Design of an intelligent sensor network for solar panels

• Main Author: Tan, Andy Weng Kiat.
• Other Authors: So Ping Lam
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Electronic circuits
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/40785
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Energy industry observers have considered solar energy as an alternative and practical source of energy generation. It is predicted that the world will undergo a major transition in energy sources over the next few decades and clearly, solar is one of the popular energy sources. This project is about designing an intelligent wireless sensor network for solar panels in Microgrid. The sensor includes a surface temperature sensor and a pyranometer measuring light intensity. In addition, GPRS networks are used to transmit these data captured by these energy sensors to a database which stores the energy profile. The prototype is particularly useful in remote areas to capture solar energy profile as the transmission used is wireless. The prototype will demonstrate how the sensors are integrated with the solar panels to capture the energy profile and transmit the data back to a server using GPRS network.