A Wireless Sensor Network Ad-Hoc Designed as Anti-Theft Alarm System for Photovoltaic Panels
Affiliation(s)
Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino corso Duca degli Abruzzi, Torino, Italy.
Dipartimento di Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Politecnico di Torino corso Duca degli Abruzzi, Torino, Italy.
ABSTRACT
Photovoltaic (PV) systems have attracted increasing attention in last years as well as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which have been used in many application fields. In PV plants, especially in ground installations, a lot of thefts and damages occur due to the still high cost of the modules. A new experimental WSN ad-hoc has been designed to be an anti-theft alarm system. Each node of the network is directly installed under each PV string and it is equipped with an accelerometer sensor capable to detect a minimum displacement of the panel from its steady position. The WSN presents a star topology: a master node cyclically interrogates the slave nodes through RF link. It collects all the nodes responses and communicates though a RS-232 interface with a control PC checking the network status. When a slave node detects an alarm, continuous messages are sent to the control PC which turns on all the alarm signaling systems. The control PC is equipped with an open source operative system and software and provides for SMS, e-mail and sound-light signaling in case of alarm. It also communicates with a remote server where all the WSN information is stored. A first low cost experimental WSN has been already installed and it is working properly.
Photovoltaic (PV) systems have attracted increasing attention in last years as well as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which have been used in many application fields. In PV plants, especially in ground installations, a lot of thefts and damages occur due to the still high cost of the modules. A new experimental WSN ad-hoc has been designed to be an anti-theft alarm system. Each node of the network is directly installed under each PV string and it is equipped with an accelerometer sensor capable to detect a minimum displacement of the panel from its steady position. The WSN presents a star topology: a master node cyclically interrogates the slave nodes through RF link. It collects all the nodes responses and communicates though a RS-232 interface with a control PC checking the network status. When a slave node detects an alarm, continuous messages are sent to the control PC which turns on all the alarm signaling systems. The control PC is equipped with an open source operative system and software and provides for SMS, e-mail and sound-light signaling in case of alarm. It also communicates with a remote server where all the WSN information is stored. A first low cost experimental WSN has been already installed and it is working properly.
Cite this paper
S. Bertoldo, O. Rorato, C. Lucianaz and M. Allegretti, "A Wireless Sensor Network Ad-Hoc Designed as Anti-Theft Alarm System for Photovoltaic Panels," Wireless Sensor Network, Vol. 4 No. 4, 2012, pp. 107-112. doi: 10.4236/wsn.2012.44014.
S. Bertoldo, O. Rorato, C. Lucianaz and M. Allegretti, "A Wireless Sensor Network Ad-Hoc Designed as Anti-Theft Alarm System for Photovoltaic Panels," Wireless Sensor Network, Vol. 4 No. 4, 2012, pp. 107-112. doi: 10.4236/wsn.2012.44014.
References
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[1] V. Galluzzi and T. Herman, “Survey: Discovery in Wireless Sensor Networks”, International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, 2012, Article ID: 271860. doi:10.1155/2012/271860. [2] R. Das, “Wireless Sensor Networks: The Challenges and Opportunities,” 2011. http://www.mpdigest.com/issue/Articles/2011/sept/idtech/Default.asp [3] V. Gualerzi, “Ora il Solare fa Gola Anche ai Ladri, Rubati all’ENEL Migliaia di Pannelli,” 2007. http://www.repubblica.it/2006/11/sezioni/ambiente/solare/furti-pannelli/furti-pannelli.html [4] Maxi Furto di Pannelli Fotovoltaici, “Bottino da 150 Mila Euro,” 2012. http://www.arezzoweb.it/notizie/speciale.asp?idnotizia=72527 [5] O. Rorato, “Studio e Progettazione di Sistemi Elettronici per Monitoraggio Ambientale,” Politecnico di Torino, Torino, 2012. [6] Small, Low Power, “3 Axis ± 2 g Accelerometer ADXL- 327, Analog Devices,” 2009. http://www.analog.com [7] Texas Instruments, Data Sheet, “Mixed Signal Microcontroller MSP430F261x MSP430F241x,” 2011. http://www.ti.com/ [8] RS232 Specifications and Standards, 2010. http://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/info/RS-232_specs.html [9] P. Lukowicz, H. Junker and G. Troester, “Automatic Calibration of Body Worn Acceleration Sensors”, Pervasive Computing, Vol. 3001, 2004, pp. 176-181. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-24646-6_11 [10] I. Frosio, F. Pedersini and N. A. Borghese, “Autocalibration of MEMS Accelerometers”, IEEE Transaction on Instrumentation and Measurement, Vol. 58, No. 6, 2009, pp 2034-2041. doi:10.1109/TIM.2008.2006137