IoT for Solar Monitoring and Photovoltaic Sensing

Dear Colleagues,

With the increase of electrical energy consumption due to the adoption of EVs and HVACs in households the electricity providers are beginning to be overwhelmed. This corroborated with the worldwide direction to reduce carbon emissions opened the door to renewable energy integration and microgrids. In the prosumers case solar energy is the most common form of energy. But solar energy is intermittent by nature and in many cases its availability does not follow the load demand. To maximize its benefits, predictions and measurements for solar irradiance, ambient temperature, panels and inverters efficiency, load demand, energy management algorithms, power quality measurements and communication with the electrical grid operator are of high interest. IoT and machine learning are the new trends to deal with these challenges. Measuring the irradiance and temperature at the PV plant installation site implies in most cases the use of expensive pyranometers but this is not advantageous for small PV installations. Low cost IoT devices can be developed with the help of machine learning and AI, to measure and/or predict the energy availability of the PV arrays. This data can be used to build intelligent load management and energy management algorithms.

This Special Issue focuses on the transformative potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the realm of solar energy systems, with an emphasis on solar monitoring and photovoltaic (PV) sensing. The goal is to showcase how IoT technologies can revolutionize solar energy management by enhancing efficiency, reliability, and scalability. We invite submissions that cover a broad range of topics, including but not limited to: IoT-based sensor networks for real-time monitoring of solar irradiance, temperature, and other environmental parameters; predictive maintenance and fault detection in PV systems using IoT and machine learning algorithms; data analytics for performance optimization of solar panels; integration of IoT solutions with smart grids to improve energy distribution and management; advancements in wireless communication protocols tailored for remote monitoring of solar installations; power quality monitoring in grid connected PV systems; PV systems production prediction; and innovative IoT-enabled solutions for energy harvesting and storage.

Contributions addressing the challenges of deploying IoT in extreme and remote environments, ensuring cybersecurity of IoT systems in solar applications, and offering cost-effective and scalable solutions for large-scale solar energy projects are highly encouraged and welcomed fot this Special Issue. This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research, practical case studies, and theoretical advancements that drive the sustainable and intelligent utilization of solar energy through the integration of IoT technologies, ultimately contributing to a more resilient and efficient energy future.

Dr. Radu ETZ
Dr. George Dan Mois
Guest Editors

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• solar energy
• IoT in PV systems
• PV systems monitoring
• irradiance measurements
• environmental parameters measurements
• prediction
• machine learning
• artificial intelligence
• energy management
• microgrids