This year's Intersolar 2016 not only represented a step into the new energy world, it also marked the 25th anniversary of the event. The six halls were fully booked and both the organizer and exhibitors were pleased – the number of visitors once again beat the previous year's figure.
Playing a significant role in shaping the new energy world is our aim, too. With our new developments and enhancements in the field of energy management and grid integration, we aim to set trends within the sector.
Your comments and suggestions regarding our partnership and future market requirements are very important and helpful to us. We would also like to thank you for visiting our booth at the trade fair and are delighted to have the opportunity to further explore the topics discussed there.
Our newsletter topics at a glance:
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VCOM: Innovation by Experience
Rapid fault detection: Interactive system diagram now on the basis of current energy
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NEW: Energy meters from Schneider Electric
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Discontinuation: Energy meters ALE3 and AWD3
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blue’Log X series: New functions and driver improvements
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From our news archive:
Milk the Sun and meteocontrol cooperate
PerduS project: Yield losses due to desert dust
ENERGY 2.0: Monitoring solar portfolios
The meteocontrol team
Rapid fault detection: Interactive system plan now also on the basis of current energy
Are you familiar with the System Visualization portlet in the VCOM? The tool enables you to quickly and directly localize faults in the field . To set up the portlet, you upload the image file with the system plan and draw in components such as module strings or associated inverters.
Up until now, the individual components were labeled using colors corresponding to their alarm status. With the July release, there is a new option. From now on, you can select whether the components are labeled using colors on the basis of the alarm status or the normalized inverter energy. This allows yield losses owing to shading or other causes to be identified and localized even more quickly.
The new energy meters iEM3155 and iEM3255 from Schneider Electric offer all the measuring functions needed to monitor PV systems. In combination with the data loggers blue’Log and WEB’log, they form a key component for regulating active power while taking into account on-site energy consumption, for example for 0% regulation (IPL regulation).
Main functions of the energy meters:
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Measuring voltage, current and active and reactive power as well as active and reactive energy
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Can be used as a bidirectional meter for measuring grid feed-in and load
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Multitariff measuring
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MID approval
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Pulse output (can be used as S0 output)
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Display (current, voltage and energy measurements)
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Communication over Modbus RTU (RS485)
The meters are available in two versions:
Energy meter iEM3155 three-phase Modbus: Item number 424.206
Transformer energy meter iEM3255 three-phase Modbus: Item number 424.207
The energy meters ALE3 and AWD3 are to be replaced by energy meters from Schneider Electric and will therefore be discontinued on August 31, 2016:
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Energy meter ALE3 Modbus: Item number 424.202
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Transformer energy meter AWD3: Item number 424.203
Subject to availability, the energy meters ALE3 and AWD3 can be ordered until July 31, 2016. If your desired product is no longer available, we will contact you to arrange delivery of an appropriate replacement item.
Naturally, we will continue to handle service requests and warranty claims for these products.
Improved blue’Log alarm functions
A new function is the Power Control alarms: If Power Control encounters a fault, it informs the system immediately in the following events:
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No communication takes place between the Slave and the Master blue‘Log.
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Target values for active and reactive power cannot be determined, for example should there be a fault in the ripple control receiver or power quality analyzer.
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Regulating the active and reactive power is not possible due to a lack of measurement parameters.
The following alarm groups continue to be available:
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Communication alarm
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Status alarm
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Device alarm
Power Control Modbus interface for grid feed-in management
The new interface makes it easier to implement grid feed-in management because the specified target values are transferred directly to the blue’Log over Modbus TCP. Depending on the application, complex cabling that carry analog and digital signals for transferring control values can be avoided. You can enable this function at any time with a license for new or previously acquired blue’Logs:
Power Control Modbus interface X series license: Item number 557.003
Repeat sending of historical data
A permanent Internet connection to the system is required in order to regularly transfer measurement data to meteocontrol's VCOM portal. Interruptions cannot however always be avoidedfor instance if Internet routers don't function or there is weak, unstable network coverage at the system site. In such cases the system automatically sends historical data to the portal. There may for example be gaps in the data if the portal is set up at a later point or if the internet connection is interrupted during data transmission. To help prevent such gaps in the data you can now export historical data on the blue’Log again – both for exporting the data to the meteocontrol portal or using FTP push.
Generic Modbus driver – Modml
We are always working to improve the compatibility of the blue’Log. In light of your international aspirations, we offer the generic Modbus driver for even greater flexibility in your chosen target market. Also Modbus devices via common providers furthermore can be connected without modifying the blue’Log firmware such as inverters meters, string measuring systems and sensor systems. If you wish, you can create your own Modbus profiles for the generic driver.
New drivers
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Kostal driver
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Fronius Datamanager driver
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SMA Sunspec driver
In the future, system operators who are registered at the online marketplace Milk the Sun can access meteocontrol's services directly – whether it is for planning or carrying out PV projects or as the optimization of operational PV systems. Milk the Sun customers receive everything from a single source – from yield reports and technical acceptance to a system check for existing systems. If you wish, meteocontrol can also prepare a suitable monitoring concept.
For more information, read the latest press report.
Working together with Germany's national meteorological service, the German Weather Service, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), meteocontrol is currently carrying out the project PerduS to examine how Sahara dust affects the performance of PV systems. Preliminary investigations suggest that 10% to 20% of yield could be lost. By better forecasting the dispersion of dust, it should be possible to predict PV performance more reliably.
More information about the PerduS project, the preliminary investigations and the initial results can be found here.