Solar System Energy Production: an IoT use case
In today’s energy scenario, solar panels are one of the most commonly used technologies for renewable energy. The advantage of solar panels is their relatively easy installation process and their need of limited space to produce sustainable amounts of electricity. Usually, roof top solar panels are sufficient to create enough power for a household to be electrically independent.
Solar panels can be installed almost anywhere as they don’t create a high visual or sound impact. In fact, it is often sufficient to have a flat surface and sun exposure to install them. This makes it an ideal solution for most users, from power producing facilities, to buildings in highly dense metropolitan areas.
Solar panels are not the only element to focus on when dealing with solar system energy production. Inverters are the key element to convert the energy generated from solar panels into a usable source of electricity that can be employed in our everyday life.
When sun rays hit the photovoltaic system, mechanisms within the solar panels create cell movements which produce direct current (DC). The majority of homes and buildings use alternating current energy (AC), meaning that the energy produced by solar panels needs to be converted into AC energy. To do so, the direct current has to be processed by the inverter that transforms it into alternating current. The AC can then be inputted into the electricity grid and can be distributed for everyday use.
All inverters serve the same purpose: transform DC solar energy into practical AC energy. However, there are multiple types of inverters available on the market, which deliver different results and performances.
If you want to use the data that is generated during the DC-AC electricity transformation in applications, inverters necessarily need to connect to the cloud. This data transfer process is usually done via Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Often, the connector provided with each inverter is an IoT solution that is limited to that inverter only. If you want to connect other equipment present in your house or facility, this connector does not allow or enables it. Only the data collected from the inverter will be transmitted to the cloud, making it impossible to simultaneously track multiple devices of a house, with that same connector.
Then, there is BACE. BACE is a unique solution that allows you to connect to all your devices, transmit their data and manage it in an efficient and secure way. The BACE Module connects to your inverter and your other devices. The BACE IoT Connector connects to your dashboard. Together they manage the data flow, and contain all elements of a dynamic IoT system including the IoT Hub, Databases, the Device Twin, the API and the IoT Management Portal. The information collected from the BACE Modules is transferred to the BACE IoT Connector in the cloud, while the data is constantly provisioned to your systems via the BACE IoT Connector API.
The BACE Modules and the BACE IoT Connector are completely integrated, and together form a ready-made system with superior functionalities that enable you to receive all your data, quickly. These include end-to-end security with unique encryption certificates for each module, a set of tools that enables you to manage the operation and scale-up of your IoT solution, and multiple data transfer options (LTE-M, 2G, WiFi and Ethernet) for the best operational reliability. It is future proof, as the Over The Air (OTA) feature enables you to update BACE Modules you already have in use, adding new functions.
The BACE IoT Connector runs in the Microsoft Azure Cloud, and delivers top data protection and recovery options. Depending on the type of use and data access that best fits your needs, data storage can be adjusted. BACE IoT Connector can deliver available, on-spot, ready to view data; or cold storage data systems used for delayed checks and referencing. The BACE IoT Connector makes automatic server backups to ensure the least risk for data loss, and allows scaling services to provide high data availability.
The RESTful API implemented in the BACE IoT Connector allows you to extract data, set configurations and assign BACE Modules to users via your own enterprise systems. Integrating the BACE solution with your systems is easy, so you can operate with all portals you already work with. Alternatively, BACE offers an optional WebApp which has a number of visualization and analysis options and can be customized to fit your needs.
BACE eliminates the problem of vendor lock ins, allowing a more flexible and dynamic solution that adjusts to the existing environments. Being a simple, add on solution, BACE allows to minimize costs, giving you the perfect tailored made experience that would allow to connect all your systems at once. By adding BACE to your current solar inverter, you can easily make it connected to the cloud to monitor the performances of your solar panels, together with all your other devices.
To know more about BACE and how this solution can help manage your solar panel connection and data flow, visit our website: www.bace-iot.com and contact us at ingo@bace-iot.com.
