IoT-Based 100 WP Solar Power Plant for Ultraviolet Lighting in Dragon Fruit Cultivation: Design and Performance Comparison of Tracking and Non-Tracking Systems
The use of solar energy for agricultural applications can reduce dependence on conventional electricity while enabling operation in locations where grid access is limited. This study aimed to design and evaluate a 100 Wp photovoltaic system integrated with an Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring and control system for lighting in a dragon fruit plantation. The system employed a 100 Wp monocrystalline solar panel, a solar charge controller, a battery storage unit, an inverter, an ESP32 microcontroller, voltage and current sensing, and Telegram as the remote monitoring interface. Electrical parameters were observed hourly from 09:00 to 17:00 WIB under two panel configurations: solar tracking and fixed non-tracking. Panel voltage, panel current, battery voltage, and calculated panel power were analyzed. For the tracking configuration, the average panel voltage and current were 19.64 V and 4.12 A, respectively, corresponding to an average calculated power of 81.47 W. The maximum calculated power was 100.94 W at 12:00. Under the non-tracking configuration, the average voltage and current were 18.69 V and 3.61 A, with an average calculated power of 68.08 W and a maximum of 91.65 W at 12:00. Thus, the tracking configuration produced approximately 19.7% higher average calculated panel power than the non-tracking configuration. The ESP32–Telegram system successfully transmitted operating information in real time when a stable Internet connection was available. The results demonstrate that combining solar tracking with IoT monitoring can improve the observed electrical performance and facilitate remote management of a small off-grid photovoltaic lighting system.