Managing an
Alternative Power Source
with a Power Plant Controller
Version 1.6
0
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller MAN-01-00xxx
Disclaimers
Important Notice
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necessary. However, discrepancies cannot be excluded. No guarantee is made for the
completeness of these documents.
The images contained in this document are for illustrative purposes only and may vary
depending on product models.
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Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
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Emission Compliance
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits applied by the
local regulations.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference
in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment
does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, you are encouraged to try to correct
the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which
the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for
compliance may void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
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Version History
Version 1.6 (January 2021) – updated configuration process
Version 1.5 (July 2020) – updated connection scheme
Version 1.4 (April 2020):
Updated configuration UI
Added section – Dynamic Site Limitation configuration
Added Appendix – debug mode configuration
Version 1.3 (January 2020) – added IOD (Input/Output Driver) algorithm
Version 1.2, December 2019 – support for external configuration file
Version 1.1, November 2019 – updated IOD software configuration procedure
Version 1.0, November 2019 – first release
Contents
Disclaimers .......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Version History .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Contents ............................................................................................................................................................... 3
Handling and Safety Instructions ............................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
System Requirements ..................................................................................................................................... 6
System Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Installing and Configuring the System ................................................................................................. 10
Appendix A - Identifying the Inverter CPU Firmware Version .................................................... 19
Appendix B – Debug Mode Configuration ......................................................................................... 20
Supported Standards ................................................................................................................................... 24
Support Contact Information ................................................................................................................... 25
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
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WARNING
Denotes a hazard. It calls attention to a procedure that, if not correctly
performed or adhered to, could result in injury or loss of life. Do not proceed
beyond a warning note until the indicated conditions are fully understood
and met.
CAUTION!
Denotes a hazard. It calls attention to a procedure that, if not correctly
performed or adhered to, could result in damage or destruction of the
product. Do not proceed beyond a caution sign until the indicated conditions
are fully understood and met.
NOTE
Denotes additional information about the current subject.
IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE
Denotes information about safety issues.
NOTE
Discard this product according to local regulations or send it back to
SolarEdge.
Handling and Safety Instructions
During installation, testing and inspection, adherence to all the handling and safety
instructions is mandatory. Failure to do so may result in injury or loss of life and
damage to the equipment.
Safety Symbols Information
The following safety symbols are used in this document. Familiarize yourself with the
symbols and their meaning before installing or operating the system.
Disposal requirements under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
regulations:
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
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Introduction
Energy-generation systems (such as PV inverters) connected to the grid may include
different types of energy generating sources. In some cases, when grid power is
disconnected, PV inverters should operate in parallel with other voltage sources, such
as diesel generators. In this document, “generator” is used as a general term for such
sources.
When inverters operate concurrently with generators, they may be subjected to voltage
and frequency fluctuations that exceed trip settings, which are preset according to
regional grid connection requirements. To support simultaneous operation of the
inverter and a generator, the inverter extends its voltage and frequency operating
range once it receives a signal that the grid is unavailable (“Alternative Power Source
mode”). When the grid power is restored, the inverter automatically reverts to its
default country setting, which includes the original voltage and frequency operating
range.
A diesel generator (DG), specifically, requires a minimum production value in order to
maintain healthy operation. When a DG runs in parallel with a PV inverter, and the solar
power generated is similar to the power consumed by the site, the DG might not carry
enough load to reach its minimum recommended production value. In a worst case
scenario, a reverse power flow may occur, tripping generator protections, and causing a
site outage, or possibly damaging the generator.
To prevent such a scenario, while maintaining the benefits of a PV inverter installation,
the SolarEdge Power Plant Controller (PPC) can be used to dynamically limit solar
production in order to ensure a minimum required power supply from the DG. This
capability, known as Alternative Power Source (APS) Controller, also protects the DG in
the event of an extreme load drop. This allows the PV inverter to continuously maximize
power production without harming the other components in the system.
This document describes how to configure a PPC for use with SolarEdge inverters and
for simultaneous operation with a generator.
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NOTE
Due to the possibility of a loss of power for a second or more on the site
during a state change, it is highly recommended to install a UPS and connect
it to the PPC.
System Requirements
Alternative Power Source (APS) or Diesel Generation (DG) mode is supported by
SolarEdge inverters as follows:
Inverters using SetApp: CPU version 4.8.xxx or higher
Inverters with display: CPU version 3.25xx or higher
To check the inverter’s CPU version, see Appendix A.
The generator must be able to support the entire load independently. The generator
must not work in parallel with the grid (either grid or generator supply the power). The
generator connected to the PPC must have dry contact discrete outputs.
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Component connected to the PPC
Connection Method
Leader inverter
Modbus/TCP
Consumption Meter
RS-485
Diesel Generator dry contacts
2 wire
System Overview
The PPC’s digital input is connected to the generator's dry contacts. When an outage
occurs and the generator is started, the normally-open dry contact closes, and the PPC
signals the PV inverters to transition to DG mode. In DG mode, the PPC manages the
inverters’ production levels - reading the consumption meter and tracking inverter
power production, calculating the current site load, and dynamically setting production
limitation levels on the inverters.
The PPC is connected to the leader inverter via Modbus-TCP, while the leader inverter is
connected to its follower inverters via RS485. The PPC receives meter consumption
meter readings via Modbus-RTU (Over RS-485). The following table and diagram
summarize the connections.
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
Table 1: PPC Connections
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Figure 1: Single Generator with a Power Plant Controller
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Figure 2: System Flowchart
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Installing and Configuring the System
Installation and Configuration
Figure 3: Power Plant Controller
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
To install and configure the system:
1. Connect the generator to the PPC dry contacts.
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Figure 4: Connection Scheme with DG trigger to Power Plant Controller
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NOTE
Connect negative to negative (D- to B-), positive to positive (D+ to A+)
and GND to G. When configuring the IOD Controller, refer to the left
connector as /dev/ttyS1 and to the right connector as /dev/ttyS4 (as
labelled in the figure above).
2. Setup the Consumption Meter next to the grid access point (see Error! Reference
ource not found. above). This solution is supported by SolarEdge Meter model
WND-3Y-400-MB. Ensure that DIP switches 2 and 7 are in the ON (set to 1)
position.
Figure 5: Consumption Meter
3. Connect the consumption meter directly to the PPC using an RS485 connection:
Figure 6: Meter to PPC RS485 Connection
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
4. Connect the PPC to its power supply (included in the package).
Figure 7: PPC Power Supply Connector
5. Connect the PPC to the target network using a LAN cable.
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Figure 8: PPC LAN Connection
6. Power on the PPC.
Following power-up of the PPC, if a DHCP service is active in the router of the target
network, an IP address will be automatically allocated to the PPC within a few
seconds.
In order to learn the automatically assigned IP address, look at the router’s client
table or use an IP scanner. If these options are not available, refer to 0Appendix B –
Debug Mode Configuration, which provides guidelines for connecting a debug
cable to the PPC.
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7. Use your browser to connect to the PPC configuration software.
The default credentials are:
User: Admin
Password: password
It is recommend to change the password following login.
8. Click on SYSTEM in the sidebar menu. Configure the required network details and
timezone.
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
APS (Alternative Power Source) Configuration
To configure APS:
1. Click on APS CONTROLLER on the sidebar menu. The APS Controller page
appears as shown in the figure below. The page is divided into 4 sections:
General Configuration: for general algorithm parameters
Meter Configuration: for meter connection configuration
Master Inverter Configuration: for Leader Inverter connection configuration
Process Management: For controlling process automatic start.
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Figure 9: APS Controller Tab
2. Update the settings as required, and click on the Save button. The service MUST
be restarted manually to put the updates into effect (see the Error! Reference
ource not found. section for guidelines on restarting the service).
The individual settings are described in the following sections.
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Parameter
Values
Description
Minimum Required
Consumption
Float > 0
[Watts]
The minimum consumption required for applying the
algorithm. If the meter reads a value under this
threshold, the site will be limited to 0 percent
production.
Minimum Required
Power from DG
Float > 0
[Watts]
The minimum power required by the generator to
operate normally. The controller will use the input
from the consumption meter to limit the solar system
in order to hold this minimum value.
Total Inverter
Nominal Production
Float > 0
[Watts]
The sum of each inverter’s nominal power (therefore
the total power of the plant) in Watts.
CT AMPS
Integer
0 - 3000
Register AC Power on Follower Inverter #2 (#1 is the
Leader Inverter)
Parameter
Values
Description
Modbus Device Id
Integer
1-255
The meter device id (Default is 2)
Serial Port
A drop-down menu to choose one of the 2 serial
ports on the controller
Meter Location
If the meter is connected on the load side and is
always powered on, choose “After ATS”.
If the meter is connected on the generator side
and is powered on only when the generator is
working choose “DG supply only”.
General Configuration
This section is used for configuration of the basic algorithm parameters.
Meter Configuration
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Leader Inverter Configuration
The Leader Inverter should be only configured with an IP Address, TCP Port and
Modbus Device ID. If there are follower inverters connected to it, they can be added
by clicking on the Add Follower button. The Name is only a mnemonic identifier, the
Modbus Device ID represents the follower’s identifier on Modbus (and is mandatory).
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Supervisor Tab
This tab is used for controlling the services running on the controller in real time.
There are three services running on the controller:
APS – Contains the main logic for the APS solution. This service needs to be
restarted after a configuration change. By clicking on “Tail -f” you can see the
operation in real time.
APSTelemetry – Used to feed the Professional services monitoring tab in the
SolarEdge monitoring portal.
MsdcMonitor – Used for monitoring purposes by the Professional-Services
team.
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Appendix A - Identifying the Inverter CPU Firmware Version
To check the inverter’s CPU firmware version, perform one of the
following actions:
For inverters using the SetApp mobile application: Select Commissioning
Information. The information page, containing the CPU version, appears as
shown below:
For devices with a display: Short press the LCD light button on the inverter
until the screen below is displayed.
I D : # # # # # # # # # #
D S P 1 / 2 : x . x x x x / x . x x x x
C P U : 0 0 0 3 . 2 4 6 7
C o u n t r y : X X X X X
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Appendix B – Debug Mode Configuration
To set the PPC to run in debug mode:
1. Connect the LAN cable and make sure that it is connected to the Internet over
TCP/IP.
Figure 10: PPC LAN Connection
1. Connect a serial cable to the PPC’s DEBUG port.
Figure 11: PPC Serial Connection
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
NOTE
The serial/debug cable must have communications (and not just charging)
capabilities.
2. Open the Device Manager and locate the serial port being used:
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Figure 12: Device Manager Tree
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3. Open the PuTTY tool’s configuration window (on MS-Windows). Serial line
should be set to the serial port displayed in the Device Manager. The
connection speed should be set to 115200.
Figure 13: Setting Terminal Bit Rate
4. Connect the serial cable to a laptop. Open a terminal session on the serial
port displayed in the Device Manager, as shown above.
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5. Login using the following credentials:
User: Installer
Password: PSinstaller
Figure 14: Open a Terminal Session
6. The PPC’s IP address was assigned using DHCP, get the address by entering in
the terminal:
ifconfig <Enter>
The address can be found in the eth0 section of the reply.
Figure 15: Finding the IP Address
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Supported Standards
Directive 2004/108/CE Electromagnetic Compatibility
Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/CE for electrical equipment (voltage between
50-1000VAC 75-15000VDC)
Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2002/95/EC
Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2012/19/CE
EMI Standards EN 55022; EN 55024
Safety Requirement EN 61010-1
Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
Support Contact Information
If you have technical problems concerning SolarEdge products, please contact us:
https://www.solaredge.com/service/support
Before contact, make sure to have the following information at hand:
Model and serial number of the product in question.
The error indicated on the product SetApp mobile application LCD screen or
on the monitoring platform or by the LEDs, if there is such an indication.
System configuration information, including the type and number of modules
connected and the number and length of strings.
The communication method to the SolarEdge server, if the site is connected.
{color red}{color red}The product's software version as it appears in the ID
status screen.
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Managing an Alternative Power Source with a Power Plant Controller
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