
about the solar panel efficiency and performance. The
application also suggests rotating the solar panel according
to the intensity of sun's radiation to produce high amount of
energy with the help of real-time data. The dust sensors on
hand are used to alert the user when there is an excessive
build-up of dust so that removal will restore its prior
effectiveness.
2. COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION
Generation of solar energy has enormous scopeinIndia. The
tropical location of the country benefits in generating solar
energy. Almost, each and every part ofIndia receive4-7kWh
of solar radiation per sq meters which is equivalent to
2,300–3,200 sunlight hours per year. Promoting solar
production technologies in rural areas will go a far away as
majority of our population live in rural areas. Utilization of
solar energy can reduce the use of firewood and dung cakes
in rural locations thus reducing pollution. Some of the large
projects proposed in India are:
i). Thar Desert of India solar power projects is estimated to
generate 700 to 2,100 GW.
ii). The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)
launched is targeting 20,000 MW of solar energy power by
2022.
iii)Gujarat’s project to produce 20 GW of solar power by
2020 which was started in 2009.
Apart from above, about 66 MW is installed for various
applications such as solar lanterns, water pumps and street
lighting in the rural area. Thus, India has massive plan for
solar energy generation that may not onlyfulfill theshortage
of power generation but also contribute massively to green
energy production to help reduce the climatic changes
globally.
3. LITERATURE SURVEY OF EXISTING SYSTEM
The major requirements about the integration of
photovoltaic power generation systems into the affordable
traditional generation systems will be monitoring
photovoltaic generation systems and adopting photovoltaic
power generation systems to the present power system. A
system with having these requirements was introduced for
developed photovoltaic power generation system in the
laboratory with Labview by using its useful and effective
tools. 1.2 kWp grid.

Connected photovoltaic system was used as a photovoltaic
power generation system and NI USB-6221 data acquisition
(DAQ) card and developed electrical measurement circuits
were used for monitoring the photovoltaic system.
Parameters and parameter changes at current, voltage and
generated power in photovoltaic system acquired from the
system and these parameters were monitored in real time
thanks to a Labview DAQ card. Output voltage, output
current and power generated from the photovoltaic system
were also monitored with developing Labview software [2]
One of the systems is developed onanonlinemonitoring and
control system for distributed. Android-based Renewable
Energy Sources (RES). This method basically uses the
Bluetooth interface of the android tablet mobile phone as a
communication link for data exchangewithdigital hardware
of Power Conditioning Unit (PCU). The Low-Cost android
tablet is suitable to replace the graphical LCD displays and
RES Power Conditioning Unit (PCU) Internet modem with
improved graphical representation and touch screen
interface.[3]
A professional O&M service package ensures that the solar
photovoltaic system will assure to maintain high levels of
technical and resultantly economic performance over its
lifetime. Now, it is well acknowledgedbyall thestakeholders
that high quality of O&M services aggravates the potential
risks, improving the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices and positively
impacts upon the return on investment (ROI).[5]
A substance in which an electron is raised to a higher energy
level upon light absorption, and secondly,thetransferofthis
more energetic electron from the solar cell to an outside
circuit. After losing its energy in the external circuit, the
electron returns to the solar cell The requirements for
photovoltaic energy conversion could theoretically be met
by a range of materials and techniques. [7]
IoT built distant monitoring will help to raise energy
efficiency of the system by making use of low power
consuming advanced wirelessmodulestherebyreducingthe
carbon footprint. A delivery of advance to remotely manage
the Solar PV plants of various operations like remote
shutdown, remote management is to be incorporated with
this system later.[9]
4. PROPOSED SYSTEM
Looking into the problems in the field of solar energy-based
applications, the project aims to make thesolarsystemmore
flexible and easier for users. The user is unknown about
many of the parameters related to the solar panel. This
project aims to provide users with detailedenergyproduced
analysis. The proposed system works to monitor the state of
a photovoltaic system through an IoT based network to
control it remotely and used for maintenance of the system.
The information from the sensors is transmitted via Wi-Fi
module. A Wi-Fi module is labored to transmit the data to
the remote server and then be madevisibletotheuser.Thus,
the objective of the system is to improve efficiency of the
solar panels and provide the system analysis to the user.
The system block diagram shown in figure 2 consists of a
hardware unit comprising of Arduino, sensors, battery and
amplifiers. The other unit in this project is the web portal
which will help the user to get the reports of energy
production.
Fig 2. System Block Diagram
The implementation steps involve:
1. Rotation of solar panel:
The solar panel rotation systemshowninfigure3scansfrom
one horizon to other to know the current position of sun
which will determine the position generating maximum
throughput. The position with the peak value of energy is
chosen to charge the battery. In this way it can produce
maximum energy from the solar panel by redirecting it
continuously in sun direction to make it more efficient and
smarter. To perform solar panel rotation the system will be
using real time data.
Fig. 3: Solar Panel Rotating

Arduino Mega is used for controlling Solar Panel Rotation
with the help of Motor Driver and Stepper Motor. The Solar
Panel will rotate with respect tosunlightwith real fetchdata.
Current and Voltage sensors will calculate throughput at
angels and will set the solar panel at that angel where there
is maximum throughput.
2. Notify the user:
The system will show the present statistics of the solar
panel, that is the production of current and voltage
throughout the day and notify user timely. The system
furthermore will provide user with predicated detailed
report of the entire weeks production. Depending on data
collected on the user energy requirement the system will
predict if solar panel production is sufficient to generate the
entire energy or it will need to switch to other modes.
3. Switching of energy source:
The system will analyses the quantity of energy expected by
all the home appliances to work as per its expectation. If the
system is unable to generate the required energy,thenit will
switch to other mode of electricity.
4. Web Portal:
Fig. 4: Web Portal
As shown in figure 4 Arduino Mega will be used to provide
output to Wi-Fi module which will furthermore upload that
information to IoT from which Web portal retrievesthedata
and provides it to user.
5. Sensors:
Fig. 5: Sensors
The system uses current and voltage sensors to measure
current and voltage respectively produced by solar panels.
Since the value of current and voltage producedisverysmall
amplifiers are used to amplify the current and voltage in the
measuring range. TemperatureandDustsensorsprovidethe
real time data regarding heat and soiling effect respectively.
Since the output generated by all sensors is in analog,analog
to digital converter is used.
5. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Figure 6 shows the simulation of the system using Proteus
software.
Fig. 6: Proteus Simulation of Proposed System
This setup displays howthevirtual workingmodulewill look
like. Voltage, LDR and Temperature sensors of panel acts as
input for Arduino Mega. LCD will display voltage,
temperature and light intensity wherein Arduino acts as
interface between LCD and input sensors. As the
temperature will increase around the solar panel, Arduino
will update it on LCD display. The Light Dependent Resistor
will calculate the light intensity around the solar panel and
will display on LCD.
Voltage of the solar panel is very easy to measure when it is
up to 5 volts. In case it being more than 5 volts then a voltage
divider is required. Temperature measurement isdonewith
the help of LM35 that gives 10 mV for every1degreeCelsius.
The System will rotate with respect to LDR and will stop
where the solar panel is getting maximum light intensity.
6. PROPOSED RESULTS
1. The first step of the system will be the rotation of the
solar panel which will be done by the use of stepper motor,
this whole process is helpful in generation more solar
energy.
2. The Current and Voltage produced by solar panel will be
measured by current and voltage sensors respectively and
will be provided to the user.

3. The Temperature sensor will sense the current
temperature of the surrounding which will be provided to
the user giving user a basic idea aboutsystem’ssurrounding.
4. The Dust sensor will calculate the amount of dust
accumulated on solar panel which slows down the
generation of solar energy.
5. Once, the accumulated dust crossesthethresholduser will
be notified about the condition of the solar panel.
6. User of the system will have a direct access to the web
portal, which contains all the outputs from the system.
7. CONCLUSION
This project provides a systematic approach of controlling
and monitoring solar power panels from remote areasusing
Arduino Mega and web portal. GUI offer users interactive
graphical interface for monitoring generation and
consumption of power. Implementing this proposed
prototype will be beneficial in terms ofprotection,operation
and monitoring of solar systems.
8. FUTURE SCOPE
The external power required for functioning of the system
can be provided by the energy generated from the solar
panels itself. Also, with the help of machine learning
algorithms and learning models it is possible to design a
smart system which can analyses past data to predict and
take decisions regarding the performance of the system to
make it more reliable and efficient.
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