Effectiveness of Solar-Powered Smart School Yard Lights on Energy Efficiency and Lighting Quality

The development of renewable energy, particularly Solar Power Plants (PV), requires a reliable, real-time, and easily accessible electrical energy monitoring system to ensure optimal system performance. This study aims to design and implement an Internet of Things (IoT)-based electrical energy monitoring system for PV using the NodeMCU ESP32 microcontroller, the PZEM-004T sensor for measuring electrical parameters, and the Node-RED platform as the data visualization interface. The developed system is designed to monitor voltage, current, power, energy, frequency, and power loss in real time, and then display the data in the form of numerical values, graphs, and indicators on a dashboard accessible through a local network. The research method includes hardware design, software development (sensor reading, data processing, and communication), integration with Node-RED, and system testing on a small-scale PV installation. The test results show that the system is capable of monitoring electrical parameters in a stable and responsive manner. Variations in sunlight intensity were found to affect the current and power produced by the solar panels, whereas the inverter output voltage tended to remain within normal operating ranges. The Node-RED dashboard display was considered informative and helpful for users in monitoring and analyzing PV performance. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the IoT-based electrical energy monitoring system designed in this study functions well and is feasible for application in residential or educational-scale PV installations. The system still has the potential for further development through cloud service integration, the addition of environmental sensors, and enhancements to data analysis features and user interface design.