India
Utilities & Energy
Residential Solar Installations (PM Surya Ghar beneficiaries), Government Bodies, Utility-Scale Solar Farms, Environmental Monitoring Stations
Project Highlights
The client needed all energy-generation parameters visualized and monitored remotely through a user-friendly graphical interface and, with rooftop solar now under tightening central regulation, a data logger and platform architecture that would stand up to MNRE scrutiny as the rules evolved.
PsiBorg proposed a remote solar power monitoring system in which a smart data logger reads connected equipment over Modbus and pushes the data to the cloud. The device can also receive commands from the user and control its functionality.
Our team designed and developed a solar monitoring dashboard that provides real-time insight into the performance of solar panels.
Because the client’s rollout includes installations under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana scheme, the data logger firmware and the platform’s data architecture were built to track MNRE’s evolving communication, security, and data-residency guidelines.
About the Project
Our client generates and trades solar panel systems for commercial and industrial customers. They needed to monitor and control electricity consumption, optimize solar energy production, and give their own customers a platform to do the same.
Since the original deployment, India’s rooftop solar segment has moved from a loosely-specified “send data to the cloud” expectation to a formally regulated one. MNRE is actively standardizing how inverters, dongles, and data loggers communicate, secure, and store rooftop solar generation data driven largely by the scale of the PM Surya Ghar programme, which targets tens of millions of connected residential systems. That shift meant the case for remote monitoring got stronger, but the bar for what counts as a compliant data logger and platform also got higher.
PsiBorg’s brief expanded accordingly: design and develop a remote solar power monitoring system that not only cuts operational and maintenance cost through predictive maintenance, but is architected so the client’s hardware and platform remain deployable on schemes that require MNRE conformance.
Today, IoT is the most fitting solution that can make possible live remote solar power monitoring. Plus, an IoT solar power monitoring system is also practically profitable.
Our Innovative Solution
The project was delivered in phases. In Phase I, we connected the hardware device to the internet over Wi-Fi, with a web dashboard offering admin, sub-admin, and user access tiers. Data is collected from multiple points energy meters, inverters, weather stations, and solar stations and transferred from the source to the cloud, where it’s segregated by user and rendered as graphs and comparison tables across configurable time intervals (hourly, weekly, and beyond). The platform was built for horizontal scale to handle a growing base of users and devices.
Data Logger — Aligned with MNRE’s Technical Requirements
MNRE’s testing guidelines for Remote Monitoring Systems (RMS) and data loggers, along with the accompanying draft firmware development guidelines for rooftop solar dataloggers, set out a fairly specific technical envelope. Our hardware and firmware decisions map to it directly:
- Machine-to-Machine (M2M) SIM support. Where cellular connectivity is used, the device is built around M2M SIMs rather than consumer SIMs, in line with MNRE’s direction for inverter communication devices, dongles, and data loggers.
- Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP support, plus serial interfacing to inverters — so the same logger can sit on legacy RS-485 installations and newer TCP-networked inverter fleets without a hardware change.
Platform — Data Handling and Residency
The platform side was built around the data-governance direction MNRE has been issuing alongside the device specs:
- In-India data residency. Application servers, monitoring/control servers, and real-time generation data are hosted exclusively on infrastructure within India, in an encrypted, access-controlled environment — rather than routed through or stored on servers outside the country.
Features
1
Real-time Performance Monitoring
The system provides real-time data on solar panel output and system performance allowing for quick detection of issues.
2
Fault Detection and Alert
The system automatically identifies faults and irregularities like panel shading or inverter failure and sends immediate alerts to the users.
3
Energy Production Analytics
Users can also analyze energy production and consumption patterns through the system to identify cost-saving opportunities.
4
Remote Control and Configuration
The system allows remote control for adjusting settings, managing the system, and troubleshooting issues to minimize on-site visits.
5
Weather Forecast Integration
It is integrated with the local weather forecast to predict solar energy generation and helps in optimizing energy management strategies.
6
Historical Data Reports
The dashboard records and stores historical performance data, giving detailed insights into long term trends and system efficiency.
Dashboard Features
The list of features that we integrated in the admin and user dashboard panels are as follows:
Admin Panel
- Overview of live data on all active sites
- Data table access to check all site status
- Access to control each device and user remotely
- Authority to turn on/off inverters remotely
- Functionality to connect/disconnect grids remotely
- Get notifications and alerts on every fault
User Panel
- Overview of live data of their specific active devices
- Detailed data of each installed device and system
- Performance card to check and control devices remotely right through the phone.
- Access to observe battery charging and discharging status.
- Get notifications and alerts in case faults are detected.
Technology Used
We at PsiBorg are a click away. Please mail to us at info@psiborg.in
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Projects Challenges
The major challenge faced by the client was the high maintenance cost. Besides, it is also an exhausting task to control solar power generation, as the output fluctuates a lot based on the weather conditions and the amount of dirt and debris accumulated on the panel.
Moreover, the challenge our team faced was to optimize the data display speed, as a large amount of data needed to be processed and displayed on the front end. We overcame this challenge by reducing the frequency of data collection.
Because MNRE’s data logger and RMS guidelines were still evolving through the engagement (moving from CFA connectivity mandates, to M2M SIM and security requirements, to a formal RMS/datalogger testing and certification process, to in-India data residency mandates), we built the firmware’s communication layer and the platform’s data schema to be configurable so new authentication, payload, or residency requirements could be rolled out as firmware/platform updates instead of hardware revisions.
Result
The remote solar power monitoring system smoothed the client’s monitoring process, cut operational cost, and — because the logger and platform were built around MNRE’s data logger testing, firmware, and data-residency guidelines rather than a fixed one-time spec — positioned the client’s product to remain deployable on PM Surya Ghar-linked installations without a redesign as MNRE guidelines move from draft to final.
Before deployment, we ran thorough multi-level testing and fixed all identified issues. The solution was designed around the full set of interconnected roles — end-users, sub-admins, installers, and admins — with each given the access they needed to their part of the system.
What We Delivered
- IoT device to Control and monitor Inverters
- Admin dashboard
- User dashboard
- Documentations
