solar symbiosis-inverters and monitoring
TRANSCRIPT
Solar Symbiosis: Inverters and Monitoring
Sponsored by:
q This webinar will be available afterwards at www.solarpowerworldonline.com & email
q Q&A at the end of the presentation q Hashtag for this webinar: #SolarWebinar
Before We Start
Kathie Zipp Solar Power World
Moderator Presenters
Ilen Zazueta-Hall Enphase Energy
Gabe Abbott Locus Energy
• Established 2006, first commercial shipments 2008 • Headquarters in California, 500+ employees • Listed on NASDAQ: ENPH • More than 7.2 million units shipped, representing
over 1GW • Fourth-‐‑generation microinverter system shipping to
North America, EMEA and APAC • Announced fifth generation microinverter, Enphase
Energy Management System and Enphase AC BaTery
• 128 patent families • World-‐‑class team from leading technology
companies • Revenue in 2014: $343.9 million
225,000 systems and growing!
A leader in monitoring
Why do inverter manufacturers offer monitoring?
Remember when a phone was just a phone?
• Phones used to do one thing – let you call someone.
• Then came smart phones. They allowed you to call someone too.
• But the reason people buy it is a platform for enhanced functionality.
• The “Apps” are just as important as the hardware.
Inverters used to do one thing: convert DC to AC.
Smart, connected inverters provide a platform for
optimizing: • Lead generation • Commissioning • O&M
• Diagnostics • Updates/fixes
Diagnosing problems via truck rolls is expensive
A robust monitoring capability will: • Notify you of the problem • Allow you to diagnose and potentially fix
remotely • Give you the tools/data to help decide whether
you could operate efficiently with a downed inverter and wait until the next scheduled truck roll to fix the issue.
Monitoring basics Measure
Manage data
Communicate
Fleet monitoring
12
Continuous reporting from each system
Data collected, warehoused, and distributed in the cloud
Total fleet and individual system visibility
Direct Data Measure
Manage data
Communicate
Cloud to Cloud Data Measure
Communicate
Data integration with other business systems is key! APIs connect monitoring data to
• CRM systems • Billing • Customer portals • … and more!
Platform Overview
17
Locus Intellectual Property Portfolio
18
Patents Select Research & Whitepapers Patent filings back to 2007, with more in process Granted: 1. Systems & Methods for Measuring Utilized Generation of
at-Premise Renewable Power Systems 2. System and Methods for Monitoring and Diagnosing the
Power Generated by Renewable Power Systems 3. On-Premise Renewable Generation Securitization 4. Comparable Diagnostics for Renewable Energy Power
Systems 5. Comparable Diagnostics for Renewable Energy Power
Systems 6. Comparable Diagnostics for Renewable Energy Power
Systems 7. Irradiance Mapping Leveraging A Distributed Network Of
Solar Photovoltaic Systems Pending: 1. Automatic System Information Determination of
Distributed Renewable Energy Systems 2. Methods and Systems for Optical Flow Modeling
Applications for Wind and Solar Irradiance Forecasting 3. Estimating Solar Irradiance Components from Plane of
Array Irradiance and Global Horizontal Irradiance 4. Weather and Satellite Model for Estimating Solar Irradiance 5. Methods for Location Identification of Renewable Energy
Systems…and others
Solar Portfolio Weather Risks
Volatility and Deviation of Distributed Solar
Automatic Detection of PV System Configuration
PVIQ Performance Analysis
Virtual Irradiance
SAM PV Model Validation
>55,000 monitored sites, ~1GW of capacity, >40 billion data points collected
Broad Installation Base “#1 independent monitoring provider for the U.S. PV market (by site count)”
Why Monitor?
• Fleet O&M • Systems require oversight and ongoing maintenance • Prescriptive insights minimize O&M costs • Firms with geographically dispersed fleets need remote management capabilities • Reactive and preventive maintenance – solve the issue before it escalates
• Financial performance • Customer billing operations • Transaction evaluation
• Regulatory compliance • SRECs • Incentive programs
Key Considerations for Solar Monitoring - Software • Stakeholder access
• Often require multiple users, each with their own portal access • Different organizations have specific requirements that need to be
contemplated (ie financiers vs. EPCs vs. SREC agencies) • Support of business processes
• Streamlined commissioning process that ensures installation has been completed properly, configured in the monitoring portal, and fully operational
• Performance Benchmarking and billing automation
• Performance management • Alerts, diagnostics, and reporting are standard must haves,
performance analytics layer creates added value • Generally, residential operators require streamlined, scalable
solutions for whole fleet analysis, while C&I operators need more powerful site level analysis tools
Key Considerations for Solar Monitoring - Hardware • Electrical configuration – single-phase (residential) or three-phase (C&I/utility) • Device types to monitor
• Meters (AC energy, power quality )– revenue grade is standard for commercial and larger, common in residential TPO, variety of data types available from some providers
• Inverter level data (error codes, DC values) – common for commercial, often incorporated for residential depending on cost
• Other third party devices (weather stations, string monitoring, control, etc.) – commercial and larger systems
• Connectivity
• Ethernet – more frequent uploads, larger data set, dependent on LAN, higher installation and ongoing maintenance cost
• Cellular – less frequent uploads, smaller data set, lower cost to install and maintain
Independent Solar Monitoring Solutions • Open approach to inverter/panel stack – better supports heterogeneous equipment fleets
• Flexible monitoring equipment options – wide range of supported devices, form factors
• Single fleet platform – apply consistent lens to fleet , may involve rolling up multiple OEM monitoring solutions into one interface.
• Primary focus on monitoring product – highly motivated to fulfill market requirements and
iterate rapidly since this is the core business • Independent verification of performance – not aligned with any product in particular • Independent and inverter-based solutions are often complementary since they can each help
satisfy key customer use cases
The Future of Monitoring • Deeper tech integrations will streamline business processes and reduce costs
• O&M/ticketing • ERP/CRM systems • Asset management
• Fleet analytics capabilities will continue to evolve and improve • There will be a growing need for more in-depth insight into underperformance and the specific
causes behind it, particularly as the financial community becomes more engaged • Inverter control requirements will become more widespread
• Already commonplace for large utility systems, inverter control requirements will extend to to small utility and commercial rooftop to some degree
• Some residential providers already allow for control by third parties
• Energy Storage and HAN • Monitoring companies will integrate with energy storage and with other smart devices in the home
Questions? Kathie Zipp Solar Power World [email protected] Twitter: @solarkathiez
Ilen Zazueta-Hall Enphase Energy [email protected] Twitter: @enphase
Gabe Abbott Locus Energy [email protected] Twitter: @Locus_Energy
q This webinar will be available at www.solarpowerworldonline.com & email
q Tweet with hashtag #SolarWebinar
q Connect with Solar Power World
q Discuss this topic on EngineeringExchange.com
Thank You