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Applied Sciences
Volume 15
Issue 23
10.3390/app152312407
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Real-Time Solar Irradiance Monitoring: An FPGA-Based Approach for Data Visualization

by
Rubén De Jesús Rivera-Medina
*,†,
Oscar Osvaldo Ordaz-García
*,†,
Angel García-Duran
,
Salvador Ibarra-Delgado
,
Remberto Sandoval-Aréchiga
,
José Ricardo Gómez-Rodríguez
,
Víktor I. Rodríguez-Abdalá
and
Héctor A. Guerrero-Osuna
Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas “Francisco García Salinas”, Campus UAZ Siglo XXI, Carretera Zacatecas-Guadalajara km 6, Ejido la Escondida, Zacatecas 98160, Mexico
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(23), 12407; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152312407 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 18 October 2025 / Revised: 8 November 2025 / Accepted: 18 November 2025 / Published: 22 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-Based Reconfigurable Systems)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Measuring solar irradiance helps maximize efficiency in photovoltaic power plants. Devices for detecting solar irradiance, such as pyranometers, are difficult to calibrate and extremely expensive. Given these limitations, they are rarely used in photovoltaic power plants. This study explores the feasibility of monitoring solar radiation using an FPGA and low-cost, ambient light and power sensors. The monitoring of irradiance and illuminance was graphed and stored in a software application. Unlike traditional monitoring systems, this approach directly measured the electrical power generated by the cell as a proxy for solar irradiance. To validate the accuracy of the system, the measurements obtained were compared with a professional reference pyranometer (INIFAP). Linear regression analysis showed a linear correlation (R2) of 0.8115 between the system measurements and the high-cost reference pyranometer. In addition, accuracy was quantified using the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 21.68 W/m2. The regression slope showed an average photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 15.44% during the test period, validating the system as an accurate, linear, and reliable tool for monitoring irradiance.
Keywords: solar radiation; FPGA; solar irradiance; illuminance solar radiation; FPGA; solar irradiance; illuminance

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Rivera-Medina, R.D.J.; Ordaz-García, O.O.; García-Duran, A.; Ibarra-Delgado, S.; Sandoval-Aréchiga, R.; Gómez-Rodríguez, J.R.; Rodríguez-Abdalá, V.I.; Guerrero-Osuna, H.A. Real-Time Solar Irradiance Monitoring: An FPGA-Based Approach for Data Visualization. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 12407. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152312407

AMA Style

Rivera-Medina RDJ, Ordaz-García OO, García-Duran A, Ibarra-Delgado S, Sandoval-Aréchiga R, Gómez-Rodríguez JR, Rodríguez-Abdalá VI, Guerrero-Osuna HA. Real-Time Solar Irradiance Monitoring: An FPGA-Based Approach for Data Visualization. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(23):12407. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152312407

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rivera-Medina, Rubén De Jesús, Oscar Osvaldo Ordaz-García, Angel García-Duran, Salvador Ibarra-Delgado, Remberto Sandoval-Aréchiga, José Ricardo Gómez-Rodríguez, Víktor I. Rodríguez-Abdalá, and Héctor A. Guerrero-Osuna. 2025. "Real-Time Solar Irradiance Monitoring: An FPGA-Based Approach for Data Visualization" Applied Sciences 15, no. 23: 12407. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152312407

APA Style

Rivera-Medina, R. D. J., Ordaz-García, O. O., García-Duran, A., Ibarra-Delgado, S., Sandoval-Aréchiga, R., Gómez-Rodríguez, J. R., Rodríguez-Abdalá, V. I., & Guerrero-Osuna, H. A. (2025). Real-Time Solar Irradiance Monitoring: An FPGA-Based Approach for Data Visualization. Applied Sciences, 15(23), 12407. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152312407

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