Real-Time Monitoring of Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants: A Concentrated Validation Study

This paper presents a low-cost Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring system for rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in response to the need for sustainable solutions. Real-time monitoring was achieved by utilizing Raspberry Pi Pico W and affordable sensors. The validation, conducted in Monteria, Colombia, demonstrated high accuracy: correlations (Panel Temperature: 0.94, Solar Radiation: 0.98, Inverter Temperature: 0.84, Ambient Temperature: 0.98, and Humidity: 0.8) and low REMC (Panel Temperature: 1.09°C, Solar Radiation: 6.12 W/m², Inverter Temperature: 2.71°C, Ambient Temperature: 0.83°C, and Humidity: 6.81%) compared to commercial measurement equipment. These results underscore the system’s ability to optimize the performance of solar installations, thereby promoting a more sustainable energy transition.