Solar Power Plants

Remote Monitoring and Management System Allows the Control of

Solar Power Plants to Exceed Efficiency

Introduction:
The mounting concerns for climate changes have had many governments seek out feasible energy solutions that are more environmental friendly and less exhaustible; one of the more popular and better developed renewable energy solutions is the solar energy and the reason being solar power systems convert readily available and inexhaustible sunlight directly into electricity with solar cells, leaving almost no carbon footprint.
However, the cost of solar power generation components, including cells, panels and arrays, remains high; power generation and usage by way of solar power systems, therefore, must be carefully monitored in order to evaluate and improve such systems’ performance, efficiency and ROI.

In addition to the quality of software design, the hardware configuration is also very important, which will determine whether the management system at solar power systems can achieve the desired results. A request for hardware solutions capable of monitoring solar power substations located at unmanned, remote areas with harsh climates and weather conditions. System builders also have the option of using multiple industrial-grade embedded IoT Gateway to work together and distribute system workloads, thereby ensuring system stability. As for the selection of industrial embedded IoT Gateway, users have to consider whether the hardware specifications meet the project and designer requirements, especially in processor, Operating System, I/O interfaces and product size.

Many solar panels are installed in high points and open areas, and the probability of lightning is relatively improved. The grounding system alone cannot solve the problem of lightning or switching surges. Surge protector is a must for all electric power and electrical equipment, just as important as a fuse. Reduce equipment damage rate.

Artila’s Matrix-704 is a cost-effective, industrial-grade embedded IoT Gateway that provide almost the same functions with slightly different in memory capacity and I/O interfaces. The Cortex-A5 processor used by them can provide high-performance computing. The open source Linux kernel, pre-installed utilities and drivers allow system developers to design the required system functions in a resource-rich open environment, while making system reliable with hard to crash feature.

Offering a wide range of I/O interfaces (including Ethernet, high speed serial, USB and GPIO ports) can easily integrate various peripherals of different protocols to meet the diverse functional requirements of the application system. Having to be connected to devices of different functions and vendors such as pyranometers, wind direction sensors and temperature meters, the hardware must support multiple I/O interfaces for protocol conversation.

Developers of industrial applications expect reinforced isolation products to provide fail-safe protection from secondary lightning strikes, especially in applications where equipment is installed outdoors and where exposed cables or wires are vulnerable to lightning. With isolated and surge-protected RS-485 serial port, Matrix-704 Industrial IoT Gateway equips extreme temperatures and wide power supply tolerances, electromagnetic disturbance protection, these specifications help developers enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of their system designs.

An electric company requests a capable hardware solution of monitoring solar power substations located at unmanned, remote areas with harsh climates and weather conditions. The requested system was to be developed into an integrated communications platform responsible, first of all, for gathering, storing and analyzing data relating to sunlight strength, direct current power, power conversion efficiency, array disconnect statistics and second of all, for overseeing meters such as wind speed and temperature. The collected data would be uploaded, in real-time, to an operation center.

Industrial grade components and ease of maintenance are two critical factors for a remote site industrial communication device. With the low power consumption, fanless design and compact internal structure, Matrix series are small-sized IoT Gateway. They are not only convenient for installation and maintenance, but also are not easy to inhale the dust particles so that the system can run more stable. The Matrix-704’s solid chassis and fanless interior design, for instance, not only make it completely dustproof and but also insure its reliability and longevity. Furthermore, the DIN rail mount and front access ports simplify hardware maintenance because hardware maintenance and service can be carried out whilst the appliance was still mounted on the DIN-rail.
The Matrix-704 has proven to be a flexible solution for monitoring solar power and other renewable energy sources, in addition to the need for surge protection to reduce equipment damage to a minimum, that combines performance, high-availability and cost-efficiency. This particular appliance significantly reducing the cost and man-power associated with remote power substation monitoring.

Artila’s products fully meet the needs of this project. The Matrix-704, a robust industrial gateway was eventually selected as the data concentrator for the aforementioned solar power monitoring system capable of gathering and analyzing data from sensors and meters deployed at the remote site. The Matrix-704 is responsible for the electricity monitoring system. Since Matrix-704 embedded industrial IoT Gateway with Linux-ready Cortex-A5, system designers can have the hardware platform featuring high performance, high stability and rich resources. Multiple RS-485 serial ports provide ample interfaces to facilitate system integration with peripherals.

Related Products:
M atrix-704 Linux-ready Cortex-A5 Surge-Protected Industrial IoT Gateway