Photovoltaic systems use solar panels to convert energy from sunlight into electricity. Solar power monitoring systems consist of solar panels, power inverters, current input sensors with AC/DC inputs, analog input modules, communication converters, and monitoring software. They provide detailed status information like kWh and temperature. The information can also be logged so reports can be pulled up as necessary. PV systems can be hardwired, wireless, or Internet-based and can provide power-monitoring solar station information.
Solar panels are connected directly to power inverters. The power inverters convert direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). The power inverters are directly connected to current input sensors like DN-843i-CT-1, which is a 3-channel current input sensor board with channel-to-channel isolation. The DN-843i-CT-1 can take in the amperage signal and convert it to a voltage signal. The current input sensor board is connected to an M-7017 analog voltage-based input module, which can communicate over a protocol like Modbus RTU. The M-7017 module is connected to a communication protocol converter, I-7520, which converts RS-485 Modbus RTU to RS-232. The I-7520 is connected to the PC that runs KingView SCADA control and monitoring software. The screen on the PC shows detailed status information. It also features web publishing so the PC is accessible over a web page from any computer. Zigbee wireless data acquisition modules and converters allow for wireless Modbus RTU communication from the PC to the PV system.
PV monitoring systems allow for retrieval of status and data logging of solar panel energy applications. The status can be retrieved from a remote location on a PC through a standard web browser with web publishing.
