Overview
What is a Smart Solar PV System?
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are an eco-conscious investment because they can eliminate carbon emissions with low operational costs. Homeowners and commercial buildings can generate their own renewable electricity while achieving significant financial savings.
A smart solar PV system is a large investment for homeowners and enterprises and fast payback time is one of the most critical decision criteria. Equipment makers and system integrators must convince buyers of superior production efficiency to win sales in the highly competitive market. Maximizing solar efficiency and remote monitoring can be achieved with smart solutions for managing shadows, aging, and dust to minimize ownership costs and payback time.
Wireless Solar PV Panel Benefits
With wireless connectivity you can build a cost-efficient smart solar PV system equipped with power optimizers and DC microinverters, increasing the energy output by constantly tracking the maximum power point (MPPT) on a module level.
Wireless power electronics also reduce installation and maintenance costs. Due to the individual solar PV panel optimizers, the entire system operates optimally even when installed on curved or uneven surfaces such as in many building-integrated-photovoltaic (BIPV) systems.
Smart solar PV systems can now be fitted for almost all buildings, expanding the market to new installation scenarios that would not have been possible before.
Wireless Solutions for Solar PV Equipment
Silicon Labs provides secure, reliable, and flexible wireless solutions to solar PV equipment producers, helping to solve the toughest product development challenges. Our wireless SoCs and modules enable smart solar PV systems support wireless connectivity such as Proprietary, Connect, or Wi-SUN for unlimited system scalability. These wireless technologies remove inverter scalability limitations and facilitate module-level MPPT, which increases system efficiency.
Explore these key design considerations to develop a scalable smart solar PV system.
Optimal Network Protocol for Smart Solar PV Systems
Wireless mesh networking offers unlimited scalability, allowing system integrators to easily customize smart solar PV system for sites of all sizes – from small residential homes to large enterprise and industrial installations.
High data throughput and self-healing any-to-any connectivity of mesh networking makes smart solar PV system reliable and resilient, reducing outages and maintenance costs. IPv6-based Wi-SUN mesh networking enables creating a digital twin of each site and including an unlimited number of solar PV panels on a single wireless, remote management network.
RF Performance for Smart Solar PV Systems
With a TX power of 20 dBm and ultimate receiver sensitivity, Silicon Labs wireless hardware enables reliable wireless connectivity.
Resilient Network Connectivity
Connectivity issues on rooftops increase maintenance costs significantly. With the Silicon Labs wireless solutions supporting Wi-SUN mesh networking, you can minimize connectivity outages and site visits. The power optimizers and microinverters enabled with Wi-SUN automatically form a high-throughput, resilient, self-healing network.
Security for Wireless Solar PV Systems
Protection against hacking and cyberattacks is critical on all devices connected to high-voltage equipment and the electricity grid, including smart solar PV systems. Silicon Labs chip sets feature the world's most advanced cybersecurity protection, including the first chip sets to be recognized as ARM PSA Certified Level 3.
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