Renewable Energy

Wireless sensor networks in large-scale deployments for photovoltaic or concentrating solar power are used for real-time equipment monitoring, and are critical to maintaining plant uptime. The long battery life and ability to withstand harsh conditions make this technology ideal for applications in renewable energy.

Benefits of wireless sensor networks (WSN) in renewable energy:

• Reduces equipment downtime with real-time monitoring
• Lowers cost of deployment over large areas by eliminating cabling and reducing costs of installation
• Provides reliable connections even in harshest outdoor conditions
• Long battery life reduces replacement effort and costs

Solar Plant Monitoring

The challenges associated with a large-scale deployment of solar energy generation systems make the use of wireless sensor networks quite compelling. For these systems, reducing installation costs while maximizing operational efficiency is paramount to success. The equipment costs, installation labor, and complexity of the network communications infrastructure can quickly become the single largest factor in the deployment as these systems scale in size.

Whether photovoltaic (PV) or concentrating solar power (CSP), critical performance metrics must be monitored in real-time, and the health of equipment such as inverters, tracker motors, or heliostat targeting systems, are critical to maintaining constant uptime of the plant. The requirement for highly reliable two-way communications for monitoring and control is easily met with SmartMesh’s industry-proven WSN solutions.