Automatic PV Grid Fault Detection System with IoT and LabVIEW as Data Logger

Abstract

Fault detection of the photovoltaic (PV) grid is necessary to detect serious output power reduction to avoid PV modules' damage. To identify the fault of the PV arrays, there is a necessity to implement an automatic system. In this IoT and LabVIEW-based automatic fault detection of 3 × 3 solar array, a PV system is proposed to control and monitor Internet connectivity remotely. Hardware component to automatically reconfigure the solar PV array from the series-parallel (SP) to the complete cross-linked array underneath partial shading conditions (PSC) is centered on the Atmega328 system to achieve maximum power. In the LabVIEW environment, an automated monitoring system is developed. The automatic monitoring system assesses the voltage drop losses present in the DC side of the PV generator and generates a decimal weighted value depending on the defective solar panels and transmits this value to the remote station through an RF modem, and provides an indicator of the faulty solar panel over the built-in Interface LabVIEW. The managing of this GUI indicator helps the monitoring system to generate a panel alert for damaged panels in the PV system. Node MCU in the receiver section enables transmission of the fault status of PV arrays via Internet connectivity. The IoT-based Blynk app is employed for visualizing the fault status of the 3 × 3 PV array. The dashboard of Blynk visualizes every array with the status.

IoT-Based PV Array Fault Detection and Classification Using Embedded Supervised Learning Methods

“…Usually, a difference of 20% between the light hitting the surfaces of different cells in a substring is enough to activate the bypass diode of the substring [1]. This will happen in the case of partial shading, pole shading, or cell crack.…”

“…Photovoltaic systems have been developing quickly around the world over the last decade, and the global market is growing exponentially. However, this development has not been matched by advances in system monitoring or fault detection, especially in PV systems with output power of less than 25 kW [1]. A health monitoring system is important to increase the efficiency and reliability of PV systems.…”

An Online Fault Categorization and Detection Monitoring System for Pv Sensors

“…This diversification of energy sources is especially useful in areas where traditional energy sources are either hard to come by or difficult and expensive to transport. PV systems, which harness the power of the sun to generate electricity, provide a locally sourced and reliable source of power, which in turn makes communities less susceptible to disruptions in their energy supply (Samkria et al, 2021).…”

Real-Time Monitoring System Using IoT for Photovoltaic Parameters

“…Many studies have been published recently that present data acquisition systems that use a combination of microcontrollers and licensed software such as LABVIEW [18], [19], [20], MATLAB [21], [22], [23], and VISUAL BASIC [24], [25]. However, the licenses are expensive and necessitate a substantial initial investment.…”