Smart Solar Farming with Teltonika Solutions
As solar energy continues to dominate the renewable sector, efficient operations and equipment health have become critical for
long term sustainability. In 2023, solar power capacity reached 1,418 GW worldwide, making it the leading source of renewable energy. But with this growth comes a new challenge: how can we ensure continuous monitoring and reliability in large-scale, remote solar farms?
The Challenge: Remote Monitoring for Solar Infrastructure
A solar farm is much more than just panels. It includes converters, controllers, and energy storage system components that must be monitored around the clock. Since solar plants are often located in remote environments, operators require a scalable and reliable monitoring system that ensures smooth operations while enabling predictive maintenance to identify potential issues before they become costly failures
What is a Switch?
In networking, a switch is a device that connects multiple end devices (such as controllers, converters, or sensors) into a single network. It allows all these components to communicate with each other and with higher-level systems.
The Teltonika TSW212 is an industrial-grade managed switch that provides more advanced control. With the TSW212, you can configure traffic rules, enhance security, and optimize network performance making it a perfect choice for mission critical solar applications.
What is TRB140?
The TRB140 IoT Gateway is a compact industrial gateway that provides cellular internet connectivity (LTE Cat 4) to remote sites. Since many solar farms are located in areas with
no wired internet, TRB140 acts as the bridge between the solar farm network and the outside world.
- TSW212 (Switch) connects all the local devices together.
- TRB140 (Gateway) connects the solar farm to the cloud or central ERP system.
What is Modbus?
Modbus is an industrial communication protocol widely used to transmit data between devices. Think of it as a common “language” that allows controllers, sensors, and gateways to share information reliably. In solar applications, Modbus is used to collect operational data (like voltage, current, and system status) and send it to a central monitoring system.
- Modbus TCP = Modbus over Ethernet (IP network).
- This is the protocol TRB140 uses to send solar farm data to the remote ERP or monitoring platform.
How It Work?
- Each solar panel’s controller or converter connects to the TSW212 switch using RJ45 Ethernet ports.
- TSW212 aggregates all this traffic into a single, managed network.
- The switch forwards the collected data to the TRB140 gateway.
- The TRB140 uses its LTE connection to transmit this data over the internet.
- Data is sent via the Modbus TCP protocol to a remote ERP or monitoring system.
- The ERP system analyzes the data, enabling remote monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Why TSW212 + TRB140?
- Scalability: Easily expand the network with more devices.
- Advanced Control: Managed switch features for secure, optimized traffic handling.
- Durability: Industrial-grade design for harsh solar farm environments.
- Remote Access: Seamless integration with Teltonika RMS for monitoring and updates.
