Photovoltaic Prototype with Internet of Things Access for Charging Low-Power Devices
Source abstract
Abstract
This paper presents the design, implementation, and experimental validation of a portable photovoltaic charging station with IoT-based monitoring for autonomous low-power applications. The system integrates a 120 W photovoltaic module, LiFePO4 battery storage, MPPT regulation, DC/AC conversion, and an ESP32-S3-based acquisition unit connected to a cloud platform for real-time telemetry. Electrical and environmental variables were recorded to evaluate energy balance, conversion losses, State of Charge evolution, and load compatibility under different seasonal operating conditions. Field tests showed that under high-irradiance summer conditions, the prototype supplied multiple laptop loads for approximately 4.5 h with stable operation. In contrast, winter trials revealed a structural energy deficit equivalent to 120% of the initial 24 Ah storage capacity, mainly due to reduced irradiance and cumulative conversion losses ranging from 15% to 25%. Based on the experimental data and deterministic energy-balance modelling, an optimized configuration using a 100 Ah LiFePO4 battery bank and MPPT regulation was assessed through deterministic energy-balance modelling, thus reducing the required State of Charge to 28.8% under the analyzed operating profile. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a low-cost, IoT-enabled photovoltaic platform for renewable energy harvesting, autonomous power supply, and real-time performance assessment.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques · Innovative Energy Harvesting Technologies · Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria Las Salinas, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain
Department Electronics and Automatics Engineering, University of Jaén, Spain Las Lagunillas Campus, A3 Building, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Centre for Advanced Studies in Earth Sciences, Energy and Environment, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
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