Monitoring of photovoltaic systems for performance evaluation and fault identification

The sustainability of standalone photovoltaic systems passes through an accompaniment of the systems installed in the field. To subsidize this accompaniment procedures had been developed for monitoring a similar system in a laboratory. The standalone photovoltaic system implanted in the Research Center in Intelligent Energy of the Group of Studies in Energy-CPEI GREEN PUC Minas is similar to the systems installed by Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais-CEMIG in the schools of isolated communities, inside the solar light program. A simulation of the system was implemented and the aims were to optimize the project and carry out a comparative study with the monitoring results. The procedure for assembly of the monitoring facility consisted of the implantation of the voltage and current sensors, implantation of the irradiance and temperature sensors, installation of the acquisition boards and development of the monitoring program. The results presented here will allow the development of a program of preventive maintenance of the photovoltaic systems installed by CEMIG.