Development of an Iot Solar Panel Monitoring System

The world's growing reliance on solar energy necessitates effective monitoring systems to ensure optimal performance, efficiency, and safety. However, the efficiency of solar panels is significantly influenced by environmental and operational conditions such as temperature, humidity, current, and voltage fluctuations. In many cases, the lack of a real time monitoring system makes it difficult to detect faults or performance degradation early, which reduces the overall output and lifespan of the panels.
The system uses Raspberry Pi, voltage sensor, MAX471 current sensor, and DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor to continuously measure key solar panel parameters which are the voltage, current, temperature, and humidity. Sensor readings are acquired through a Raspberry Pi and use MCP3008 analog to digital converter (ADC) and transmitted every five minutes to the ThingSpeak IoT platform for real-time visualization and storage of the data.
Results obtained showed that the system was able to accurately capture and display real time solar panel environmental and electrical parameters between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM, voltage and current steadily increases, reaching a peak at noon when solar irradiance is highest. For temperature and humidity, typical reading shows a morning temperature of approximately 27°C, rising to over 35°C by mid-afternoon. Humidity exhibits the opposite trend relatively high in the morning around 65%, decreasing as the temperature rises, and stabilizing between 50% and 55% during the hottest part of the day.
The developed IoT-based solar panel monitoring system can be applied in different areas, particularly in renewable energy management, smart grids, and off-grid rural electrification projects. It can be adopted by solar farm operators, residential solar users, and researchers to optimize power generation, extend panel lifespan, and reduce maintenance costs through early fault detection and data driven decision making.