pv magazine Webinar | Big data meets big brother — Expectations from modern solar monitoring systems

Initiative partner: Solare Datensysteme

Big data and artificial intelligence have a place in the solar industry – and that is in the maintenance sector. The inanimate nature of PV modules easily tricks one into thinking that all that needs taking care of is the owner sitting back and watching how the sun shines onto the array generating electricity and cash. Reality is much more complicated; modules, cables, inverters, and even the weather need to be continuously checked for their faultless functionality to ensure the project can always operate at its best. The tight financial margins of modern solar operations don't allow much room for error.

This is why solar monitoring systems are continually evolving, much like the components they are designed to check. But such systems can be a bit of a pain point when they haven't been designed with O&M operators or asset managers in mind. Our webinar partner and monitoring system provider, Solare Datensysteme GmbH -Solar-log, has concluded a process in which the company jointly developed the latest product iteration, with a selection of its customers. In this way, Solar-log could learn about shortcomings of previous versions and get a close look into how O&M companies work and how they use monitoring systems in the real world.

Joining us from Solar-log, Chief Product Officer Holger Schroth, will explain how the company devised big data approaches to improve its solution's customer experience. By letting the system learn specific failure patterns, Solar-log says it can exclude false alarms and thus minimize unnecessary truck rolls or time spent in front of the screen trying to interpret what might have gone wrong. Schroth says for certain types of failures, the artificial intelligence driven system can automatically determine the reason and location. This would make it clear what kind of professional and what kind of replacement parts and tools are needed to get the plant back online. A significant saving compared to dealing with false alarms and truck rolls into the unknown.

Steve Poussard, CEO of the O&M company Sundays Data Systems, will contribute to this webinar, as he will be explaining how his company could shave off expensive hours of researching failures that weren't there. We will learn, supported by real world data, the positive financial impact on O&M when advanced tools are used.

Register free of charge for this webinar and ask your questions around the nexus of O&M, big data, and artificial intelligence.

pv magazine Webinar Content:
· How does system monitor help users today?
· How can system monitoring do more in the future and relieve the user?
· Process digitalized and good it is?
· What makes a good monitoring system?
· Q&A

Questions can be submitted beforehand or during the webinar through a chat window. Marian Willuhn from pv magazine will be the moderator of this webinar.

Registration for this pv magazine Webinar is free of charge.

This webinar was recorded on 10 February 2021.