Sentinella: Smart Monitoring of Photovoltaic Systems at Panel Level

The monitoring of photovoltaic (PV) systems is important for the optimization of their efficiency. In this paper, a low-cost smart multisensor architecture equipped with voltage, current, irradiance, temperature, and inertial sensors, for the monitoring (at the panel level) of a PV system, is presented with the aim of detecting the causes of efficiency losses. The system is based on a Wireless Sensor Networks with sensing nodes installed on each PV panel. The acquired data are then transferred to a service center where dedicated paradigms continuously perform the assessment of electrical efficiency as well the estimation of correlated causes, at the single panel level. In this paper, the detection of critical faults (temporary and permanent shadowing, dirtying, and anomalous aging) is addressed. The methodology adopted to estimate efficiency losses and related causes is based on the comparison between the measured efficiency of each PV panel and the nominal one estimated in the real operating conditions. Moreover, the anomalous aging estimation is based on the five parameter model approach that exploits a dedicated minimization paradigm to analyze the mismatch between the nominal current-voltage model of the PV panel and the measured one. The main advantage of the proposed approach is the continuous monitoring of PV plants and the assessment of possible causes of power inefficiency at the PV panel level, allowing for the implementation of a really efficient distributed fault diagnosis system. The experimental results are presented along with the analysis of the uncertainty affecting the measurement system.

[1]  William A. Beckman,et al.  Erratum to “Improvement and validation of a model for photovoltaic array performance” [Solar Energy 80 (2006) 78–88] , 2007 .

[2]  Giuseppe Marco Tina,et al.  Evaluation and Validation of an Electrical Model of Photovoltaic Module Based on Manufacturer Measurement , 2013 .

[3]  S. Pelland,et al.  Estimating the uncertainty in long-term photovoltaic yield predictions , 2013 .

[4]  Thomas Basso,et al.  Cell shunt resistance and photovoltaic module performance , 1996, Conference Record of the Twenty Fifth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1996.

[5]  A. Wagner,et al.  INTERNAL SERIES RESISTANCE DETERMINATED OF ONLY ONE IV-CURVE UNDER ILLUMINATION , 2022 .

[6]  D. R. Myers,et al.  Quantitative Analysis of Spectral Impacts on Silicon Photodiode Radiometers: Preprint , 2011 .

[7]  Simone Corbellini,et al.  In Situ Calibration of Heterogeneous Acquisition Systems: The Monitoring System of a Photovoltaic Plant , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[8]  Bruno Ando,et al.  SENTINELLA: A WSN for a smart monitoring of PV systems at module level , 2013, 2013 IEEE International Workshop on Measurements & Networking (M&N).

[9]  B. Goeldi,et al.  Module Integrated Electronics – An Overview , 2010 .

[10]  Giorgio Graditi,et al.  Photovoltaic optimizer boost converters: Temperature influence and electro-thermal design , 2014 .

[11]  E. Kaplani.  Detection of Degradation Effects in Field-Aged c-Si Solar Cells through IR Thermography and Digital Image Processing , 2012 .

[12]  Frank Vignola.  Solar Cell Based Pyranometers : Evaluation of the Diffuse Response , 1999 .

[13]  G. Marco Tina,et al.  Experimental verification of thermal behaviour of photovoltaic modules , 2008, MELECON 2008 - The 14th IEEE Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference.

[14]  Pedro Ibañez,et al.  Intelligent PV Module for Grid-Connected PV Systems , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[15]  Antonio Gagliano,et al.  Intelligent sun-tracking system based on multiple photodiode sensors for maximisation of photovoltaic energy production , 2013, Math. Comput. Simul..

[16]  J. J. Serrano,et al.  An integral and flexibles wireless power monitoring system , 2011 .

[17]  Predrag Osmokrovic,et al.  The Influence of Ideality Factor on Fill Factor and Efficiency of Solar Cells , 2000 .

[18]  Dezso Sera,et al.  Series resistance monitoring for photovoltaic modules in the vicinity of MPP , 2010 .

[19]  William A. Beckman,et al.  Improvement and validation of a model for photovoltaic array performance , 2006 .

[20]  Giuseppe Acciani,et al.  Descriptive and Inferential Statistics for Supervising and Monitoring the Operation of PV Plants , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[21]  Giuseppe Marco Tina,et al.  Comparison of different metaheuristic algorithms for parameter identification of photovoltaic cell/module , 2013 .

[22]  Thorvald G. Andersson,et al.  Study of degradation mechanism of blue light emitting diodes , 2005 .

[23]  Lennart Söder,et al.  An analytical-numerical approach for parameter determination of a five-parameter single-diode model of photovoltaic cells and modules , 2016 .

[24]  Brian P. Dougherty,et al.  Evaluation and Validation of Equivalent Circuit Photovoltaic Solar Cell Performance Models , 2011 .

[25]  M. Vitelli,et al.  Analytical model of mismatched photovoltaic fields by means of Lambert W-function , 2007 .

[26]  M. Castro,et al.  Application and validation of algebraic methods to predict the behaviour of crystalline silicon PV modules in Mediterranean climates , 2007 .

[27]  Loredana Cristaldi,et al.  A Simple Photovoltaic Panel Model: Characterization Procedure and Evaluation of the Role of Environmental Measurements , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[28]  Alessio Carullo,et al.  Outdoor Experimental Laboratory for Long-Term Estimation of Photovoltaic-Plant Performance , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[29]  L. Dignard-Bailey,et al.  Performance monitoring of a northern 3.2 kWp grid-connected photovoltaic system , 2000, Conference Record of the Twenty-Eighth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 2000 (Cat. No.00CH37036).

[30]  A. Rabhi,et al.  Real-time model base fault diagnosis of PV panels using statistical signal processing , 2013, 2013 International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA).

[31]  Mohamed Benghanem,et al.  Data acquisition system for photovoltaic systems performance monitoring , 1998, IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas..

[32]  D. L. King,et al.  Improved accuracy for low-cost solar irradiance sensors , 1997 .

[33]  G. Meneghesso,et al.  Effect of shunt resistance on the performance of mc-Silicon solar cells: a combined electro-optical and thermal investigation , 2012, 2012 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference.

[34]  Yaow-Ming Chen,et al.  Development of an autonomous distributed maximum power point tracking PV system , 2011, 2011 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition.