Design and Implementation of IOT

Based Monitoring System for Solar Tree

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, PATNA

By DHANRAJ GUPTA
 Overview
1 • Introduction

2 • Solar Tree

3 • Monitoring goals of Solar Tree

4 • Parameters of Solar Tree

5 • Wireless Sensor Network

6 • Proposed System and System Architecture

7 • Software Work

8 • Conclusion

9 • Future Work

10 • References

11 • Result
 Introduction

 This work aims to implement a wireless sensor network

(WSN) for monitoring PV panels of ‘Solar Tree’ based on the
ZigBee protocol.
 A measurement unit will read the temperature, light intensity
and output parameters of all the PV panels in an array.
 A transmission unit will send readings to the receiver unit.
 A demonstration unit will display the performance of PV
panels in order to solve problems on the system, if there any.
 Solar Tree
 A Solar Tree is nothing but an artificial tree
with PV cells arranged in Fibonacci series
manner in place of leaves or by Spiralling
Phyllotaxy or panels connected randomly
on branches of a metal structure.
 The Solar Tree is a combination of artistic
and technological effort which exists as a
form of solar artwork.
 The inspiration for the organic design has
both visually pleasing and pragmatic
purposes.
 Though the instrumental value of the Solar
Tree may differ depending on its
interpretation, the general form of an
organic, tree-like figure utilizing solar Solar Tree at IIT Patna
panels remains consistent.
 Monitoring Goals of Solar Tree

 Diagnose performance issues, in the PV array.

 Power loss reduces by monitoring the output.

 Optimize the operations and maintenance mainly the

cleaning schedule of PV panels.

 Evaluate system reliability i.e. long-term reliability and

system failure etc.

 Increase the overall efficiency by monitoring the energy

output of PV panels.
 Parameters of Solar Tree to be Measured

Photovoltaic Panel :-
Ambient
String Voltage Light Intensity
Temperature
String Current
 Wireless Sensor Network
A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of sensors which are densely distributed to
monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, pressure,
etc. The sensor data is transmitted to network coordinator which is heart of the wireless
personal area network. ZigBee is newly developed technology that works on IEEE
standard 802.15.4, which can be used in the wireless sensor network (WSN). The low
data rates, low power consumption, low cost are main features of ZigBee. WSN is
composed of ZigBee coordinator (network coordinator), ZigBee router and ZigBee
end device. The sensor nodes information in the network will be sent to the coordinator,
the coordinator collects sensor data, stores the data in memory, process the data, and
route the data to appropriate node.

There are only three kinds of device types.

The ZigBee network will have a single
coordinating device and at least one other
device, either a router node or an end node.
A. The ZigBee coordinator
B. The ZigBee router
C. The ZigBee end-device
 Proposed System

 The projects architecture consists of two parts. The first part is

the transmitting end while the second part is the receiving
end.
 The transmitting end is composed of PV array, data acquisition
device and Zigbee router while the receiving end is composed
of Zigbee coordinator and remote pc.
 PV module is monitored using data acquisition device. Data
acquisition device consists of sensors, Real Time Clock (RTC)
chip, and microcontroller unit.
 Microcontroller collects all the data from sensors and sends it to
the Zigbee router. The data received is transmitted wirelessly to
Zigbee coordinator which is connected to remote pc via
microcontroller.
System Architecture
 Hardware of the Monitoring Unit

• Arduino UNO - 2
• XBee RF module - 2
Components • Charge Controller - 1
Description •
•
7805 Voltage Regulator
Battery - 1
• Solar Panel - 10

• LDR Module for Light Intensity

Sensors • LM35 Temperature Sensor
• ACS712 Current Sensor
Description • B25 Voltage sensor
Block diagram of Hardware Unit
 Software Work

 Read voltage, current, light intensity and temperature from sensors and
convert value to decimals.
 Transmission unit operates in cycle loop and sends readings every 1 second.
 The receiving unit (Zigbee coordinator sensor) received data from the
transmission unit (Zigbee router sensor).
 It needed to open a serial connection with the ZigBee coordinator and then
was connected with the computer via microcontroller by using a USB port.
 The incoming data was read as a string and sent to a database.
 The database portion was connected to Coolterm.
 When the connection was ensured, the incoming data then could be fed in to
the database table.
Flowchart of Data Transmission and Receiving
 Conclusion

 This work proposes a concept of monitoring the parameters of

the ‘SOLAR TREE’.
 The presented experimental result highlights that the real-time
parameters monitoring for a PV array can be implemented via
only a pair of Zigbees.
 The proposed prototype promises for high quality available
monitoring devices to measure the system performance with
more energy savings.
 Providing such low cost systems and tailored to fit user profiles
is a strong start for offering real-time feedback in easy way.
 Finally, the designed tool is also useful for the researchers to
understand the behaviour of different photovoltaic
technologies in natural conditions and for the analysis of
degradations in PV modules with respect to age and
environmental effects.
 Future Work

From this work a series of recommend points have

become noticeable for future consideration :

 Implementing and monitoring of multiple solar tree located

at different places is possible and achievable.
 Using google drive or iCloud to display the status of the
monitoring system would allow access to the data from any
internet linked computer
 A human machine interface can be integrated with the
LabVIEW or MATLAB to be able to monitor changes more
precisely.
 An alert system can be installed for detecting faults in the
circuit.
 References
 R. F. Gusa , I. Dinata, W. Sunanda, T. P. Handayani, “Monitoring System for Solar
Panel Using Smartphone Based on Microcontroller”, 2018 2nd International
Conference on Green Energy and Applications.
 A.H. Sabry , W. Z. Wan, Mohd Amran Mohd Radzi, Suhaidi Shafie, “Wireless
Monitoring Prototype for Photovoltaic Parameters”, Article · July 2018 DOI:
10.11591/ijeecs.v11.i1.pp9-17.
 Joydip Jana, Hiranmay Saha, “An IoT Based Smart Solar Photovoltaic Remote
Monitoring and Control unit”, Conference Paper · January 2016 DOI:
10.1109/CIEC.2016.7513793
 Martín E. Andreoni López, Francisco J. Galdeano Mantiñan, and Marcelo G.
Molina, Member, IEEE “Implementation of Wireless Remote Monitoring and
Control of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System”.
 Ali Almaliky, Alireza Gheitasi, Debbie Hogan, “Development of wireless
monitoring system for photovoltaic panels”.
 Oran Chieochan, Anukit Saokaew, Ekkarat Boonchieng, “Internet of things (IOT)
for smart solar energy: A case study of the smart farm at Maejo University”, 2017
International Conference on Control, Automation and Information Sciences
(ICCAIS) October 31-November 3, 2017, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
 Shrihariprasath.B, Dr.Vimalathithan Rathinasabapathy, “A Smart IoT System For
Monitoring Solar PV Power Conditioning Unit”, 2016 World Conference on
Futuristic Trends in Research and Innovation for Social Welfare (WCFTR’16).
 E. Engineering, "A GUIDE TO PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM DESIGN AND
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 Mr A P R Srinivas, Asst Professor, “Design and Development of a SOLAR TREE”,
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 7, Issue 10,
October-2016 ISSN 2229-5518
 Atmel, "Atmel AT02845: Coexistence between ZigBee and Other 2.4GHz Products,
" 09 2013. [Online]. Available:http://www.atmel.com/Images/Atmel-42190
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[Accessed 26 02 2014].
 Result

Overview of Solar Tree and Data acquisition gateway.