KR20220050405A - Solar photovoltaic power station monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solar photovoltaic power station monitoring system. In accordance with the present invention, the solar photovoltaic power station monitoring system includes: a remote terminal unit (RTU) electrically connected with an inverter installed in a solar photovoltaic power station to convert DC electricity generated by a solar photovoltaic power generator into AC electricity, and collecting condition information about the solar photovoltaic power station and the inverter and data on generation amount of the solar photovoltaic power station as a data collector to store and wirelessly transmit the information and the data to the outside; and a monitoring server wirelessly communicating with the RTU, receiving the condition information and the data on generation amount wirelessly transmitted from the RTU, analyzing the received condition information and the data on generation amount to diagnose various problematic situations including a power failure, malfunction of equipment, a landslide, and a fire, and providing a variety of information and data to customers. In accordance with the present invention, data packets between the RTU and the inverter are analyzed to be stored in a memory and transmitted to a server, and, afterward, the information in the memory is analyzed to identify which one is an error related with the RTU. Accordingly, the occurrence of a similar error related with the RTU can be predicted and handled.

Description

Solar photovoltaic power station monitoring system

The present invention relates to a photovoltaic power plant monitoring system, and more particularly, by remotely checking the data set in relation to the photovoltaic power plant operation and the state of the RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) to predict and detect the occurrence of an event, and appropriately It relates to a solar power plant monitoring system that can cope.

Photovoltaic Power Generation is a power generation method that converts sunlight into direct current electricity and produces electricity using solar energy by installing a solar panel with a plurality of solar cells attached to it on a large scale. .

As the demand for renewable energy increases, the production of solar cells and solar cell arrays is also increasing significantly, and currently, solar power generation systems are being built in a grid-connected type.

Furthermore, many countries, including Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan and the United States, are expanding the installation of solar power generation facilities by supporting financial incentives such as preferential standard price mandatory purchase system and price offsetting system for solar electricity.

Solar power generation is spotlighted as an alternative energy source in the future because it can be used semi-permanently, maintenance is simple by using a solar cell, and uses a pollution-free and limitless solar energy source.

However, in order to produce large-capacity photovoltaic electricity, a large number of photovoltaic panels must be installed in a large area. It is not possible to determine whether the efficiency of power generation is declining, etc.

Accordingly, in order to ensure efficient operation of the photovoltaic power generation system, efficient monitoring of photovoltaic power generation facilities is emerging.

On the other hand, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2014-0137991 (Patent Document 1) discloses a "solar power generation monitoring method and monitoring system", and the monitoring system according to this discloses a plurality of RTUs respectively connected to the solar power plant. In the monitoring system including a (Remote Terminal Unit) and one monitoring server, the RTU, the first communication unit for receiving the meter reading data from the solar power plant; a monitoring unit generating remote data based on the meter reading data; and a second communication unit for transmitting the generated remote data to the monitoring server, wherein the monitoring server includes: a verification unit for verifying the transmitted remote data; and an RTU control unit for transmitting an RTU control value based on the verification result of the verification unit to each RTU.

In the case of Patent Document 1 as described above, as monitoring of a plurality of photovoltaic power plants using wireless communication becomes possible, there is an advantage in that the monitoring information transmission equipment can be efficiently operated without being affected by various environmental problems. However, since there is no means to separately analyze the errors related to the RTU, it is difficult to identify the errors related to the RTU.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0137991 (published on Dec. 3, 2014)

The present invention was created to improve the problems of the prior art as described above, by analyzing the communication data packet between the RTU and the inverter, storing it in the memory and transmitting it to the server, and later analyzes the information in the memory to prevent errors related to the RTU It aims to provide a solar power plant monitoring system that can predict and cope with similar errors related to RTU in advance by identifying what they are.

In order to achieve the above object, the solar power plant monitoring system according to the present invention,

It is installed in a photovoltaic power plant and is electrically connected to an inverter that converts direct current electricity generated by the photovoltaic device into alternating current electricity, and as a data collecting device, status information about the photovoltaic power plant and the inverter and the amount of power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) that collects, stores, and wirelessly transmits to the outside; and

Wireless communication with the RTU, wirelessly receiving the status information and power generation data wirelessly transmitted from the RTU, and analyzing the received status information and power generation data to detect the occurrence of various problem situations including power outages, device failures, landslides, and fires It is characterized in that it includes a monitoring server that diagnoses and provides various information and data to customers.

Here, the RTU is,

An internal communication unit that performs communication with the photovoltaic power plant and serves as a data collection unit that collects the power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant and status information of photovoltaic device elements including power outages, inverter failures, and various sensor failures Wow;

a server communication unit serving as a data transmitting unit for wirelessly transmitting generation amount data of the photovoltaic power plant and state information of photovoltaic device elements to the monitoring server; and

It may be configured to include a control unit for controlling the status check and operation of all components of the RTU, including the internal communication unit and the server communication unit.

Here, preferably, the RTU is

a memory for storing power generation data collected by the internal communication unit and status information of solar power generation device elements including power failure, inverter failure, and various sensor failures;

an event analysis unit for analyzing an event based on the amount of power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant stored in the memory and state information of the photovoltaic device elements stored in the memory when an event occurs on the photovoltaic power plant side; and

The event processing unit may further include an event processing unit that performs a corresponding processing according to the type of event analyzed by the event analysis unit.

In addition, the internal communication unit of the RTU uses at least one of RS485 communication, Ethernet communication, and Wifi communication method to receive a signal from an inverter of a solar power plant or an environmental sensor and a fire detection sensor installed at the site of the power plant. can be configured to

In addition, the server communication unit of the RTU using at least one of LTE communication, LoRa communication, and WCDMA communication method to wirelessly transmit the power generation amount data of the photovoltaic power plant and the status information of the photovoltaic device elements to the monitoring server Can be configured there is.

In addition, the RTU, the internal communication unit, the server communication unit and the main body forming the main body of the device to embed the control unit; a communication antenna for a modem installed on one side of the main body and for communication with the monitoring server; a modem status display unit for displaying the status of the modem in different colors; a data transmission switch for transmitting data to the monitoring server; Debug (Debug) port for RTU equipment development or maintenance; an ISP port for updating firmware; a reset switch for restarting the RTU; a power connection terminal for connection of an adapter for supplying power to the RTU; an inverter connection port for communication with the inverter of the solar power plant; and a status display unit for displaying various states of the RTU, such as power adapter connection, battery charging, communication with a monitoring server, data transmission/reception and communication with an inverter.

Here, preferably, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the inverter and an electrostatic sensor for detecting the blackout state of the solar power plant may be further built in the main body of the RTU.

In addition, the monitoring server,

The power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant and the state information of the photovoltaic device elements transmitted by the server communication unit of the RTU, image information captured by a camera installed at the power plant site, weather and weather information from the outside, and power generation amount information a data/information collecting unit for receiving;

The amount of power generation data of the solar power plant collected by the data/information collecting unit and the state information of solar power generation device elements, image information captured by a camera installed at the power plant site, weather and meteorological information from the outside, and power generation amount a big data generator for generating big data based on various information and data including information; and

Data is analyzed based on the big data generated by the big data generating unit, and based on preset worker information, a worker who can solve the inverter field determined to have a problem, that is, a worker smartphone It searches and matches workers, creates a guide map (electronic map) where the inverter with the problem is located and provides it to the worker’s smartphone, and guides the worker on the optimal route to reach the destination on the guide map (electronic map) It may be configured to include an artificial intelligence unit.

Here, preferably, the monitoring server,

By analyzing the state information of the elements of the photovoltaic power generation device received through the data/information collecting unit, an event situation including a power outage, equipment failure, landslide, and fire is predicted, and when an event situation occurs, a corresponding specific signal is generated an event prediction/sensing unit that outputs; and

An alarm unit for receiving a specific signal from the event prediction/detection unit and generating an alarm may be further included.

In addition, the data / information collection unit of the monitoring server,

a power generation information collecting unit for collecting power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant and state information of photovoltaic device elements transmitted from the RTU;

an image collection unit for collecting image information captured by a camera installed at a power plant site; and

It may be configured to include a related information collection unit that collects information related to power generation, including weather and weather information and power generation amount information from the outside.

According to the present invention as described above, by analyzing the communication data packet between the RTU and the inverter, storing it in the memory and transmitting it to the server, and later analyzing the information in the memory to find out what the error related to the RTU is, a similar error related to the RTU is generated It has the advantage of being able to anticipate and deal with it in advance.

In addition, it is possible to remotely check the data set in relation to the operation of the photovoltaic power plant and the state of the RTU, which has the advantage of reducing the manpower and time applied to the field.

In addition, since the RTU can maintain high communication sensitivity even inside a building or enclosure, information and data related to solar power generation can be collected smoothly. There are advantages to doing.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a solar power plant monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing the internal configuration of the RTU of the solar power plant monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 .
3 is a view showing the external configuration of the RTU of the solar power plant monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 .
4 is a view showing the internal configuration of the monitoring server of the solar power plant monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 .

The terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventor may appropriately define the concept of the term in order to best describe his invention. Based on the principle, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention.

Throughout the specification, when a part "includes" a certain element, it means that other elements may be further included, rather than excluding other elements, unless otherwise stated. In addition, terms such as “…unit”, “…group”, “module”, and “device” described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which is hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. can be implemented as

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a solar power plant monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, the solar power plant monitoring system 100 according to the present invention is RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) (110); and a monitoring server 120 .

RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) 110 is installed in the photovoltaic power plant and is electrically connected to an inverter that converts direct current electricity generated by the photovoltaic device into alternating current electricity, and is a data collecting device for the photovoltaic power plant and inverter. State information and power generation data of the solar power plant are collected, stored, and wirelessly transmitted to the outside (here, to the monitoring server 120).

Monitoring server 120 wirelessly communicates with the RTU 110, receives wirelessly transmitted status information and power generation data from the RTU 110, and analyzes the received status information and power generation data to prevent power outages, device failures, It diagnoses the occurrence of various problem situations including landslides and fires, and provides various information and data to customers (eg, business owners, construction companies, safety managers, etc.). Here, such a monitoring server 120 may be configured as a general computer system.

In addition, the RTU 110, as shown in FIG. 2, performs communication with the photovoltaic power generation facility 105 (refer to FIG. 1), and generates data and power outages of the photovoltaic power plant, inverter failure, various an internal communication unit 210 serving as a data collection unit for collecting status information of solar power generation device elements including sensor failure; a server communication unit 220 serving as a data transmission unit for wirelessly transmitting generation amount data of the photovoltaic power plant and state information of photovoltaic device elements to the monitoring server 120 (refer to FIG. 1); And it may be configured to include a control unit 230 for controlling the status check and operation of all components of the RTU (110) including the internal communication unit 210 and the server communication unit 220.

Here, preferably, the RTU 110 as described above is a memory ( 240) and; When an event occurs on the solar power plant side, an event analysis unit 250 for analyzing an event based on the amount of power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant stored in the memory 240 and the state information of the photovoltaic device elements; and performing a corresponding process (eg, lowering the cut-off switch to cut off connection with an external system) according to the type of event analyzed by the event analysis unit 250 (eg, a power outage of a solar power plant) It may further include an event processing unit 260 to.

In addition, the internal communication unit 210 of the RTU 110 uses at least one of RS485 communication 211 , Ethernet communication 212 , Wifi communication 213 method, the inverter of the solar power plant or It may be configured to receive signals from an environmental sensor and a fire detection sensor installed at the power plant site.

In addition, the server communication unit 220 of the RTU 110 uses at least one of LTE communication 221 , LoRa communication 222 , and WCDMA communication 223 method to generate data and solar power generation device of the solar power plant. It may be configured to wirelessly transmit the status information of the elements to the monitoring server 120 .

In addition, the RTU 110, as shown in FIG. 3, the internal communication unit 210, the server communication unit 220 and the control unit 230 are built into the body of the main body constituting the main body of the device. Bu (110m) and; a communication antenna 111 for a modem installed on one side of the main body 110m and for communication with the monitoring server 120; a modem status display unit 112 for displaying the status of the modem in different colors (eg, when power is applied, a red LED is turned on, and when connected to a base station, a green LED is also turned on); a data transmission switch 113 for data transmission to the monitoring server 120; a debug (Debug) port 114 for the development or maintenance of RTU equipment; an ISP port 115 for updating firmware; a reset switch 116 for restarting the RTU 110; a power connection terminal 117 for connection of an adapter for supplying power to the RTU 110; an inverter connection port 118 for communication with the inverter of the solar power plant; and a status display unit 119 for displaying various states of the RTU 110 such as power adapter connection, battery charging, communication with a monitoring server, data transmission/reception and communication with an inverter. Here, the data transmission switch 113 transmits data to the monitoring server 120 when the button is pressed while the communication modem is connected to the base station, but transmits the data 30 seconds after power is applied, and thereafter, every 10 minutes send data to

In addition, the status display unit 119 may be composed of LEDs of various colors, and can display a given meaning by being lit for each color as shown in Table 1 below.

name explanation PWR (Green) On when power adapter is connected BAT (red) Lights up when the battery is being charged BAT (Green) Turns on when the battery is fully charged SVR (red) On when there is a problem communicating with the server TX (red) On when sending data to the inverter RX (yellow) On when receiving data from the inverter ERR (red) Turns on when there is a problem with the RTU such as communication with the inverter.

Here, preferably, the main body portion 110m of the RTU 110 may further include a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the inverter and an electrostatic sensor for detecting a blackout state of the solar power plant.

In addition, the monitoring server 120, as shown in FIG. 4, the power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant transmitted by the server communication unit 220 of the RTU 110 and the state information of the photovoltaic device elements, a data/information collecting unit 121 for receiving image information captured by a camera installed at a power plant site, weather and meteorological information from the outside, and power generation amount information; The data/information collection unit 122 collects the power generation data of the solar power plant and the state information of the photovoltaic device elements, the image information captured by the camera installed at the power plant site, and the weather and meteorological information from the outside a big data generating unit 122 for generating big data based on various information and data including information on the amount of power generation; and a worker who can analyze data based on the big data generated by the big data generating unit 122 and solve the inverter field determined to have a problem while analyzing the data based on preset worker information, that is, It searches the worker's smartphone to match the worker, creates a guide map (electronic map) where the problematic inverter is located and provides it to the worker's smartphone, and allows the worker to reach the destination on the guide map (electronic map). It may be configured to include an artificial intelligence unit 123 that guides the optimal path.

Here, preferably, the monitoring server 120 analyzes the state information of the photovoltaic device elements received through the data/information collecting unit 121 to include power outages, device failures, landslides, and fires. an event prediction/sensing unit 124 for predicting an event situation and outputting a corresponding specific signal (eg, a specific current or frequency signal, an infrared signal, or a sound wave signal, etc.) when the event situation occurs; and an alarm unit 125 that receives a specific signal from the event prediction/detection unit 124 and generates an alarm.

In addition, the data / information collection unit 121 of the monitoring server, the generation information collection unit (121a) for collecting the data of the amount of power generation of the photovoltaic power plant transmitted from the RTU 110 and the state information of the photovoltaic device elements Wow; an image collecting unit 121b for collecting image information captured by a camera installed at a power plant site; and a related information collecting unit 121c that collects information related to power generation, including weather and weather information and power generation amount information from the outside.

The solar power plant monitoring system 100 according to the present invention having the configuration as described above is installed in a photovoltaic power plant and is electrically connected to an inverter that converts direct current electricity generated by the photovoltaic device into alternating current electricity (RTU 110) collects state information about the solar power plant and inverter and the amount of power generation data of the solar power plant, stores it in the memory 240 and wirelessly transmits it to the monitoring server 120 . At this time, the control unit 230 of the RTU 110 analyzes the communication data packet between the RTU 110 and the inverter and stores it in the memory 240 , and transmits it to the monitoring server 120 through the server communication unit 220 .

Then, the monitoring server 120 wirelessly receives the state information and power generation data wirelessly transmitted from the RTU 110, and communication data packet analysis information between the RTU 110 and the inverter, and the received state information and data packet analysis information It analyzes and diagnoses the occurrence of various problem situations, including power outages, equipment failures, landslides, and fires, and provides various information and data to customers (business owners, construction companies, safety managers).

In a series of processes as described above, the artificial intelligence unit 123 of the monitoring server 120 analyzes data based on the big data generated by the big data generation unit 122, and based on the preset worker information, It searches for a worker who can solve the inverter field determined to have a problem, that is, a worker smartphone, which is nearby, and matches the worker, and creates a guide map (electronic map) where the inverter with the problem is located to the worker smartphone is provided, and the operator guides the optimal route to reach the destination on the guide map (electronic map). In addition, the event prediction/detection unit 124 of the monitoring server 120 analyzes the state information of the solar power generation device elements received through the data/information collection unit 121 to determine a power outage, a device failure, a landslide, or a fire. Predicting an event situation including, and outputting a corresponding specific signal (eg, a specific current or frequency signal, infrared signal, or sound wave signal, etc.) when the event situation occurs, the alarm unit 125 is an event prediction / It receives a specific signal from the detection unit 124 and generates an alarm. Accordingly, the system administrator or operator will understand the situation and take appropriate action.

As described above, the solar power plant monitoring system according to the present invention analyzes the communication data packet between the RTU and the inverter, stores it in the memory and transmits it to the server, and later analyzes the information in the memory to determine what the error related to the RTU is By doing so, there is an advantage in that similar errors related to RTU can be predicted and dealt with in advance.

In addition, it is possible to remotely check the data set in relation to the operation of the photovoltaic power plant and the state of the RTU, which has the advantage of reducing the manpower and time applied to the field.

In addition, since the RTU can maintain high communication sensitivity even inside a building or enclosure, information and data related to solar power generation can be collected smoothly. There are advantages to doing.

As mentioned above, although the present invention has been described in detail through preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is common in the art that various changes and applications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. self-explanatory to the technician. Accordingly, the true protection scope of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: (the present invention) solar power plant monitoring system
110: RTU 120: monitoring server
121: data/information collection unit 122: big data generation unit
123: artificial intelligence unit 124: event prediction / detection unit
125: alarm unit
210: internal communication unit 220: server communication unit
230: control unit 240: memory
250: event analysis unit 260: event processing unit

Claims (10)

It is installed in a photovoltaic power plant and is electrically connected to an inverter that converts direct current electricity generated by the photovoltaic device into alternating current electricity, and as a data collecting device, status information about the photovoltaic power plant and the inverter and the amount of power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) that collects, stores, and wirelessly transmits to the outside; and
Wireless communication with the RTU, wirelessly receiving the status information and power generation data wirelessly transmitted from the RTU, and analyzing the received status information and power generation data to detect the occurrence of various problem situations including power outages, device failures, landslides, and fires A solar power plant monitoring system including a monitoring server that diagnoses and provides various information and data to customers.
According to claim 1,
The RTU is
An internal communication unit that performs communication with the photovoltaic power plant and serves as a data collection unit that collects the power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant and status information of photovoltaic device elements including power outages, inverter failures, and various sensor failures Wow;
a server communication unit serving as a data transmitting unit for wirelessly transmitting generation amount data of the photovoltaic power plant and state information of photovoltaic device elements to the monitoring server; and
A solar power plant monitoring system configured to include a control unit for controlling the status check and operation of all components of the RTU, including the internal communication unit and the server communication unit.
3. The method of claim 2,
The RTU is
a memory for storing power generation data collected by the internal communication unit and status information of solar power generation device elements including power failure, inverter failure, and various sensor failures;
an event analysis unit for analyzing an event based on the amount of power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant stored in the memory and state information of the photovoltaic device elements stored in the memory when an event occurs on the photovoltaic power plant side; and
Solar power plant monitoring system further comprising an event processing unit for performing a corresponding processing according to the type of event analyzed by the event analysis unit.
3. The method of claim 2,
The internal communication unit of the RTU uses at least one of RS485 communication, Ethernet communication, and Wi-Fi communication method to receive a signal from an inverter of a solar power plant or an environmental sensor and a fire detection sensor installed at the site of the power plant. Solar power plant monitoring system.
3. The method of claim 2,
The server communication unit of the RTU uses at least one of LTE communication, LoRa communication, and WCDMA communication method to wirelessly transmit the power generation amount data of the solar power plant and status information of the photovoltaic device elements to the monitoring server monitoring a solar power plant. system.
3. The method of claim 2,
The RTU is
a main body forming a main body of the device by embedding the internal communication unit, server communication unit, and control unit;
a communication antenna for a modem installed on one side of the main body and for communication with the monitoring server;
a modem status display unit for displaying the status of the modem in different colors;
a data transmission switch for transmitting data to the monitoring server;
Debug (Debug) port for RTU equipment development or maintenance;
an ISP port for updating firmware; a reset switch for restarting the RTU;
a power connection terminal for connection of an adapter for supplying power to the RTU;
an inverter connection port for communication with the inverter of the solar power plant; and
A solar power plant monitoring system configured including a status display that displays various statuses of the RTU, such as connecting the power adapter, charging the battery, communicating with the monitoring server, sending and receiving data to and from the inverter.
7. The method of claim 6,
A solar power plant monitoring system in which a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the inverter and a power outage sensor for detecting a blackout state of the photovoltaic power plant are further embedded in the main body of the RTU.
According to claim 1,
The monitoring server,
The power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant and the state information of the photovoltaic device elements transmitted by the server communication unit of the RTU, image information captured by a camera installed at the power plant site, weather and weather information from the outside, and power generation amount information a data/information collecting unit for receiving;
The amount of power generation data of the solar power plant collected by the data/information collecting unit and the state information of solar power generation device elements, image information captured by a camera installed at the power plant site, weather and meteorological information from the outside, and power generation amount a big data generator for generating big data based on various information and data including information; and
Analyzes data based on the big data generated by the big data generator, matches the worker who is closest to you based on preset worker information, and can solve the inverter field determined to have a problem, Solar power constructed including an artificial intelligence unit that creates a guide map (electronic map) where the inverter with a problem is located and provides it to the worker's smartphone, and guides the worker the optimal route to reach the destination on the guide map (electronic map) Power plant monitoring system.
9. The method of claim 8,
The monitoring server,
By analyzing the state information of the elements of the photovoltaic power generation device received through the data/information collecting unit, an event situation including a power outage, equipment failure, landslide, and fire is predicted, and when an event situation occurs, a corresponding specific signal is generated an event prediction/sensing unit that outputs; and
The solar power plant monitoring system further comprising an alarm unit for receiving a specific signal from the event prediction/detection unit and generating an alarm. 9. The method of claim 8,
The data / information collection unit of the monitoring server,
a power generation information collecting unit for collecting power generation data of the photovoltaic power plant and state information of photovoltaic device elements transmitted from the RTU;
an image collection unit for collecting image information captured by a camera installed at a power plant site; and
A solar power plant monitoring system configured to include a related information collection unit that collects information related to power generation, including external weather and weather information and generation amount information.

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