Machine Learning-Based Fault Diagnosis for Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46604/ijeti.2026.16514Keywords:
rooftop photovoltaic, fault diagnosis, hybrid CNN–LSTM, data-driven, deep learningAbstract
This study aims to develop a deep learning framework for intelligent fault detection, classification, and multi-level localization in rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. The proposed approach uses a hybrid CNN–LSTM architecture that combines a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) to identify local spatial patterns with long short-term memory (LSTM) units to capture long-term temporal dependencies in time-series data. The framework was evaluated on a multivariate dataset collected from a grid-connected experimental rooftop PV prototype under various fault scenarios. Experimental results demonstrate that the hybrid model significantly outperforms standalone 1D-CNN and LSTM architectures across all evaluation criteria. Specifically, the proposed framework achieved classification accuracies of 99.96% for fault type identification, 98.76% for string-level fault localization, and 99.21% for module-level fault localization. These findings highlight the effectiveness and robustness of the hybrid framework for real-time monitoring and reliable fault diagnosis in photovoltaic installations.
References
S. Habib, M.Tamoor, M. M. Gulzar, P. ZakaUllah, A. F. Murtaza, and T. Alharbi, “Modeling and Integration of Rooftop Photovoltaic Systems for Sustainable Energy Access in Public Sector Buildings in Diverse Climates”, Scientific Reports, vol.15, no. 1, 2025.
A. Hamza, Z. Ali, S. Dudley, K. Saleem, M. Uneeb, N. Christofides, “A Multi-stage Review Framework for AI-driven Predictive Maintenance and Fault Diagnosis in Photovoltaic Systems,” Applied Energy, vol. 393, article no. 126108, 2025.
Y. Liu and Y. Wu, “Fault Diagnosis of Photovoltaic Modules: A Review,” Solar Energy, vol. 293, no. 1, article no. 113489, 2025.
M. N. Abuhashish, A. Refaat, A. Kalas, M. S. Hamad, and M. H. Elfar, “Towards Accurate and Reliable Fault Diagnosis in PV Systems: Techniques, Challenges, and Future Directions,” Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 198, article no. 107217, 2025.
M. M. Rahman and A. K. Srivastava, “Detection, Classification, and Localization of Faults and Failures in Photovoltaic Arrays,” Discover Energy, vol. 6, article no. 26, 2026.
R. V. Vichare and S. R. Gaikwad, “AI-based Predictive Maintenance of Solar Photovoltaics Systems: A Comprehensive Review,” Energy Informatics, vol. 8, no. 1, article no. 128, 2025.
B. Aljafari, P. R. Satpathy, S. B. Thanikanti, and N. Nwulu, “Supervised Classification and Fault Detection in Grid-Connected PV Systems Using 1D-CNN: Simulation and Real-Time Validation,” Energy Reports, vol. 12, pp. 2156-2178, 2024.
A. Seghiour, Y. Bendjeddou, I. M. Mostefaoui, A. Chouder, H. Alharbi, A. S. B. Humayd, et al., “Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Photovoltaic Systems Using Artificial Intelligence and Time-Frequency Analysis,” Scientific Reports, vol. 16, article no. 10056, 2026.
S. R. Mohanty, M. U. Maruf, V. Singh, and Z. Ahmad, “Machine Learning Approaches for Automatic Defect Detection in Photovoltaic Systems,” Solar Energy, vol. 198, article no. 113672, 2025.
F. Kibrete, D. E. Woldemichael, and H. S. Gebremedhen, “Fault Diagnosis of Rotating Machines Based on Combination of One-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network and Long Short-Term Memory in Variable Working Conditions”, The Journal of Engineering, vol. 2025, no. 1, article no. 1670810, 2025.
A. Mellit and S. Kalogirou, “Assessment of Machine Learning and Ensemble Methods for Fault Diagnosis of Photovoltaic Systems,” Renewable Energy, vol. 184, pp. 1074-1090, 2022.
M. Alrifaey, W. H. Lim, C. K. Ang, E. Natarajan, M. I. Solihin, M. R. M. Juhari, et al., “Hybrid Deep Learning Model for Fault Detection and Classification of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System,” IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 13852-13869, 2022.
T. Huang, Q. Zhang, X. Tang, S. Zhao, and X. Lu, “A Novel Fault Diagnosis Method Based on CNN and LSTM and Its Application in Fault Diagnosis for Complex Systems,” Artificial Intelligence Review, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 1289-1315, 2022.
Ö. Küçükalİ, M. H. Bozkurt, E. Ulutaş, and I. Bozkurt, “S2LU: An Activation Function Based on Skew Student’s t-distribution for Improved Neural Network Performance,” Neural Computing and Applications, vol.38, article no. 43, 2026
C. Y. Hsu and W. C. Liu, “Multiple Time-Series Convolutional Neural Network for Fault Detection and Diagnosis and Empirical Study in Semiconductor Manufacturing,” Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, v.32, pp. 823-836, 2021.
Y. Luo, X. Zheng, and B. Yang, “Photovoltaic Array Fault Diagnosis and Dynamic Reconfiguration Based on Improved YOLOv7 and QAGO,” Discover Computing, vol. 29, article no. 146, 2026.
B. Chu, J. Shu, C. Zhao, Y. Wang, H. Ning, X. Yan, et al., “A Hybrid TimeGAN–xLSTM–Transformer Framework for Photovoltaic Power Forecasting under Complex Environmental Conditions,” Scientific Reports, vol. 16, article no. 8782, 2026.
S. Bani, S. Afonaa-Mensah, A. Yahya, and D. Simango, “Data-driven Modeling of Solar Power Output Using a CNN–LSTM Approach,” Sustainable Energy Research, vol. 13, no. 1, article no. 16, 2026.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mi Sa Nguyen Thi, Xuan-Duy Do, Dinh-Nguyen Tran, Dinh-Nhon Truong, Van-Phuong Ta

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. Authors can retain copyright in their articles with no restrictions. Also, author can post the final, peer-reviewed manuscript version (postprint) to any repository or website.

Since Jan. 01, 2019, IJETI will publish new articles with Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.
The Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC) License permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.


.jpg)
