Simply Simple – Managing Personal Power Usage with Solar-Log™

When one produces their own PV power, they want to use it as effectively as possible. For this reason, plant operators are focusing more and more on self-consumption and energy storage. At the Intersolar 2016, SolareDatensysteme GmbH (SDS) will be presenting a wide range of possibilities for optimizing the consumption of self-produced power with the Solar-Log™ energy management system.

At the Intersolar Europe, Solare Datensysteme will be releasing a new firmware version. In addition to the intuitive user interface for the Smart Energy functions, the new firmware version offers flexible configuration of the integrated components – for example, heat pumps, heating rods and power generators (CHP) – even based on measurement readings. Targeted surplus management and flexible surplus prioritization With the surplus management function of the Solar-Log™, plant operators can feed a percentage of the generated PV power output into a public grid and use the rest of the energy for self-consumption. This allows operators, for example, who have a 70% feed-in restriction to fully use their generated PV power.

This can be flexibly deployed thanks to the freely definable surplus prioritization. The plant operator determines the order in which the integrated
electrical appliances and generators will be turned on. For example, it can be setup that surplus PV power is first used to produce warm water or is
primarily used to operator an air conditioner. The prioritization settings for the appliances can be adjusted to the current needs at any time via the
Solar-Log™ user interface.

Control simulation for plausibility
The new firmware version of the Solar-Log™ system provides the option to simulate the individual Smart Energy settings. With the simulation, one can check when a particular appliance or generator is turned on or off when presented with a particular set of conditions. For example, a sunny day with low energy consumption is compared to a rainy day with high energy consumption to check if the surplus management reacts in the desired way. This simulation check allows the individual configurations to be adjusted during the initial set up. When a PV plant has existing data, a particular day from the past can be selected for the simulation. In such cases, the production and consumption values are available as a reference. By using these reference values, the settings can be checked under realistic conditions. Control History for Maximum Transparency With the help of the new firmware version, all of the relevant Solar-Log™ Smart Energy data is presented in a concise overview. This allows the control of appliances and generators to be checked at any time and, if needed, to be optimized. Depending on the particular type of components used, information such as operating time, temperature and output values is displayed. Moreover, the available surplus for each component or the switching state of individual contacts can be viewed chronologically. Intelligent Combined Heat and Power Generators Production Control For operators of combined heat and power generators (CHP) with high power requirements, intelligent control of CHPs is particularly attractive. The Solar-Log™ activates or deactivates the CHP depending on the amount of power coming from the grid. In addition, the time periods and operating times can be configured. This allows CHPs to also operate efficiently in the summer months, reducing expenses for power purchased from the grid considerably. The new Solar-Log™ control option for CHPs also offers quicker adjustments for power regulations based on the current values rather than average values

Control simulation for plausibility
The new firmware version of the Solar-Log™ system provides the option to  simulate the individual Smart Energy settings. With the simulation, one can check when a particular appliance or generator is turned on or off when presented with a particular set of conditions. For example, a sunny day with low energy consumption is compared to a rainy day with high energy consumption to check if the surplus management reacts in the desired way. This simulation check allows the individualconfigurations to be adjusted during the initial set up. When a PV plant has existing data, a particular day from the past can be selected for the simulation. In such cases, the production and consumption values are available as a reference. By using these reference values, the settings can be checked under realistic conditions.

 Control History for Maximum Transparency  With the help of the new firmware version, all of the relevant Solar-Log Smart Energy data is presented in a concise overview. This allows the control of appliances and generators to be checked at any time and, if needed, to be optimized. Depending on the particular type of components used, information such as operating time, temperature and output values is displayed. Moreover, the available surplus for each component or the switching state of individual contacts can be viewed chronologically. Intelligent Combined Heat and Power Generators Production ControlFor operators of combined heat and power generators (CHP) with high  power requirements, intelligent control of CHPs is particularly attractive. The Solar-Log™ activates or deactivates the CHP depending on the amount of power coming from the grid. In addition, the time periods and operating times can be configured. This allows CHPs to also operate efficiently in the summer months, reducing expenses for power purchased from the grid considerably. The new Solar-Log™ control option for CHPs also offers quicker adjustments for power regulations based on the current values rather than average values

Solar-Log™ – Export Restriction Box
The UK’s grid network capacity for feed-in energy produced by a solar PV  installation is becoming more of a concern, with some G59/3 applications
even being rejected completely by the responsible DNO. In other areas, grid saturation constraints lead to stipulated maximum reverse power limits
imposed by the DNO, which is often far less than the peak theoretical limit that the Solar PV array can produce. Historical solutions to overcome these export limitations were focused primarily on a basically electro-mechanical shut-down of the solar PV inverter bank, either in part or entirely, which is not an ideal solution, as the generation/yield of the system can potentially be severely compromised. The Solare Datensysteme GmbH (SDS), together with its distributor Sibert Instruments Ltd (Sibert Solar), developed the “Solar-Log™ Export Restriction Box”. The Export Restriction Box combines the inherent power-management capabilities of Solar-Log™ control systems with a fail-safe backup unit, should the control system fail or ceases to be effective. This solution is a standardized, yet scalable framework to provide dynamic, closed-loop power management control over the inverter bank, suitable for up to 2 MWp size arrays.