Echelon Corp. says that Direct Grid Technologies LLC, a manufacturer of photovoltaic micro-inverters for utility- and commercial-grade solar power generation, will be adding Echelon energy-control networking to its micro-inverter products.
By integrating the solar panels into a power-line energy-control network with Echelon's technology, Direct Grid can offer improved diagnostics, remote management and control, and lower the lifecycle cost of the installation, according to the companies.
Direct Grid has added Echelon's ISO-standard power line smart transceivers to each micro-inverter. The micro-inverters communicate with Echelon's i.LON SmartServer to access Direct Grid's WattTrack software for visualizing tracking, harvesting and performance data. The power-line-based network allows Direct Grid to reliably communicate among thousands of panels over hundreds of acres, the companies explain.
SOURCE: Echelon
