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Tools of Convenience Take on Time

In 1977 the world hit a PV milestone of 500kW installed, and in that same year President Jimmy Carter installed the infamous White House Solar Panels to a world of skepticism (President Carter installed the panels during the Energy Crisis, only to have them taken down as Ronald Regan’s first act in the White House). Today, IMS Research is predicting that in this year alone, 14.6GW will be installed worldwide. The progress we have made in just over 30 years is astounding, as a 500kW site is now nothing out of the ordinary. Installations continue to get larger and larger as sites measuring many megawatts seem to sprout up with much greater frequency. Adding on to that, PV systems have never been more popular among residential users who are eager to reap the rewards of the bright renewable resource. 

As new countries pass legislation to open up more markets to PV installations, the life of an installer becomes busier and busier. To combat the hectic schedules, SolarEdge developed 3 tools for its installers: the Site Design, Mapping, and Configuration Tools.

The three tools are true to each of their names and alleviate the time consumption for installers in the design of the site, mapping of the site while also setting up the SolarEdge Monitoring Portal, configuring the inverters and confirming everything is in order. The tools work towards a higher llevel of convenience and are all free of charge.

Each tool has been designed with the purpose of solving a problem.

When installing a PV system there are inherent issues of design constraints pertaining to minimum and maximum voltage and current, string lengths, inverter size, and module type. Designing the correct installation takes time to work out. The Site Design Tool provides installers with the ability to input site values such as size, location, and selected modules, and in turn receive a detailed recommendation on string layout and product selection (inverters and power optimizers). Adding on to that, the tool also offers a site summary, verification of correct design and an estimate of annual energy production. The Site Design Tool makes the preparation for installers quicker and simpler.

Now let’s move into the actual site installation. The system is in place, what’s next? The SolarEdge module level power optimizers, constantly track each module’s Maximum Power Point and collect performance data, which in turn can be presented and analyzed by the monitoring portal, for improved maintenance and increased operation time. Adding to the module-level monitoring, a virtual map of the site needs to be created. One method currently in place is removing the barcode stickers from the power optimizers and inverters, and placing them on a printout of the site map. The Site Mapping Tool allows installers to use the camera of their smart phone to scan each power optimizer's barcode, quickly and easily establishing a virtual Bird’s-eye-view site map that adds another dimension to the SolarEdge Monitoring Portal.  The tool is downloadable for free, and if an installer needs a heavy duty device, a rugged industrial casing barcode is also available.

Moving to the end, everything is done, and all that is left is to start producing power, right? Well almost, just need to make sure the PV inverters are properly configured and check each string and module to be certain there are no faults. Normally these processes are done manually, and take a long time to complete. The SolarEdge inverters are pre-configured on delivery, but installers may need to make some local adjustments from time to time. The SolarEdge Configuration Tool enables configuration without removing the inverter’s cover. In PV sites with multiple inverters that are connected via RS485 or wirelessly to each other, all inverters can be configured from a single “master” inverter.

Additionally, the Configuration Tool verifies correct installation and operation of each and every module from one laptop connected to one inverter, in real time, and allows for a detailed report of the site. With the report, the SolarEdge support team can walk an installer through any issues they encounter without visiting the site.

For more information on any of the three installer tools, and for downloads, please click here and visit our new product pages!