Data acquisition system for photovoltaic water pumps

In Algeria, there are several photovoltaic water pumping system (PVWPS) which are situated in remote areas. Typical problems are detected as sizing of photovoltaic (PV) generator (oversizing) and maintenance (underestimate) by many operators. Due to the high cost of setting up and maintaining a large number of data acquisition systems for the PVWPS, we have developed a real time expert system based on central microcomputer used as a micro-server, with a low cost. This paper presents a design of a universal data acquisition system for Algeria with available components and easily accessible with a central server. This data acquisition system analyses the performance of PVWPS. The system's hardware and software architectures and an application to test its performance are described. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.