Energy Data Visualization Using Color Heatmaps for Solar Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current monitoring systems for solar power systems lack an efficient way to assess performance issues over time, making it difficult to rapidly determine and address variations in energy production caused by factors like PV module mismatch, damage, or insolation profile changes.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for visualizing energy data using a two-dimensional, time-based display with an adaptive energy visualization scale, where energy production is depicted in terms of color saturation and intensity, allowing users to quickly assess system performance and diagnose issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional monitoring systems are used to track energy production data, then data collection is performed, but the system lacks efficiency in assessing performance issues and determining variations in energy production over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes to represent different levels of energy production performance. The visualization system uses a color scale where different colors indicate varying performance levels, allowing operators to rapidly identify underperforming PV modules or inverters. This visual encoding transforms numerical data into intuitive color-based indicators, enabling immediate performance assessment without requiring detailed numerical analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a visual dimension to energy production data by creating a two-dimensional heatmap representation. The x-axis represents time, the y-axis represents different PV modules or inverters, and the color intensity represents performance level. This dimensional transformation allows operators to simultaneously view multiple data points across time and equipment, dramatically improving performance assessment efficiency compared to traditional one-dimensional numerical displays.
2Loss of information
If detailed numerical data is provided for energy production, then complete information is available, but the data is not readily understandable for rapid performance analysis
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains complete numerical data while overlaying color-coded visual indicators that represent the same information in an easily interpretable format. Each PV module or inverter is assigned a color based on its performance relative to others, allowing operators to instantly grasp performance distributions without mentally processing numerical values. The color scale provides intuitive understanding while the underlying numerical data remains available for detailed analysis when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy or representation of the numerical energy production data through color-coded heatmaps and graphical displays. This visual copy preserves all the information from the original numerical data while presenting it in a format that is immediately comprehensible. Operators can quickly identify patterns, outliers, and performance trends from the visual representation without requiring detailed numerical analysis, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for providing a visualization of energy data. In one embodiment, the method comprises establishing an energy visualization scale for visually depicting energy data in terms of one or more color parameters, where the energy data pertains to a distributed generator (DG); and generating a display image, based on the energy visualization scale, that depicts a plurality of energy data values in a grid layout across two dimensions in time.