Design and Implementation of Cost-effective Temperature Control and hotspot detection in Solar Panels using Aerial Vehicles

Arjun A, Surender Rangaraju, Osama Isaac, Kalai Arul S, Gowthama Krishna D

Raspberry Pi, Solar Panel, Temperature Control, Thermal Camera

The project's goal is to create a temperature control system for solar panels in a solar farm. As the solar panel is constantly exposed to sunlight, the temperature of the panel steadily rises. Above a particular temperature, the solar cell may be destroyed, and hotspots may form in solar panels. During the course of this project, a gadget for detecting temperature variations is created. Thermal imaging cameras are costly, especially those designed to measure high-temperature objects with minimal measurement error. Lower-cost thermal imaging sensors would help a wide range of research and industrial applications. This prototype, attached to a drone, will offer a live feed to a web server presenting a blended frame consisting of a thermographic image exhibiting heat radiation and normal photography with visible light. The platform is made up of a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, a thermal camera sensor, and a standard camera module. At startup, the computer automatically executes Python programmes, initialising its sensor components, and processing the collected photos, which are then broadcast to a live stream through the machine's wifi connection. The goal of this research is to investigate the potential of a low-cost thermal imaging technology for detecting damage in solar panels that may be identified by heat signatures. This project involves the development of an airborne vehicle that will serve as a carrier for thermal cameras used to monitor the temperature of solar panels. The acquired temperature is sent into an Arduino, which controls the solenoid valve that activates the water sprinkler to cool the solar panel. To manage the water level in the sprinkler system's tank, a level control system based on an Ultrasonic sensor and Arduino is built. The effectiveness of solar panels is therefore maintained for a period of time by adopting this control mechanism.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.8.7.09