Electronic System for the Remote Monitoring of Solar Power Plant Parameters and Environmental Conditions

Abstract

An electronic monitoring system was developed to monitor and analyze operating and environmental parameters of solar power plants. The electronic monitoring system consisted of two stages: the first stage was designed to receive data from temperature, illumination, voltage, electric current, and power sensors and modules; the second stage is for data collection, analysis, and display. Microcontrollers PIC18F25K22 (for data collection) and PIC24FV32KA302 (for data analysis and display) were used to implement the electronic monitoring system. RF module EBTYE OEM/ODM E32-433T20DC SX1278 433 MHz UART was used to transmit data to the central server. For the microcontrollers of both stages, original control program algorithms were developed, according to which program codes were written using the C programming language. Data were collected using the MySQL database. The virtual interface and application for displaying instant data were created using programming language Delphi. Data monitoring systems in the market have a number of shortcomings due to the difficulty of ensuring a centralized data management process. In addition, sensors used in most systems require a Wi-Fi Internet connection to transmit information, which is difficult to secure in remote solar parks. The aim of this work is to show that information transmission from individually deployed sensors to the central server can be ensured using the principle of RF communication, and data collection and analysis in a centralized way without additional costs for Wi-Fi networks in remote areas.