IoT Based Solar Panel Analysis using Thermal Imaging

Solar energy is gaining strong momentum as the future clean and renewable source among other sources of energy. Solar power generation has attracted much attention but there are not enough specialists for condition monitoring of the solar panel. As solar panels are exposed to outside conditions there are chances of reduction in efficiency due to dust, partial shading, cracks, delamination etc. This paper provides the analysis at normal and some faulty condition using equipment like PV analyser, Solar Power Meter and thermal camera to compare the results. The PV graphs, efficiency, fill factor and power are obtained at normal, partial shading and dust accumulated conditions using PV analyser. The thermal images and PV analyser results are compared under no-load, on load, partial shading and dust accumulation conditions. The obtained data is periodically uploaded to the cloud using NodeMcu, the uploaded data can be further used for monitoring the installed plant.