A low-cost online performance monitoring system for home photovoltaic generators

This paper provides a design for a cost-effective online wireless monitoring system for home PV generators. Home-installed PVs represent renewable energy generators that are expected to emerge in the next generation of power systems in order to reduce the home electricity cost. The proposed system is a standalone system that reduces the interaction of labors and exposure to PV monitoring system hazards. It offers online wireless monitoring for important performance-controlling parameters of the PV system such as irradiance, ambient temperature, the PV surface temperature, output power, the battery charge level, and PV surface status. Different from other monitoring systems in the literature, the proposed system compares the measured performance parameters with the expected manufacturer nominal values. The aim is to give the user an overall picture about the health status of the PV generator including different indicators that trigger the need for system component change or repair. The remote unit of the designed system measures the mentioned parameters, establishes a wireless communication link with the display unit then sends the measurements over that link to be displayed and compared.