SMA Sunny Central String-Monitor Provides Insurance for Energy Yields

Dec. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- ROCKLIN, Calif.—Large-scale PV system owners can now protect their investments with SMA America’s Sunny Central String-Monitor-US, which instantly and accurately detects power deviations by measuring and comparing individual string currents. These interruptions can then be corrected by system owners immediately, reducing the duration of suboptimal system performance and maintaining maximum energy yields for the greatest return on investment.

Performance disturbances can go unnoticed in a PV system without string monitors, leading to decreased energy yields and loss of revenue for extended periods of time. However, the Sunny Central String-Monitor-US continuously monitors the strings and transmits fault data to the SMA Sunny WebBox. The SMA Sunny Portal then sends an email alert to the system owner for immediate attention.

“Timely and accurate system monitoring is essential to maintaining peak power production,” said Jurgen Krehnke, president and general manager of SMA America. “The Sunny Central String-Monitor-US ensures early detection of performance changes to help secure the highest possible energy harvest from large-scale PV systems.”

SMA’s versatile monitoring solution is available in three models: the Sunny Central String-Monitor-US 24, 32 and 64. The model numbers indicate the total number of strings each unit monitors. Sunny Central String-Monitor-US devices can be combined in multiple configurations based on the number of strings in the array, providing the best possible system design. Up to nine Sunny Central String-Monitor-US units can be connected to a single SMA Sunny Central inverter.

The outdoor-rated Sunny Central String-Monitor-US has a NEMA 3R enclosure and can be ordered with an option for use in aggressive environments. It boasts detachable side and base plates for convenient installation preparation and can be wall or pole mounted, according to preference.

The Sunny Central String-Monitor-US is UL Listed and meets NEC standards, making it ideally suited for use in North America.

About SMA
The SMA Group generated sales of EUR 934 million in 2009 and is the worldwide market leader for photovoltaic inverters, a key component of all solar power plants. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented on four continents by 15 foreign subsidiaries. The Group employs a staff of over 5,500 (incl. temporary workers). SMA’s product portfolio includes the most comprehensive range of inverters on the market, offering a compatible inverter for every type of photovoltaic module and for all plant sizes. The product range covers both inverters for photovoltaic plants connected to the grid as well as inverters for off-grid systems. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company SMA Solar Technology AG has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for its excellence as an employer. www.SMA-America.com

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SMA America—a subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG, headquartered in Germany—provides North America with the world’s finest inverter, control and monitoring products for renewable energy sources, primarily solar.