ABSTRACT
To reduce reliance on fossil fuels, it is critical to pursue alternative resources. Renewable energy has become crucial in the global energy mix today and solar, especially, is playing a significant role. Sun’s energy can be converted to electricity by use of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The potentials of these PV systems could vary based on location, types of systems, weather conditions and some other parameters. However, these systems occasionally face maintenance problems, system failures, especially in remote areas, which could result in significant loss of energy if not checked in time. Human involvement in the monitoring of these systems has limitations of accuracy, judgment, and constant attention. The most suitable approach to cater to this problem is the adoption of a remote smart monitoring system. Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology using the internet to quickly connect, interact with, and regulate most electronic and electrical devices. IoT ensures a proper record of performance data, fault monitoring, and reduces the need for frequent site visits. Also, it can predict and forecast a future failure and scope for improvement by using system analytics. It can pinpoint the reasons and areas for low system performance effectively without any significant efforts.
