Softclinic PV Plant Installation Guide Real time data monitoring and long term data analysis for PV Plants
Revision History Contact details Version Date Version 1.0 07/2011 First release (Australian version) Weidmuller Pty Ltd 43 Huntingwood Drive Huntingwood NSW 2148 Australia Tel. +61 (0) 2 9671 9999 Fax +61 (0) 2 9671 9900 E-Mail info@weidmuller.com.au Internet www.weidmuller.com.
Contents Revision History ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Contact details .................................................................................................................................................. 2 Contents ............................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction ...................
Installation...................................................................................................................................... 15 USB Product key ........................................................................................................................... 15 To start monitoring your PV Plant with PV-Clinic Runtime............................................................ 15 3. Configuring the PV Plant .....................................................................
3.10 User groups screen......................................................................................................................... 25 DB User Name setting ................................................................................................................... 25 3.11 User group screen........................................................................................................................... 25 3.12 User settings screen ............................................
3.25.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................ 38 3.25.2 General settings ................................................................................................................. 38 Name and Description ................................................................................................................... 38 Enable Module .....................................................................
www.weidmueller.com 1. Introduction 1.1 General description The key to efficient energy production and consequently maximised return (and minimum payback time on plant investment) is effective monitoring of plant production and the quick diagnosis of underperforming panels. A single panel in a string can reduce the output of the entire string and any strings connected in parallel with that string.
1.2 The Software package 1.2.1 Contents The software package consists of a USB stick and a USB License key in a metal case as shown. 1.2.2 PC Hardware requirements • A PC which meets the requirements to run Windows XP, Windows 7 32-Bit or Windows 7 64-Bit. • Communications via Ethernet and/or RS485 - Weidmuller can supply USB to RS485 adaptors (DCS771B); Ethernet to RS485 converters (SL-MOD-GW) and other devices according to your requirements. • Hard-drive using NTFS format.
www.weidmueller.com 1.3 Diagram of Information flows This shows that how the information flows in the background for people that like a lot of detail. You don’t need to understand this diagram to use the system. The most important thing to note is that PV Runtime must be kept running so that the information is stored in the database and email/SMS alerts are generated but apart from that does not require any attention.
1.4 Modbus 1.4.1 Overview Modbus is a simple and robust, polled industrial communications protocol that has become the de-facto standard for industrial applications and is now among the most commonly used systems for transferring data between devices. PV Softclinic uses Modbus communications which allows it to monitor maximum possible variety of measurements around the plant, from string currents and voltages to Inverter values to meteorological measurements all in one system.
www.weidmueller.com 1.5 Communications 1.5.1 Overview This section describes the various communications options in overview. For more detail you should consult the documentation supplied with the communication devices that you are using. The diagram above shows the most basic install (over a single RS485 bus) where only Transclinic devices are used to monitor the PV Array operation.
• Use a GND connection: Connect GND to the shield if a shielded cable is used. Using devices like the Transclinic, which have isolated RS485 outputs, will reduce problems with common mode noise. • Use unique addresses: assign a unique Modbus slave address to each Modbus Slave device on the network. Although Modbus allows for 0-255 Modbus slave addresses, you can still only connect 32 unit loads (including the PV Plant PC). 1.5.
www.weidmueller.com 2. Installation 2.1 Overview In this manual the installation process is broken into three parts: 1. Setting up the control room PC software 2. Connecting to the Transclinics and other Modbus devices 3. Setting up the plant configuration using PV editor Important: the Control room computer must have an internet connection with a static IP address. This will be required for Service staff to access the system and for Design staff to edit the configuration.
MySQL community edition Installation options Download and save the appropriate .msi file from the MySQL website. Currently the file is available at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/. Alternatively contact us for the latest supported version.
www.weidmueller.com 2.3.3 Install PV-Clinic Runtime Installation There are no options to select, simply run the file PV-Clinic Runtine.msi on the Control room PC. USB Product key PV-Clinic Runtime requires that you plug the installation key into one of the USB ports of the Control room PC. For windows 7 the drivers will install automatically. For older versions of Windows, install the driver by running the file HASPUserSetup.exe from the USB stick.
3. Configuring the PV Plant 3.1 Overview The system design can be carried out via the internet using PV-Clinics Editor software. The same software can be used to setup and update any number of PV plants at different locations.
www.weidmueller.com 3.3 Command line buttons Copy, Paste, Insert and Delete buttons To speed up the setup process you can use the Copy, Paste, Insert and Delete buttons at the bottom of the screen whenever they are shown. These buttons let you build up a plant configuration by cutting and pasting groups of custom devices, individual custom devices, custom device address maps, groups of string boxes and individual string boxes.
3.5 PV-Clinic welcome screen 3.5.1 Overview The first screen you will see when you start the PV-Clinics Editor program is the Site Manager window (see above). The left-hand pane (System tree) contains a list of available PV Plants (sites). Site details for the selected PV plant are shown in the right-hand pane (Site Manager). 3.5.2 Creating a new site or site link From the top menu select Site Manager > New Site Link, then fill in all the details in the right-hand pane.
www.weidmueller.com 3.5.4 Field descriptions Site Name and Description The ‘Site Name’ and ‘Description’ fields are used locally by the Editor to help you identify the site that you are linking to. Server Host Use the IP address of the PC that has the MySQL database. If this is the same PC as you are using then write localhost. Port Normally the port is 3306 - unless a different port was specified during the installation of the MySQL database. DB Name For a new site select a suitable name.
3.6 PV-Clinics Site editing window 3.6.1 Overview When you first connect to a site the window will appear as above. The screen is divided into four areas: • System tree - (in the left-hand pane), this shows a graphical representation of the PV Plant setup which works the same way as the tree view in Windows’ file manager. To edit a particular area simply select that part of the tree. The + and – signs can be used to expand and contract branches of the System tree.
www.weidmueller.com 3.7 Site level settings At the top of the system tree the settings screen shows details of the PV-Plant being configured. It allows you to set values for plant wide settings; watch database events in the logger window. Command line buttons allow you to clear the logger and disconnect from the database. On-Line Update This interval sets how often the On-Line database values are updated. The On-Line database contains the current value of all plant variables.
3.8 Communication Devices screen User access and Emails The Communication devices screen shows a summary table of all the Communication Devices that have been added. It also has tabs for: • Email groups, which allows you to select which Email Groups receive an email if there is a communication fault. • User Groups, which allows you to select which Users have remote access to the communications setting screens using the PV-Clinics monitor software.
www.weidmueller.com 3.9 Communications Parameters Screens 3.9.1 General Below the Communication devices screens are the individual communications devices. This allows you to configure a particular RS485 link, Ethernet link or GSM modem (for SMSs). 3.9.2 Communications device settings Name and Description These fields allow you to add information that allows you to quickly identify the communications device. They do not affect the device operation.
Ethernet port settings Ethernet based communications have one setting for an IP Address in the format: XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX:PPPP, where PPPP is the port number. The unofficial Port assigned for Modbus TCP is 502. Serial Port settings Serial port based communications have the usual settings which must be set to the same value as in the communication device: • COM Port – The PC COM port number or virtual COM port number. • Baud Rate – Device Baud rate sets the data rate in bits per second.
www.weidmueller.com 3.10 User groups screen The User groups screen shows a list of User groups and allows you to specify who can access parts of the system via PC-Clinics Monitor software. Simply open the ‘User groups’ Tab in the appropriate menu and check any user groups that require access. DB User Name setting The choice is between using the user name alone or by specifying the user group and user name separated by a full stop. We recommend using the GroupName.
3.12 User settings screen A PV-Clinics user is defined by the username and the host ('computer') that the User connects from. To add a new user select Users > New > User from the top menu. Username The username can be up to 16 characters long. Note: depending on the DB User Name Setting of the system, you use either the Username format or UserGroup.UserName format when logging in to the system. Enable Uncheck this checkbox temporarily disable access to the system for this user.
www.weidmueller.com 3.13 Assigning the User groups The screens that each user can access from PV-Clinics Monitor are set using the User Groups Tab at Communications, Custom Devices Group or String Box Group Level. Simply click the box next to the group to toggle the access. A green tick indicates access is allowed. The picture above shows the tab in Communication but the same tabs are shown at Custom Device Group and String Box Group levels (shown highlighted above).
3.14 Email Groups Screen The Email Groups screen sets up the SMTP server settings. Communication with the SMTP server is assumed to be via the computers internet connection and when an email is sent it will use the details given on this page. For details of suitable settings contact your internet service provider (ISP) or your system administrator (to use your company’s mail server). Note: Some ISPs will intercept traffic on port 25 so that you must use their mail server to relay messages.
www.weidmueller.com 3.14.1 Email settings SMTP Server and Port Use the name or the IP address of an SMTP server. The Port is always set to 25. User ID/Password Use the login credentials for your SMTP server. From Address Emails sent out using this system will use this email address. Select an email address that will be monitored in case anyone replies to the automated emails or use an address like automated.email@do.not.reply. Organisation Put your company name or the name of the PV Plant in this location.
3.16 Email Configuration Screen Email destination settings For each ‘Email address’ there is a configuration screen. This provides the usual Name and Description fields. It also allows you to define Email (as well as CC and BCC) addresses. Enable Uncheck this checkbox temporarily disable emails from the system to this address. For example, if the user is on holiday or during commissioning.
www.weidmueller.com 3.17 Assigning the Email Groups Once you have setup the Email Groups and Addresses for the site, you can assign which groups get emails when there is an alarm triggered. Operation is set using the Email Groups Tab at Communications, Custom Devices Group or String Box Group Level. Simply click the box next to the group to toggle the setting. A green tick indicates emails will be sent.
3.18 SMS Communications device To allow PV-Clinic Runtime to send SMS messages you need a GSM modem that accepts the extended Hayes (AT) style commands for managing the SMS features. Most GSM modems will accept this command set. Set up the communications parameters by adding a communications device as shown above. If you are using a USB device it may be installed as a virtual COM Port (see above for details). Note: ETSI GSM 07.05/3GPP TS 27.005 gives details of the AT command set.
www.weidmueller.com 3.19 SMS Groups Screen The SMS groups screen shows a table of SMS Groups and allows you the select the communications device that you have set up for the GSM modem. You can click the checkbox at the left of each row to toggle the groups enable setting. A green tick indicates that the group is enabled. 3.20 SMS Addresses Screen The SMS Addresses screen allows you to add SMS groups and add a description of the group.
3.21 SMS Configuration Screen SMS destination settings For each ‘SMS Address’ there is a configuration screen. This provides the usual Name and Description fields and allows you to define the phone number. The format of the telephone number will depend on the requirements of your modem and the PV Plant location. Enable Uncheck this checkbox to temporarily disable SMS messages from PV Clinics Runtime to this address. For example, if the user is on holiday or during commissioning.
www.weidmueller.com 3.22 Assigning the SMS groups Once you have setup the SMS Groups and Addresses for the site, you can assign which groups get sent a text when there is an alarm triggered. Operation is set using the SMS Groups Tab at Custom Devices Group or String Box Group Level. Simply click the box next to the group to toggle the setting. A green tick indicates an SMS will be sent.
3.23 Custom Devices Screen 3.23.1 General One of the strengths of PV-Clinics software is the ability to interface to a variety of devices around the PV Plant and to monitor and collect information from those devices. The de-facto standard for industrial plant communication is Modbus and there is a large array of products that have Modbus interfaces. To include any of these into the PV Plant monitoring system you simply set them up as custom devices.
www.weidmueller.com 3.24 Custom Group Screen 3.24.1 Adding a custom device Use the Custom Devices library There is a library of custom devices stored as .xml files. To use a library device, select the appropriate custom device group in the system tree then select ‘Custom Devices > Load From Library..’ from the top menu and choose the appropriate file. You can make changes to the custom device and export the changes back as a new library item. Simply select the .
3.25 Module Custom Configuration Screen 3.25.1 Overview The Custom module setup screen allows you to enter details from the custom device’s Modbus map so that PV Clinics can record and monitor the data. It also allows you to set alarms on each value supplied by the custom device. If the alarm conditions are triggered a SMS and/or Email will be sent according to the configuration for that Custom Devices Group.
www.weidmueller.com Enable Alarms Check this box if you have set any alarms for this device. See below for an explanation of how to set alarms. 3.25.3 Communications settings Comm. Device Select the relevant Communications device from the drop-down list. Protocol Leave this setting untouched. Modbus Station (Slave address) Select the Modbus slave address for the device. This setting is only used if the custom device is using a serial version of Modbus. 3.25.
Definition and Alarms Tabs When you have selected a row in the Modbus Address table, you can alter the settings in the Definition tab (below the table) and you can set alarms to monitor any measurement by selecting the Alarms Tab. Data Name, Description, Engineering Units, Address and Data Type Choose a suitable data name for the location and add a description to help you interpret the reading. Select suitable engineering units from the drop down box after the Data Name.
www.weidmueller.com 3.26 String Boxes screen The String Boxes screen shows a list of all String box groups. There is also an Alarms category that allows you to set system-wide alarms for all string boxes and for groups of string boxes. There are no general settings on this screen; it simply shows a table of the String box groups that you have defined. You can use the command buttons to add or delete groups from the PV Plant setup.
3.28 String Box settings Screen The Module string box setting screen has a similar layout to the Custom devices screens. The difference is that you can only add preconfigured string box types and there is no alarm setting at register level. Alarms are set for all string boxes in the alarm screen shown below. The settings screen still allows you to change ‘Name’, ‘Description’, ‘Comm.
www.weidmueller.com 3.29 String Box Alarms 3.29.1 Overview There is one screen for setting all string box alarms. It is divided into two sections: • Module alarms are triggered if any string monitoring module meets the conditions. SMS or Emails are then sent according to the Group SMS and Email settings. • Alarms between modules in a group are triggered if the values from any module deviate from the average of all modules in the same group.
