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Monitoring
Clients and Operators are increasingly looking for more user-friendly on-site display & commissioning features as well as more extensive remote monitoring & control capabilities.
The power and flexibility, not to mention the time-saving potential, provided by current generation remote communications functionality must be seen to be believed.
The vast majority of equipment used in DC Power Systems now has some form of monitoring potential. It is strongly recommended to take advantage of this capability!
System monitoring can be loosely separated into two scopes: Local and Remote.
They are not mutually exclusive – often implementing both gives the best combination of features for both the on-site technicians as well as the off-site operations centre.
Local Monitoring considerations:
Hardware with local monitoring options tend to offer some of the following options:
LCD Display & Navigation Buttons can be as simple as a ‘permanently attached multimeter’ allowing read-out of system voltages & currents.
Most include a degree of datalogging which allows you to skip back in time to investigate system behaviour & performance or to drill into interruption events.
These devices usually also allow fully customisable parameters which makes them the most suitable types for extending battery life or for use with Lithium batteries.
Serial and Ethernet Interface options allow for the connection to 3rd party equipment such as RTU’s.
USB Interfaces are most commonly used for connectivity to a laptop for temporary logging or PC-based parameter adjustments.
Bluetooth equipped products can be viewed and usually programmed via the manufacturer’s App. They are usually very easy and convenient for both end users and technicians. Some Bluetooth products include security options such as custom password options and even outright disabling of the BT functions.
WiFi equipped products can be viewed and programmed via either a manufacturer’s App or a web browser. As with the BT devices, they’re usually very easy & convenient for users and technicians and usually offer customisable security options.
Remote Monitoring considerations:
Remote monitoring is usually targeted towards either industrial or consumer use. Remote connectivity is most commonly provided via native or retrofitted Ethernet connectivity, but in some cases it can be facilitated by a Serial Interface or a direct 4G modem accessory.
Industrial remote monitoring usually involves SNMP messaging, typically via Ethernet connectivity though occasionally via Serial. Industrial clients usually require system status information to be sent to their own, often proprietary and secure, fleet management platform.
Products which offer this will provide register maps to allow their data to be mapped to any fleet management platform, though this mapping will need to be individually implemented.
These products also usually offer a limited ‘standard web interface’ that can be used without needing dedicated mapping integration. This interface is usually a ‘direct view’ into the device.
Consumer remote monitoring usually involves Ethernet or direct modem connectivity to the web. Data from the system is uploaded regularly to the manufacturer’s online monitoring portal. Users and technicians can access these portals from either browsers or Apps (or both). Some account levels also have permission to make programming changes remotely.
These online portals are usually very user-friendly and graphically easy to navigate and use. They also have access to the system alarm logs and include very powerful investigation & diagnostic functions.
While most of these portals do not support SNMP, many of them can be accessed via APIs if integration with 3rd party software is required. However the system data is hosted and retained by the manufacturer.
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