Wireless Monitoring and Remote Control of PV Systems Based on the ZigBee Protocol

Abstract : Systems that convert the sunlight into electrical energy like photovoltaics (PV) have been becoming widespread worldwide. The prospect of using the promising technology of wireless sensor networks (WSN) in the field of PV plant supervising and monitoring is studied here. The knowledge of the status and good working condition of each PV module separately as well as of any PV system component will lead in a more efficient way for power management. The nature of the wireless sensor networks (WSN) offers several advantages on monitoring and controlling applications over other traditional technologies including self-healing, self-organization and flexibility. The versatility, ease of use and reliability of a mesh network topology offered by the ZigBee technology that is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, is used here to offer its maximum advantages on a system that is capable for real time measurements and event alerts.