SOLAR POWER REMOTE MONITORING AND

2023 2nd International Conference on Advancements in Electrical, Electronics, Communication, Computing and Automation (ICAECA) | 979-8-3503-0681-1/23/$31.00 ©2023 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICAECA56562.2023.10200775

CONTROLLING USING IoT

Jothikrishna K Rithika S M Swetha S V
Dept. of ECE, Kumaraguru Dept. of ECE, Kumaraguru Dept. of ECE, Kumaraguru
College of Technology College of Technology College of Technology
Coimbatore, INDIA Coimbatore, INDIA Coimbatore, INDIA
jothikrishna.19ec@kct.ac.in rithika.19ec@kct.ac.in swetha.19ec@kct.ac.in

*Kavitha K
Dept. of ECE,
Kumaraguru College of
Technology
Coimbatore, INDIA
kavitha.k.ece@kct.ac.in

Abstract— The consumption of renewable energy is being proposed for a 5 watts capacity solar panel assembly. The
encouraged all over to protect the planet from contamination. system stores data on an SD card and is also, connected
In the majority of the world's inhabited areas, solar energy is through Wi-Fi for remote monitoring.
one of the cleanest sources of power. However, due to the high A scalable system to meet the increased power demand
installation/maintenance costs and low efficiency, usage is still
not prevalent. The solar power generated by the system is
based on the panel size and design of the converter is
highly dependent on the weather and not uniform all the time. proposed in [4]. The Maximum Power Point Tracking
In this paper, an automated IoT-based solar power monitoring (MPPT) algorithm and Perturb and Observe (P&O) method
and tracking system is proposed and implemented to track the are used to improve power efficiency. The difference
parameters of an RP2040-based system with 10 watts capacity between the current output power and the previous output
solar panel. The system automatically turns the solar panel power from the boost converter and the solar panel voltage
position to achieve maximum power output by tracking the was used to adjust the PWM signal of the boost converter
sun. MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm is and the solar panel position. The boost converter operates in
used to track the voltage levels and through the internet, the continuous conversion mode and output is fed to the inverter
parameters are visualized using a user-friendly GUI. Provision
for adjusting the solar panel position is also incorporated in
for DC to AC conversion. This system can be cleaned
the system developed. This system gives a low-cost solution periodically using a robot cleaning system.
with improved efficiency through condition monitoring and In the paper [5], the sun's position is computed with the
automatically tracking the solar source for maximum power signals from the LDR sensor, Temperature sensor, Fire
output. The proposed solar tracking system is less expensive sensor, Vibration sensor, and Gas sensor using the 8051
to operate, simpler to install, and requires less maintenance. microcontrollers. The system predicts the sun's position
irrespective of climatic conditions like cloudy days, rainy
Keywords— RP2040, Renewable, Solar Panels, Maximum days, dust, etc. However, if any object's shadow falls on
PowerPoint Tracking, Condition monitoring.
LDR will be taken as darkness and produce appropriate
I. INTRODUCTION signals. The authors in the paper [6], have used Wireless
Sensor Network (WSN) in the microcontroller-based solar
Green energy is any form of energy normally produced
power generation system for remote monitoring. LDR is
using renewable natural resources like sunshine, wind, or
used in this system and the implementation results prove
water. India's geographic surface receives around 5,000
that the energy efficiency improved compared to the
trillion kWh of incident solar energy each year, with the
conventional system.
majority of places receiving 4–7 kWh per square meter per
IoT-based Photovoltaic array has been proposed and
day. In India, solar photovoltaic energy can be efficiently
implemented in the paper [7]. An ANN (Artificial Neural
harvested and has a huge potential for expansion. The main
Network) based power tracking system is proposed in [8]
drawback of using renewable energy sources is their high
and through simulation proved that the proposed system
cost and poor efficiency. Automation and remote
improves power efficiency. An intelligent remote
monitoring systems under operating conditions improve
monitoring system [10] using an adaptive algorithm with
efficiency to the maximum. These techniques are highly
remote monitoring using a LoRa module was proposed, and
preferred in all sectors including healthcare, Industries, and
an 18% improvement was achieved compared to the
agriculture [1, 2,3]. The early detection of the failure helps
conventional tracking system. In this paper, a low-cost
to reduce the maintenance cost and reduces the downtime of
automatic tracking and condition monitoring system for
the system.
solar panels has been proposed, implemented, and analyzed.
In the paper [1], an automatic microcontroller-based solar An array of silicon cells makes up the solar panel. This
tracking system that locates the sun's precise position was

979-8-3503-0681-1/23/$31.00 ©2023 IEEE

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 panel generates the voltage that is connected to the charging
circuit when sunlight strikes it. The quantity of generated
voltage is increased depending on the size of the panel
board. The location of the sun directly affects the direction
of the highest power production, which continuously
changes throughout time. Thus, the sun’s trajectory and the
weather have an impact on electricity efficiency. The
suggested solar tracking system follows the sun's path and
automatically modifies the location of the solar panels to
capture the most energy. Performance indicators for solar
systems include solar voltage, solar panel angle, output
voltage, and electrical fault. To measure the maximum solar
voltage, [9] Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is
used to improve the power efficiency by adjusting the
impedance gained by the panel continuously. Also, a user-
friendly GUI app is designed for remote monitoring the Fig 1. Block Diagram
performance. The organization of the paper is as below: In The heart of the project is the RP2040, which is the first
section II methodology proposed in this paper is elaborated. Raspberry Pi microcontroller. It defines its value as great
Section III describes the implementation details of the performance, low cost, and simplicity. This microcontroller
system. The results and discussions are given in section IV stores the information or data gained from the solar panel,
and concluded in section V. which will be displayed through the LCD and in GUI. The
solar panel will be tracked using a servo motor, and it is
coded in real-time, so the panel gets moved automatically.
II. SYSTEM MODEL
The suggested system's schematic diagram is seen in Figure
1. The parameters of the solar photovoltaic cell are III. METHODOLOGY
transferred to the pre-set Application using an IoT Module
that is proposed in this study. The RP2040 microcontroller The operation of the system is divided into two parts: Solar
is utilized in this project because it is simple to build and Panel tracking and Remote monitoring of the system.
because it is a new, inexpensive controller that is more
effective than other microcontrollers. The energy from the A. Solar power tracking
solar panel will be temporarily stored in a battery, and it will
be amplified by feeding it to a boost converter. The power
The Solar Panel tracking part of the system includes the
supply board will receive the 12V boosted voltage and
solar panel and the Servo motor for rotation purposes. A
convert it to 5V. As LCD, ESP32, and RP2040 use 5V, the
10W solar panel is a device used in the system that can
converted 5V will be delivered to them. The external battery
collect energy from sunlight and convert it into electrical
stores the 12V boost for potential usage in the future. The
energy. This 10W solar panel can power up small devices
power supply board has a DC-AC converter linked to it,
like mobile phones, tablets, and videocassette recorders.
which converts DC power into AC power for residential
The MG995 is a servo motor that has heavy-duty, reliable
applications including lights, fans, and other appliances that
properties and was used to position the solar panel at a right
run on AC power. Data from the solar panel is collected by
angle. The advantages of MG995 are low cost, low power
the RP2040 and delivered to the ESP32, a WIFI module,
consumption, quick response, and rotation at high speed.
from where it is sent to the mobile application. There are
This tracking part will be related to real-time, so it rotates
two modes available in the mobile application: Manual and
with the respective sunlight.
Automatic. As the user changes the time, the manual mode
From tracking the second part named Solar Panel
activates, the panel adjusts its angle, and the output voltage
monitoring through a GUI app can be attained. RP2040 is
is displayed. The panel will update to the current time in
the microcontroller of the project which stores the data sent
Automatic mode. ESP32 will automatically program the
by the Solar Panel. The solar energy from the solar panel
current time and date using the NTP client function. As a
will be stored in the temporary battery, and it gets boosted
result, the panel moves on its own. The application shows
by incorporating it into the Boost Converter. The boosted
the solar panel's angle, the current time, the solar voltage,
voltage will be given to the power supply board, which
and the output voltage. As opposed to physically checking
converts to 5 volts.
it each time, this makes it simple for individuals to keep an
eye on the solar panel even when they are not there. From
the solar panel, the maximum voltage is sent to the
microcontroller which is mentioned as VMP ( voltage at
Fig 2 Power Supply Board Block Diagram
maximum power).
For displaying the values, two interfaces have been used,
i.e., an LCD and a GUI. The data will be sent to the GUI

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 app by the WIFI module ESP32. The ESP32 is incorporated face the MPP once more. This process continues until
with Bluetooth connectivity and WIFI. dPPV/dVPV=0, independent of the PV module's terminal
voltage and irradiance.
The processing of the received data was carried out through The output power of the PV module is given by,
From the power supply board, 5V is received, and it will be
used for the LCD, ESP32, and RP2040 because these will PPV = IPVVPV (1)
operate at 5V. Then the boosted 12V will be stored in the
external battery for small appliances such as lights, fans, Differentiating eq (1) with respect to VPV,
mobile charging, and so on. This MPPT algorithm is used
to attain a maximum voltage from the solar panel because
the number of voltages gained from the solar panel will dPPV/dVPV = IPV +VPVdIPV/dVPV (2)
clear out all minimum voltages and select the maximum
voltage. The overall current will be converted from direct if dPPV/dVPV = 0 or dPPV/dVPV = - I/V at the MPP,
current (DC) to alternating current (AC). For this dIPV/dVPV < -I/V or dPPV/dVPV < 0 if the operating point is
conversion of current, an inverter is used, in which a diode on the right of the P-V curve and dIPV/dVPV > -I/V or
helps in passing the electricity to convert alternating current dPPV/dVPV > 0 if the operating point is on the left of the P-
into direct current. When the direct current passes through V curve.
the diode in a forward direction so this will make a positive
peak. So, the other half of the cycle will waste because it
doesn't negatively go toward the peak. So, in the inverter,
an algorithm is used which is MPPT (Maximum power
point tracking) algorithm in Solar panels. So, it
continuously adjusts the impedances which are measured by
the solar panel, and it measures the peak power, solar
irradiance, temperature, load, and so on.

B. MPPT Algorithm
Maximum Power Point Tracking is a technique used in solar
or photovoltaic inverters to continuously change the
impedance that the solar panel perceives. It enables
photovoltaic systems to function at the solar panel’s
maximum power point in a variety of circumstances,
including solar radiation, temperature, load, and so forth. To
ensure that the system is running at the "Maximum power
point," or at peak voltage, the algorithm will control the
voltage and current. These algorithms are mostly used in
controllers of Solar systems. The algorithm encounters the
factors of variable irradiance i.e., Temperature and sunlight
are used to guarantee that the solar panel measurement Fig 3. MPPT Algorithm
system generates the most power possible at all times. The
MPPT charge controllers have a DC-DC converter with In Figure 3, multiple voltage and current are measured from
PWM. It will be able to offer more electricity at higher solar panel, which are mentioned as Vn and In. The power
irradiances by reducing the load and maintaining a constant Pn is calculated as the product of Vn and In. If Pn is greater
voltage. In contrast to the current, which is mostly constant, than Pn-1, the n value gets incremented until Pn < Pn-1.
the output voltage varies inversely as the temperature When Pn < Pn-1 occurs, the maximum power point will be
changes. The highest power point from a range of voltages considered the output. From the result, we attain the
and currents is determined in this project using the perturb maximum voltage which ranges up to 12V.
and observe method.
C. Software description
The Perturb and Observe (P&O) approach was applied in
this project to track solar power. P&O uses an iterative The software which has been used in the project are Blynk
method. When comparing the PV output power to the App and Arduino IDE. From Blynk App the ESP32 is
previous power, it periodically senses the operational connected through WIFI, and the data will be transferred to
voltage of the panel and measures the power change (PPV). the App which can be easily accessed through it. There are
If PPV is positive, the operational voltage should be two modes that is one can operate the Solar Panel manually
perturbed in the same direction as the increment. However, and the other one monitors automatically.
if it is negative, the operating voltage should be in the
opposite direction as the increment since the system Arduino IDE is used for dumping the code inside the ESP32
operating point is then determined to be away from the which operates in real-time and can communicate with
MPPT. The disturbance should then be turned around to them. It is an open-source tool that makes users code and

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 work in real-time. To run the setup in real-time the ESP32 there will be four values displayed on the screen. Solar panel
is dumped with the NTPclient library which includes the angle will show the angle of the panel from 0 to 360 degrees.
current time and date so that the solar panel can rotate in Time shows the time in the railway system from 0 to 24
real-time. ESP32 consists of a Wi-Fi network where the hours. Solar volt shows the voltage from the solar panel.
code consists WiFiUdp library it can connect the ESP32 Wi- The output shows the boosted voltage in the circuit.
Fi and the user’s mobile application hotspot through SSID
authentication. 1. Manual Mode
In this mode, the panel can be controlled manually. The time
can be changed by using the appropriate touch applications
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION so that the angle of the solar panel changes. The Blynk app
The prototype model developed is shown in Figure 3. When displays the solar panel angle, time, solar voltage, and
sunlight falls on solar panels, it generates a voltage that will output boosted voltage.
be stored in the temporary battery. The stored voltage is
boosted using a booster converter and given to the power
supply board. The voltage from the power supply board
(12V) is converted to 5V and given to LCD, RP2040, and
ESP32. The 12V DC power supply from the board is given
to the inverter which converts DC power to AC power. The
converted AC power is used for home applications such as
lights, fans, etc.

Fig 6. Solar Panel Tracking in Manual Mode

2. Automatic Mode
In this mode, the solar panel operates automatically. The
solar panel angle changes with respect to the direction of
Fig 4. Prototype of the Proposed Solar Tracking and sunlight falling on the solar panel. The Blynk app displays
Monitoring using PICO controller solar panel angle, time, solar voltage and output boosted
voltage.
A. Results displayed on LCD

When sunlight falls on the solar panel, the voltage produced

is represented as SV (Solar Voltage). The boosted voltage
coming out of the booster converter is represented as V out.
These two values are displayed in LCD for reference.

Fig 5. Display of Solar Voltage and Boosted Voltage in Fig 7. Solar Panel tracking in Automatic mode
LCD

B. Application for remote monitoring V. CONCLUSION

The solar panel can be operated in both manual and An automated solar panel system is designed to track the
automatic modes using the Blynk app. In the Blynk app, sun and adjust to its position to achieve maximum power

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 efficiency. Also, remote monitoring of the system
parameters is incorporated using a friendly GUI. Decreased [4]. S. K. Kollimalla and M. K. Mishra, "Variable perturbation size
adaptive P&O MPPT algorithm for sudden changes in irradiance," in
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