Force-V: Real-Time IoT Solar Monitoring Platform Built for Industrial Scale
We built Force-V to solve a very real problem managing and monitoring solar plants at scale.
This project is a real-time IoT-based solar monitoring platform that processes over 100 million data records and supports 130+ industrial solar plants from a single system.
It reflects the kind of work we do at Data Function: building custom software, real-time data platforms, and AI-ready systems that can operate reliably at scale.
The Challenge
When solar infrastructure grows, operations become harder to manage.
The client needed a way to:
- Monitor multiple solar plants across different locations
- Access real-time performance data
- Identify issues without delays
- Replace manual monitoring processes
Existing tools were fragmented and slow. There was no centralized system that could handle real-time data at this scale.
What We Built
We built Force-V, a custom IoT platform that connects solar hardware devices to a centralized system and processes data in real time.
The platform uses the MQTT protocol for reliable data transmission and integrates with an EMQX broker to handle continuous data streams from field devices.
For enterprise-grade messaging systems, similar architectures are also used with platforms like HiveMQ .
Incoming data is processed through a backend built with Django REST Framework, stored efficiently in a structured database, and delivered to the frontend with minimal latency.
The result is a system that gives complete visibility across all solar operations.
Key Features
We designed the platform to process and visualize data in real time for instant decision-making.
Users can continuously monitor:
- Energy production across plants
- Energy consumption across systems
- Grid import/export and generator usage
The system supports large-scale operations with 140+ plants managed from a single interface.
A centralized map-based view helps users:
- Identify online and offline plants instantly
- Navigate and manage multiple locations
- Control distributed operations from one dashboard
We built an intelligent alerting system that continuously monitors performance and detects anomalies.
The system provides:
- Alerts for production drops or failures
- Detection of abnormal system behavior
- Real-time notifications for quick response
The platform provides detailed analytics to help users understand operational and financial performance.
Users can analyze:
- Solar vs grid energy consumption
- Cost savings from solar generation
- Fuel and generator usage impact
We implemented a secure role-based access system for enterprise environments.
Administrators can:
- Create and manage users
- Assign plant-level access permissions
- Control data visibility by roles
The system is accessible across multiple platforms for maximum flexibility.
We developed:
- Web application using React
- Mobile apps using React Native (iOS & Android)
- Unified experience across devices
Technology and Architecture
We designed the system for performance, reliability, and scalability.
Core stack:
- IoT Messaging: MQTT
- Broker: EMQX
- Backend: Django REST Framework
- Frontend: React
- Mobile: React Native
- Database: MySQL
The system processes large volumes of data efficiently and delivers responses in near real time.
AI and Machine Learning Readiness
Although the platform is currently focused on monitoring and analytics, we built it with AI and machine learning integration in mind.
The data architecture supports:
- Predictive energy forecasting
- Anomaly detection models
- Performance optimization
- Data-driven decision systems
This is the direction many industrial platforms are moving toward, and Force-V is already structured to support it.
User Experience
We focused on making the system easy to use.
Users can:
- View real-time and historical data
- Analyze trends
- Generate reports
- Monitor plant health
The goal was to simplify complex data into a usable interface.
Mobile Access
The mobile app allows users to:
- Access live system data
- Receive notifications
- Monitor performance remotely
This is especially useful for field teams and managers.
Long-Term Impact
Force-V has been in production for over two years.
It has helped:
- Reduce manual monitoring effort
- Improve response times
- Increase operational efficiency
- Support large-scale solar infrastructure
It continues to scale as more plants are added.
About Data Function
We build custom software systems for businesses that need reliability, scale, and real-time performance.
Our work includes:
- IoT platforms
- Real-time data systems
- AI and machine learning solutions
- Enterprise software
Build Something Similar
Force-V is one example of what we build.
If you’re looking to:
- Develop a custom platform
- Build an IoT system
- Work with real-time data
- Integrate AI into your operations
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