Solar Power Monitoring

                                                           

The world’s solar capacity has grown at a rate of over 70% since 2010 with the average growth rate of solar energy capacity globally standing at 102% per year. Such statistics indicate the growing importance of solar energy consumption in modern society, which sits on the verge of oil peak and eminent risk of global warming.

Currently, there are numerous solar power manufacturers implementing energy efficient solar power projects for medium and large enterprises while providing solar energy efficiency for domestic users. One area that has been receiving more attention is solar power projects monitoring. So, what is a solar system monitoring?

Solar Systems Monitoring

Monitoring solar projects is a process that entails regular checks and screening of solar systems with the view to efficiently identify problems when they arise and in so doing, enhance solar energy optimization. The future of solar power monitoring industry is in its infancy and it is expected to grow in bounds in the next ten years.

The main goals of solar monitoring includes

• Diagnosing systems performance issues e.g. soiling
• Optimizing solar systems operations e.g. system cleaning schedule
• Analyzing system reliability in the long term
• Evaluating solar systems design
• Auditing energy generation

Significance of Monitoring For Solar Systems

Implementing numerous mega solar projects is one thing and it is another to ensure they continually run efficiently to meet the needs and expectations of the end users.

• Therefore, it becomes imperative to conduct solar system monitoring to ensure that the PV systems are functioning as expected and they are able to generate maximum energy efficiency.
• Solar systems monitoring is crucial in establishing defects and issues easily and quickly whenever they arise. This includes issues such as faulty fuses, inverter failures and grid power quality defects among others that often hamper the efficiency of PV systems.

What is the Benefit of Monitoring to End Users and Solar Operators?

The greatest beneficiaries of monitoring are end users.

• By efficiently identifying issues with the PV systems, monitoring allows end users to take the necessary action early enough, which ensures production process is not halted.
• Monitoring is a process that enlightens end users about energy usage, general information about electricity and on site electricity generation. The ability for end users to learn more about energy-related issues is a fundamental one for the solar industry in creating awareness and increasing solar power uptake.
• Deeper knowledge about the correlation between environment and solar system performance is required. This is because the power generation output of solar array is affected by environmental factors including temperature and solar radiation. Therefore, a multi-annual set of monitoring data helps users learn environmental patterns that impact on solar output, and in so doing, using the data to make the necessary actions to increase solar optimization and energy efficiency.
• Monitoring is a great tool for solar operators to use in gauging whether they are obtaining best returns on their investment (solar power plants)
• Regardless of the size of solar project, monitoring provides a wealth of information for solar operators, which they use to ensure the solar systems are operating at peak performance and they are better placed in detecting and diagnosing systems issues and failures.
• For instance, one of the main problem facing solar farm operations is determining when to conduct solar panel cleaning. What a solar monitoring system does is to detect soiling of the panels, which hampers solar power generation output. This alerts the operator to be more precise in scheduling cleaning operations.

Types of Monitoring Systems

1)     Basic monitoring; obtained at the inverter

2)     Online monitoring; systems installers and end users can use web portals

3)     Third party monitoring system; offers more parameters and granular data and has the ability to incorporate weather station statistics, user information and DC combiner box information.

Role and Significance of Installer in Monitoring

An installer plays a significant role in ensuring that a monitoring system is user-friendly. Therefore, an installer should be a specialist with expertise in solar systems installations and fixing issues efficiently.

An installer has the responsibility of developing and implementing a monitoring system that engages the end user and educates them about renewable energy. In so doing, both corporates institutions and individuals become conscious about their energy consuming habits.

Has Monitoring Gone Mobile Yet?

Monitoring is increasingly shifting into the mobile space with some inverter manufacturers providing apps. Nevertheless, the apps provide more basic end user figures, which make them less valuable for field operators. Be it as it may, innovation of more useful app devices for field operators is inevitable.

Since large solar installations need various technologies integrated in one monitoring system, a laptop seems the most suitable device in troubleshooting issues, accessing, configuring and verifying transmission in this type of scenario.