Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification
Access to reliable energy remains a significant challenge in rural areas of developing countries, where Solar Home Systems (SHS) are widely deployed to address electrification gaps. However, these systems often lack monitoring capabilities, making operation and maintenance costly and inefficient. Th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IEEE
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | IEEE Access |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11062875/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1839633656459558912 |
|---|---|
| author | Carlos Cuenca-Enrique Laura del-Rio-Carazo Emiliano Acquila-Natale Santiago Iglesias-Pradas |
| author_facet | Carlos Cuenca-Enrique Laura del-Rio-Carazo Emiliano Acquila-Natale Santiago Iglesias-Pradas |
| author_sort | Carlos Cuenca-Enrique |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Access to reliable energy remains a significant challenge in rural areas of developing countries, where Solar Home Systems (SHS) are widely deployed to address electrification gaps. However, these systems often lack monitoring capabilities, making operation and maintenance costly and inefficient. This study presents a hybrid monitoring and communication solution designed to overcome the unique challenges of SHS in rural contexts, including limited connectivity, cost constraints, and energy efficiency. The proposed system integrates a robust sensing architecture with a hybrid communication network combining LoRa and mobile technologies to enable real-time monitoring and data transmission. The system was tested in a pilot project conducted in the Ngäbe Buglé comarca of Panama, where eight SHS units were retrofitted with the proposed system. Results demonstrated the system’s ability to monitor key parameters, such as energy consumption, battery status, and solar energy generation, while maintaining connectivity in areas with intermittent mobile coverage. The system’s low power consumption ensured minimal impact on SHS usability, and its cost-efficient design required mobile network connectivity for only one or two devices per mesh network. Furthermore, the pilot highlighted the feasibility of integrating the monitoring system into the existing installed base of SHS, avoiding the need for entirely new installations. This work advances the state-of-the-art in SHS monitoring technologies, providing a scalable and efficient solution tailored to the constraints of rural electrification projects. Future directions include the development of plug-and-play devices for existing systems and enabling bidirectional communication to enhance system interactivity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3c320f36e68c4cefa722a1d38a8fdbab |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj-art-3c320f36e68c4cefa722a1d38a8fdbab2025-07-10T23:00:48ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011311460811462110.1109/ACCESS.2025.358523111062875Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural ElectrificationCarlos Cuenca-Enrique0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2024-7284Laura del-Rio-Carazo1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0947-3539Emiliano Acquila-Natale2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2164-8386Santiago Iglesias-Pradas3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1133-2687Departamento de Ingeniería de Organización, Administración de Empresas y Estadística, ETSI de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería de Organización, Administración de Empresas y Estadística, ETSI de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería de Organización, Administración de Empresas y Estadística, ETSI de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Ingeniería de Organización, Administración de Empresas y Estadística, ETSI de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, SpainAccess to reliable energy remains a significant challenge in rural areas of developing countries, where Solar Home Systems (SHS) are widely deployed to address electrification gaps. However, these systems often lack monitoring capabilities, making operation and maintenance costly and inefficient. This study presents a hybrid monitoring and communication solution designed to overcome the unique challenges of SHS in rural contexts, including limited connectivity, cost constraints, and energy efficiency. The proposed system integrates a robust sensing architecture with a hybrid communication network combining LoRa and mobile technologies to enable real-time monitoring and data transmission. The system was tested in a pilot project conducted in the Ngäbe Buglé comarca of Panama, where eight SHS units were retrofitted with the proposed system. Results demonstrated the system’s ability to monitor key parameters, such as energy consumption, battery status, and solar energy generation, while maintaining connectivity in areas with intermittent mobile coverage. The system’s low power consumption ensured minimal impact on SHS usability, and its cost-efficient design required mobile network connectivity for only one or two devices per mesh network. Furthermore, the pilot highlighted the feasibility of integrating the monitoring system into the existing installed base of SHS, avoiding the need for entirely new installations. This work advances the state-of-the-art in SHS monitoring technologies, providing a scalable and efficient solution tailored to the constraints of rural electrification projects. Future directions include the development of plug-and-play devices for existing systems and enabling bidirectional communication to enhance system interactivity.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11062875/Data communicationenergy measurementmesh networksremote monitoringrenewable energy sourcesrural areas |
| spellingShingle | Carlos Cuenca-Enrique Laura del-Rio-Carazo Emiliano Acquila-Natale Santiago Iglesias-Pradas Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification IEEE Access Data communication energy measurement mesh networks remote monitoring renewable energy sources rural areas |
| title | Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification |
| title_full | Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification |
| title_fullStr | Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification |
| title_full_unstemmed | Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification |
| title_short | Addressing Connectivity Challenges in Solar Home Systems: A Monitoring Solution for Rural Electrification |
| title_sort | addressing connectivity challenges in solar home systems a monitoring solution for rural electrification |
| topic | Data communication energy measurement mesh networks remote monitoring renewable energy sources rural areas |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11062875/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carloscuencaenrique addressingconnectivitychallengesinsolarhomesystemsamonitoringsolutionforruralelectrification AT lauradelriocarazo addressingconnectivitychallengesinsolarhomesystemsamonitoringsolutionforruralelectrification AT emilianoacquilanatale addressingconnectivitychallengesinsolarhomesystemsamonitoringsolutionforruralelectrification AT santiagoiglesiaspradas addressingconnectivitychallengesinsolarhomesystemsamonitoringsolutionforruralelectrification |