Design and Fabrication of A Low-Cost Data Logger for Solar Energy Parameters

Abstract

In this research, the design and fabrication of a single board data logger system is presented. An LM35 linear temperature transducer IC served as the temperature sensor device while a solar panel of dimension 6’x18’ coupled to a constant load driver circuit served as the solar irradiation variation sensor unit. At the heart of the low cost logger is a Single Board Computer based on an 8 bit MCU embedded platform.   Temperature readings and solar voltage variations data were logged successfully. Results indicate consistency with normal weather conditions. Logged data is then transferred to the personal computer for further analysis.

Keywords: Data logger, temperature, solar voltage, microcontroller, single board computer.