Description of Data Acquisition and Monitoring System of an Innovative PV/ Th Solar Concentrator

This article is talking about a new Thermal / Photovoltaic Solar Concentrator. This innovative hybrid solar system produces simultaneously thermal and electricity. It is equipped with a reflecting structure consisting of 16 Fresnel mirrors. Behind each mirror, there are photovoltaic modules to produce electricity in order to make the system autonomous. And the surplus of energy produced is used as a source of electricity generation. The system is also equipped with 4 rectangular boilers which can be mounted in series or in parallel. Specifically, this article describes the architecture of the data acquisition system of this innovative solar concentrator. So that, an Ardinuo microcontroller board is used as a control unit. it controls the rotation of the mirrors thanks to 16 Stepper motors for the partial tracking of the sun's trajectory. the system is also instrumented with 35 different sensors for its thermal behavior monitoring. Also, a set of current sensors measures electrical data. A monitoring application is developed on LAB VIEW environment allows a real-time control of the thermal and electrical parameters of the system. From its autonomy, from its innovative character and thanks to its source of energy production diversity this system can be used in local medical sector for sterilization and supply of electricity to low power equipment for an isolated site. it can also be used in natural disaster areas or refugee camps. This innovative solar concentrator could be useful in isolated areas and villages of many African countries.