New Industry Products

Eaton Advances Power Management for Solar Installations Optimizing Energy Harvest and Reliability

November 01, 2012 by Jeff Shepard

Eaton Corporation has introduced PVGard® engineered monitoring system, which helps solar customers monitor and proactively manage solar plant's equipment. The web-based PVGard monitoring system, which Eaton previewed at the Solar Power International Conference in Orlando, alerts customers to underperforming panels, inverters and transformers. Providing advanced predictions of many potential failures, the PVGard system helps customers avoid downtime and maximize energy harvest. The PVGard system was developed to advance solar projects and satisfy power purchase agreements.

"Eaton has an expansive network of application and field service engineers to provide local support for solar customers," said Bill Miller, global marketing director at Eaton. "With the PVGard system and Eaton's engineering support, customers can improve system uptime and reduce maintenance costs by tracking equipment health and identifying power problems before they occur."

With custom algorithms to track multiple inputs, the PVGard engineered monitoring system helps customers maintain and improve system performance. It collects data directly from equipment including PV arrays, inverters, AC equipment and weather parameters. Transmitting data in real-time, PVGard enables customers and plant operators to respond faster to abnormal conditions.

The monitoring and display software enables customization to incorporate descriptive text, schematic diagrams and customer-specific data. The PVGard engineered monitoring system also provides real-time data and alarm notification through text and email.