A SolarEdge, one of the world's leading inverter manufacturers, has made its line of inverters with Synergy technology available to the Brazilian market, with powers of up to 120 kW.
SolarEdge is known for its power optimizer technology, which allows maximum power tracking and individual monitoring of each module that makes up the photovoltaic system.
Synergy technology allows fast commissioning and integration of inverters through a concentrator box called Synergy Manager.
In addition to the function of concentrating the strings and AC connections, the Synergy Manager incorporates monitoring, protection, sectioning functionalities and also has advanced features of protection against electric arc (AFCI – arc fault current switch) and reduction of PID effect (potential induced degradation) of photovoltaic modules.
One of the great advantages of Synergy technology is resource centralization, as Synergy Manager incorporates features that would normally be integrated into inverters. By removing some functionality from the inverters, moving them to Synergy Manager, inverters are obtained that are more compact, lighter and with a better cost-benefit ratio.
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Equipment with Synergy technology is available in Brazil for three-phase networks of 220V/127V and 380V/220V, in powers of 75 kW, 100 kW and 120 kW. Next, we show how a Synergy system from SolarEdge is constituted.
Setting up a system involves the DC and AC connections between the Synergy Manager and the inverters, the connection of communication cables, and the DC and AC connections of the Synergy Manager to the photovoltaic strings and the electrical grid, respectively.
Synergy Manager Connections to Inverters
The following figure illustrates the connection of the Synergy Manager communication cable to the inverter communication input.
Next, the DC connections between the Synergy Manager and the inverter are shown.
The figure below illustrates the AC connection from the Synergy Manager to the inverter.
When installing the AC cable, pay attention to the alignment of the pins, as shown in the images below.
Connection of the photovoltaic array to Synergy Manager
The DC connections of the photovoltaic system are made to the busbars located to the left of the Synergy Manager.
The Synergy Manager can be equipped with external MC4 connectors or not. Depending on the case, simply connect the strings directly to the MC4 connectors on the Synergy Manager's bottom .
The following figure shows a version of Synergy Manager with external MC4 connectors.
The figure below shows the internal connections of the Synergy Manager. The DC connections are made on the left side, while the connections are located on the right side.
To make AC connections, it is necessary to remove the Synergy Manager cover.
The Synergy Manager is connected to the electrical network by ing a multi-pole cable through the cable gland hole on the right side, as illustrated in the figure below.
The AC connection requires 3 phase conductors, 1 neutral conductor and 1 ground conductor.
Synergy Manager AC connections to the electrical grid. The three connectors on the left correspond to the phases. The last connector (on the right) corresponds to the neutral
Grounding conductor connection, located on the right side of the Synergy Manager internal compartment
Connecting communication cables to Synergy Manager
To activate the monitoring system and collect data for the SolarEdge cloud platform, it is necessary to connect a network cable to the Synergy Manager, as illustrated in the figure below.
Communication uses the Ethernet standard, which allows the Synergy Manager to be connected to a port on a conventional network router, connected to the Internet. The connection is made via a network cable with RJ45 terminals.
If there are multiple Synergy systems in the photovoltaic plant, they must be connected to each other using RS485 cables, as shown in the following figure.
The inverters must be connected in cascade using the RS485 connectors highlighted in the following figure.
Only one Synergy Mager system will be connected to the Internet network. The other Synergy Managers must communicate via RS485 cables with the main Synergy Manager, which receives the Ethernet connection.
Finally, the figure below shows a Synergy system with all connections made.
An answer
Very interesting solution, depending on the value practiced in Brazil, it can be integrated into several projects, as it has an innovative proposal that provides security, practicality and technological innovation.