Low cost data logger and monitoring system for a small solar PV energy system

Abstract

A data logger and monitoring system are very crucial for a smooth, efficient and robust operation of PV solar energy system. Datalogger and monitoring system enables the proper operation and contributes to identifying system malfunctioning before any major breakdown. In this thesis, a low-cost, user-friendly, reliable datalogger and monitoring system has been developed mainly for a pico solar home system in a rural area of a developing country. This ESP 32 microcontroller based datalogger stores all monitoring parameter in a micro SD card and displays that on a local webpage in HTML format. Data can be downloaded directly from the webpage to analyze and verify the system operation. The developed datalogger hardware prototype uses only three sensors for temperature, voltage, and current sensing. An Android app is also developed for cell phone to display all parameters in real time basis for an efficient monitoring which can also able to send an alert text message to maintenance personnel for any issues in battery charging. The overall cost of this prototype is only around C$ 50.