Optimal Design and Performance Evaluation of Software-defined Solar PV Systems

To obtain the maximum solar radiation from sunrise to sunset, a robust and dynamic tracking system is required for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. However, existing solar tracking systems encounter several issues, such as additional cost and power consumption, complexity in installation and integration, susceptibility to environmental conditions, tracking accuracy, compatibility, reliability, and scalability problems. To address these challenges and to provide an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective solution, a software-defined networking (SDN)-assisted tracking system can be deployed. Therefore, this paper proposes an SDN-enabled solar tracking system that can provide a more scalable, secure, and adaptive tracking platform for solar PV panels. In addition, this proposed framework allows centralized control and real-time monitoring, and virtualized architecture rather than a conventional hardware-based tracker. Besides, a robust panel adjustment algorithm is also developed and MATLAB’s Simulink module is utilized to demonstrate its effectiveness based on I-V and P-V characteristics. Interestingly, simulation results show that our proposed framework has outperformed the traditional tracking system and offers 22% improved energy generation as well as provides a software-based real-time tracking platform.