Why can't photovoltaic power plants be short of data logger?

 The solarman data logger is a device that collects the data of photovoltaic grid-connected inverters, convergence boxes, weather stations, electricity meters and other equipment in photovoltaic power stations through the communication protocols such as RS485, RS232 and RS422, and transmits the data to the database through GPRS, Ethernet, WIFI, 3G and other methods.

 

The data logger can be divided into built-in logger/external logger:

Built – in logger: embedded in inverter, used to collect inverter data, also known as embedded data acquisition module. ( see SolarMAN- built-in module for details ).

 

Why use data logger?

 

Although monitoring equipment is not installed in every power station in China at present, with the continuous maturity and popularization of solar photovoltaic power generation technology, digital acquisition and remote monitoring are becoming more and more important. For large-scale ground power stations, few people or even no one on duty is the fundamental way to reduce operation and maintenance costs. For distributed power stations, visualization and transparency of energy data are also the standards that everyone cares about day by day.

 

Solar photovoltaic power generation is gradually shifting from special application to more common civil use and from auxiliary energy to basic energy. At the same time, as the number of installed photovoltaic power plants continues to rise and the market continues to saturate, people begin to pay more and more attention to power generation. Extensive operation and maintenance management of power plants is bound to gradually transform to refined operation and maintenance management. Facts have proved that the photovoltaic industry in developed countries has also experienced this transformation.

 

Therefore, in order to monitor the operation status of photovoltaic (grid - connected) power station equipment in real time and ensure the normal operation of equipment and devices, it is recommended that the power station be equipped with intelligent acquisition and monitoring system of remote data to improve the operation safety and operation management efficiency of the power station, and to increase the income and asset value of power generation.

 

1. Increase output

 

How to make the power station reach the best operation state and generate more power?

First of all, we should know that in the operation of photovoltaic power stations, the power quality usually depends on the following two factors:

a) the ratio of the energy available value and the potential energy available value of a specific power station;

b) utilization rate of power station over time.

 

Therefore, if you want to continuously optimize the output of the power station, you must be able to accurately monitor the actual energy gain value of the power station and accurately estimate the available solar energy value. How to monitor the accurate actual power quantity of the power station? This requires a data logger.

 

According to the data collected in real time, the data logger will acquire the running status of the system. This is not only to record historical data, but also to identify the factors that affect power generation through data analysis. Of course, there must be a quick response after the analysis is in place! Therefore, in order to maintain the operation of the power station and make it in an optimal state, the operation and maintenance personnel must actively monitor the performance of the equipment, investigate the problems, and repair ( or fine - tune ) the equipment in time through the monitoring system, so as to improve the power generation efficiency and the system's return rate. Therefore, the quality of the data logger and the monitoring system itself is particularly important. The data logger and the monitoring system not only will affect the accuracy of power generation data monitoring, but also to evaluate and control the overall quality of the power station.

 

2 reduce costs

 

How to reduce operation and maintenance costs by realizing remote monitoring and online management of power stations?

 

As the traditional offline operation and maintenance cannot obtain the working status of the power station and its components immediately, workers are dispatched to the site for inspection once there is a problem. It will consume manpower and material resources and increase costs of operation and maintenance. At the same time, the on-site service usually starts from the appointed detection to the commissioning completion, and the whole business process needs cross-department cooperation and is time - consuming, which easily decreases customer satisfaction and affects the brand image.

 

If there is a data acquisition device, engineers can carry out real-time monitoring which is 1 (person) to many (power stations) through the monitoring system, and troubleshoot online for users through remote means. In case of emergency, personnel will be dispatched to the site for emergency repair through the work order system, which not only improves work efficiency, but also reduces costs of labor, operation and maintenance.

 

3. Increase income

 

How to avoid missing electricity subsidies and maximize the user's income?

 

Through the monitoring of the data logger, the staff can have a more comprehensive grasp of the working state of the power station, calmly deal with unexpected situations, quickly respond and solve them in time. For example, we sometimes encounter incidents where power stations are suddenly shut down for some reason. At this time, if the power station is equipped with a data logger which can help us to know the news of the system shutdown at the first time, judge the cause of the system shutdown (usually a component fails) from the change of data, and send out an alarm and a work order, thus facilitating the staff to quickly locate the problem component and repair or replace it. In this way, the system can be prevented from idle / shut down without knowing and losing power subsidies without any reason.

 

Each role has (data) monitoring requirements

 

Looking at the entire photovoltaic industry chain, in fact, the operation and maintenance personnel is not the only one who need to monitor the data. As an upstream equipment manufacturer, they can know more detailed conditions of equipment through the monitoring system. Investors can use it to support transaction decisions. Installers use it to interface with and respond to customers. End users can see the curve changes of electricity quantity and income at any time.

 

Equipment manufacturer

 

Through the pv monitoring system, manufacturers can remotely manage tens of thousands of devices distributed around the world, check the activation status, firmware version, market share of the devices at any time, and even easily grasp the business status of distributors across the country. At the same time, various monitoring data can also help formulate product and market strategies. In addition, it can be customized according to user's requirements to realize perfect compatibility of logger with inverter equipment.

 

Operation and maintenance of power station (O&M)

 

Real - time data is very important for operation and maintenance personnel. Through the online monitoring system, multiple power stations and all equipment in the power stations can be managed at the same time to support remote troubleshooting and rapid positioning of problem equipment. At the same time, it is also helpful to dispatch nearby workers to rush to the emergency repair site, greatly reducing the operation and maintenance costs. In addition, the on-line monitoring system can realize remote shutdown in case of some unexpected events ( such as circuit failure ), thus ensuring the safety of power stations and personnel.

 

DeviceBit as a high tech company and professional IoT solutions provider, we provide home assistant energy monitor,solarman data logger, wireless temp monitor and etc. Want to know more? Please contact us.