Renewable Energy
Renewable energy, also known as clean or green energy, is a collective term for different kinds of booming technologies. Renewable energy innovation reduces costs and starts delivering competitively priced clean energy.
Solutions may range from micro inverters (as low as 250W) to large commercial setups with several MW or GW.
Research institutes and manufacturers develop microgrids that integrate different kinds of technologies like solar array inverters, energy storage systems, such as batteries or fuel cells, bi-directional EV/PHEV chargers, wind energy power systems, and tidal energy systems.
Public and private sectors jointly develop the next generation of environmentally friendly energy solutions.
Nowadays, solutions reach voltages of 2000VDC and high currents.
Systems may have multiple high-power channels, several MPPT inputs, and wide-range inverters.
What comes along with developing all of these solutions? Testing.
Elektro-Automatik's products provide features that allow effective testing of renewable energy technologies.
DC power supplies (PS, PSI), conventional electronic loads (EL), regenerative electronic loads (ELR), and bi-directional power supplies (PSB) are capable of supplying or sinking power.
That devices go up to 2000V and come with advanced features like auto-ranging and onboard arbitrary waveform and function generation. These features allow reliable and efficient testing under simulated real-world conditions.
Application examples:
- Auto-ranging supplies provide flexible power to test residential inverters,
- Multiple supplies simulate multiple solar arrays,
- EA Power Control (EAPC) software allows you to easily set up Sandia, EN50530, or custom test profiles.
- Test of battery storage systems with a bi-directional power supply (simulation of charging and discharging)
Making the system safe and reliable.
Besides testing during development and production, electrical safety needs to be assured. Early recognition of insulation faults or fault currents supports the smooth operation and high revenue optimization. Here is where monitoring technologies made by Bender come in.
The operator's main challenge is always to secure a safe and reliable operation regardless of the power generation system (Solar, Wind, Hydro, etc.) he is using.
That means, e.g. :
- Early detection of electrical hazards
- Guaranteed safety of persons and plants
- Immediate information in case of critical issues
- high availability, low or no interruptions
- preventive maintenance
Depending on the electrical distribution system, different monitoring technologies apply.
In order to operate a photovoltaic system safely and reliably, it is recommended to use a floating (aka ungrounded / unearthed) system. That provides the utmost protection for the operating personnel and against downtime.
Bender ISOMETER® isoPV series is used for insulation monitoring of photovoltaic systems. A device with an integrated locating current injector (isoPV1685P only) allows further the allow the localization of the insulation fault using permanently installed or mobile insulation fault locators.