Solar energy management solutions utilize IoT-enabled sensors to collect and manage data from solar farms, monitor the status of equipment, and optimize the collection and distribution of energy.
According to a report by Forbes, solar PV capacity in the U.S. is expected to double by 2025 and as solar energy farms scale to meet growing worldwide energy usage, manual management will become unwieldy. According to Gartner, 30 percent of energy management systems will leverage IoT by 2020.
IoT solar energy management systems allow hundreds of individual solar panels to be monitored and managed from one central location, allowing managers to quickly respond to issues and make faster, better-informed decisions on maintenance and upkeep.
Sensors measure the energy production of individual panels, alerting operators to issues with panels before they affect overall systems. Energy management systems can react in real-time to changing weather, adjusting the output and distribution of stored energy.