Remote PV-system monitored via satellite

A majority of autonomous PV systems are used to supply electricity in regions with no grid, no telephone coverage, and limited accessibility. Commonly, systems in such regions are supervised by visits in conjunction with a data logger. Over the lifetime of a PV-system costs for supervision often exceed the cost of the system itself. Response time for failures is very poor. To overcome these disadvantages a data satellite transmission system was set up. From the PV system site the most relevant data—such as irradiance, PV generation, state of the battery and load—is collected and sent to the ARGOS-SCD satellite. The satellite data is transferred from the receiving ground station to the Internet, providing worldwide access via WWW. The advantages are manifold: sponsors (NGOs, foundations, public, etc.) have an immediate access to the projects, manufacturers can use the data to improve products, and the online monitoring system enables more public interest in the PV area.