Adapting Solar Controllers to Canada's Harsh Climate

See all news

Various types of controllers designed to track the sun and optimize energy production are available on the market and are used in photovoltaic (PV) systems.

• Commercially Available Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
• Electronic platforms, such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi
• Controllers included in turnkey tracking systems

However, it appears that some of these controllers are unable to withstand the harsh Canadian winter, resulting in equipment damage and power outages.

The SmartEnergy Company designs, tests, and manufactures its own solar tracking systems. As part of a project carried out with Nergica, The SmartEnergy Company will expand the solar tracking capabilities of its photovoltaic system by developing features that allow for various configurations, such as seasonal tilting of PV panels, protection against windstorms, and snow-removal modes. These new settings will enable the solar panels and controllers to withstand harsh weather conditions.

Nergica will support The SmartEnergy Company by providing technical assistance for the development and programming of an electronic platform that will serve as the controller for their solar monitoring system. Nergica will also integrate Internet of Things (IoT) technology into the controller, enabling the collection, processing, and transfer of raw data to another platform for further analysis. The use of IoT will enable The SmartEnergy Company to better analyze its data and generate meaningful insights into the performance, technical availability, and opportunities for improvement of its system.

This one-year project is funded in the amount of $25,000 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).