Cost-effective Energy Monitoring of Domestic Off-grid PV Systems

Arthur James Swart, Ruaan Schoeman, Christo Pienaar

Institute of Applied Electronics, Vaal University of Technology, Private Bag, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

DOI: 10.4236/epe.2013.54B035                

Abstract

Domestic off-grid renewable energy systems have become common place in many areas of the world, as humanity seeks to keep abreast with global technological changes and advancements. This paper aims to present a cost-effective energy monitoring system which may be used to analyze and evaluate the operation of a domestic off-grid PV system. Parameters which are monitored include the output voltage and current from a 55 W polycrystalline PV panel. The output voltage and current from a power regulation circuit (which could be a DC-DC converter, solar charger or MPPT) is also monitored with this singular system which incorporates a data logging interface circuit, a data logger and a personal computer.

Keywords

Off-grid PV System; Data Logging; Current Sensor; Differential Amplifier

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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