Abstract
This paper presents a low-cost solution of virtual instrumentation to provide a new technique for real-time instrumentation of the PV panel characteristics such as voltage, current and power. The system design is based on a low-cost Arduino acquisition board. The acquisition is made through a low-cost current and voltage sensors, and data are presented in Excel by using the PLX-DAQ data acquisition Excel Macro, which allows communication between the ATMega328 microcontroller of an Arduino UNO board and the computer by UART bus. Hence, the I–V and P–V characteristics, which processed under real-time conditions, can be obtained directly and plotted on an Excel spreadsheet without needing to reprogram the microcontroller. A comparison between this low-cost virtual instrumentation and the traditional instrumentation is drawn in this work. It is found that our solution presents several benefits compared to the traditional solution such as the data can be presented in graphical form in real time. Thus, several experimental tests to confirm the effectiveness of the developed virtual instrumentation system are presented in this study.
Highlights
PV panels are the main equipment of solar power generation system that serve to convert solar light energy into direct current (DC) electrical energy (Ozdemir et al 2014; Jean et al 2015)
I–V and P–V characteristics of the PV panel obtained by our virtual instrumentation system and those obtained by multimeters are presented in Figs. 15 and 16
This paper describes a low-cost virtual instrumentation of PV panel characteristics based on Arduino and Excel
Summary
PV panels are the main equipment of solar power generation system that serve to convert solar light energy into DC electrical energy (Ozdemir et al 2014; Jean et al 2015). Under the standard test conditions (STC), characteristics of the PV panel are provided by the manufacturers (Eltawil and Zhao 2010). The PV characteristics are unknown out of STC (Hohm and Ropp 2003). The measurement of the PV characteristics is required (Mahrane et al 2010), which is why different traditional instruments are used in this context such as multimeters. By using this kind of instruments it is difficult to make a correct reading by human during a rapid change of
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
