Design and Implementation of a Solar Energy Measurement and Monitoring System

Abstract

One of the challenges of unsatisfactory performance of solar powered equipment in Nigeria is the importation of substandard solar panels which in turns give rise to improper rating of the solar panels. Some of the equipment manufacturers are known for labeling the solar panels with arbitrary ratings in other to sell and make profit. Since the solar powered equipment depends on the Sun for its energy, there is need to monitor and measure the solar panel parameters like voltage, current, light intensity and temperature. This is necessary to confirm if the solar panel is performing to expectation and giving good readings. This work aims at developing a Solar Energy Measurement System that will aid in the measurement and monitoring of solar panel parameters like voltage, current, light intensity and temperature. The design work is divided into two main parts, hardware and software sections. The hardware involves the development of major units like the power supply unit, the control unit and the sensor units of the entire project by using solid state electronic components, integrated circuits and microcontroller. The software design involves the development of a program using C programming language to enable the arduino microcontroller to function and perform as desired. The basic inputs to the system are the sensor units. They sense the required variable that is to be measured and the measured values are then displayed. The results obtained from the display unit are then compared with the manufacturer's values that are found on the solar panel. It is observed that there are slight differences between the measured and the manufacturer's values, but still within a tolerable range (less than 5%).