An Open-Source Monitoring System for Remote Solar Power Applications

Abstract: Renewable energy systems are an increasingly popular way to generate electricity. As with any new technological paradigm, new challenges have emerged which are unique to the utilization of renewable energy systems. One of these challenges in particular is the development of effective monitoring technologies to compensate for the decentralized nature of remote power generation. This project details the development of an open-source monitoring system for remote solar power systems. The problem space that this project is specifically concerned with deals with the reduction of cost and the use of open platforms to make solar monitoring viable in developing countries where both the resources and general knowledge required to undertake such efforts are particularly scarce. Currently, solar monitoring technologies are expensive, limited in their application, and for the most part proprietary. It is arguable that such systems can be developed using non-customized hardware and open-source software that can be obtained and run anywhere in the world. This project is one such argument. This proof of concept is sufficient to show that solar remote monitoring is neither expensive nor particularly cumbersome to implement and thus warrants further investigation and development by the open source community.