IOT News

As the scale of photovoltaic (PV) power plants continues to expand, operators are facing the serious challenges of "a large number of stations, widely dispersed locations, and a mix of equipment brands."

In traditional maintenance modes, inspection personnel must regularly drive to remote PV sites and manually record equipment data. This approach is not only laborintensive and inefficient but also results in significant delays in data aggregation. Without realtime visibility into equipment status, when an inverter fails, operators often respond only after the fact ("reactive response"), leading to untraceable power generation losses. In addition, because different inverter manufacturers use different protocols (e.g., IEC104, Modbus), data cannot be shared or interconnected, creating "data silos." As a result, operators lack the scientific data needed to make maintenance decisions—such as when to clean PV panels or replace equipment—making it difficult to transition from "firefighting" maintenance to "preventive" management.

To address this, WideIOT provides a highly reliable IoT gateway for PV inverters. The gateway supports access to various inverter devices (using protocols such as IEC101/103/104, IEC61850, Modbus, etc.) and collects key operational parameters from each inverter in real time, including power generation output, DC voltage and current, ACside power, equipment temperature, and fault alarms. The data is then uploaded to the PV plant IoT platform via 5G/4G networks, enabling remote monitoring, alarming, management, control, and data analysis. This supports power generation statistics, site operation management, equipment maintenance, and other tasks, ultimately improving efficiency and reducing costs.

Key Features

The gateway is equipped with RS485/RS232 serial ports and Ethernet ports. It can collect data from energy devices using protocols such as DLT645, CJ188, IEC101/103/104, and IEC61850, while supporting upstream protocols such as Modbus, MQTT, IEC104, and OPC UA.

By binding data variables, the cloudbased data dashboard can display realtime information for each inverter, including AC/DC voltage and current, instantaneous power, daily power generation, and equipment temperature. A graphical configuration diagram visually presents the overall plant efficiency and energy flow.

When the gateway detects abnormal parameters from an inverter, the system automatically triggers alarms and notifies operators (via WeChat, SMS, email, etc.). It can also create work orders for inspection and maintenance tasks, quickly guiding operators through required actions and improving response times.

The system automatically generates daily/monthly reports, compares historical irradiance data with power generation trends, and accurately calculates the performance ratio (PR). This provides a datadriven basis for panel cleaning and replacement of inefficient equipment, enabling optimized allocation of personnel, spare parts, and other resources.

The gateway features industrialgrade design with wide temperature and voltage tolerance, strong antiinterference capability, and rugged durability. It also supports disconnected network retry and disconnected data resumption, ensuring longterm stable operation in outdoor environments with complete and accurate data.