Arduino based solar powered battery charging system for rural SHS

Abstract

Solar Energy is a clean and renewable power resource and is on its way to high level penetration in the world electricity energy basket. However, there are several challenges associated with Solar Energy, like intermittency, limited dispatch ability and non-storability. Non-storability in a standalone PV system can be mitigated by incorporating energy storage devices like battery to store the electrical energy produced by solar panel when the sun is shining and to supply power when the sun is not shining. Batteries are, therefore, one of the critical component in the standalone PV system. And often the weakest link in PV systems as it influences the maintenance cost and reliability of the system. This paper involves designing and development of a low cost, microcontroller based, solar powered battery charging system. The developed system incorporates (i) MPPT (ii) Arduino Uno interface for battery management functions Arduino Uno interface, (iii) LCD display for information to the user about the system regarding the systems overall capacity to charge at any given time, (iv) data storage and incorporates Wi-Fi module for remote surveillance and uploading live data which can further be used for studying the health of the battery and help in maintenance of battery. The developed solar powered battery charging system for DC loads has been designed for use in Solar Home Systems (SHS). The individual SHS can be connected to form a low voltage DC micro grid for the remotely located rural population for sustainable provision of electric energy services.