LoRa Wide-Area Network and Live Objects Used in Renewable Energy Monitoring

Abstract

With the growth of Industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems are increasingly present in everyday life, thus optimizing traditional processes. This paper presents a solution for photovoltaic panel parameters monitoring application fully integrated into an IoT system. The application can record and process sensor data such as photovoltaic (PV) panel current, voltage, illuminance level, PV temperature as well as atmospheric pressure, ambient temperature, and humidity over a long-distance solution utilizing the LoRa Wide-Area Network protocol. The Internet of Things node is designed for security, accuracy and low power consumption, while also providing an established user interface through a proprietary software as a service Live Object platform. By utilizing Live Objects, complete IoT applications can be developed with the device and data management being handled by the platform. The advancements in terms of hardware and software configuration, sensor choice and operation are described. In this way, we can create a scalable and secure Internet of Things ecosystem using low-cost and power efficient devices, integrated in a secure and easy to use software as a service (SaaS) platform.