Traditionally, remote monitoring uses wired communications technologies such as ethernet and fiber optics. In the last decade, low power narrow band radio communications technologies, such as LoRaWAN, have enabled wireless remote monitoring in microgrids. Installing remote monitoring systems can be costly using wired or wireless communication schemes. Wired connections are expensive during installation and wireless connections are expensive during operation due to service subscriptions and may also require pre-existing infrastructure to operate. This project provides a modular solution for remotely monitoring the power output from photovoltaic panels. In this project, a LoRaWAN end node is prototyped and integrated with a LoRaWAN gateway and server to provide a dashboard that will show the current measured by the end node. The goal of this project was to provide a cheap method for remote monitoring of current output from a photovoltaic panel that could be installed in a remote area with little pre-existing infrastructure.
Subject: LoRa, LoRaWAN, Narrow Band Radio Communications, Renewable Energy, Electrical Engineering, Internet of Things, PCB, Printed Circuit Board, Current Sensor, Remote Monitoring, SCADA, Photovoltaic Panels, Microgrids
