Feed-in tariffs are falling, tax breaks and subsidies are disappearing, and energy costs are rising. Consequently, the constantly increasing demand for energy means that the optimized use of self-generated electricity and the storage of energy are becoming essential. Solutions are offered, for example by intelligent heating with PV electricity. Solar-Log™ controls and supplies the heat pump, the heating element, or your charging station with surplus energy from your photovoltaic system. Thanks to the Solar-Log™ Smart Energy logic in conjunction with a variety of compatible devices, you can implement a wide range of applications. The basis here is the networking of the photovoltaic system with flexible consumers in order to locally optimize self-consumption. In addition, you can keep an eye on the status of the plant via the monitoring platform, which can also be done on the go with our Enerest™ ToGo app.
Solar-Log™ Smart Energy
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The menu structure of the Solar-Log™ enables intuitive operation. Thus, intelligent consumers, such as the AC ELWA 2, can be controlled and prioritized in combination with Smart Plugs and taking the surplus into account. Different energy profiles and components can be linked and checked based on the simulation.
Battery storage systems are the ideal solution for storing the electricity generated by a PV system and making it available for self-consumption. These systems thus make a significant contribution to optimizing self-consumption of electricity. In the balance view, the battery storage system functions either as a generator or as a consumer and is displayed accordingly. The Solar-Log™ is compatible with various battery storage systems.
Exclusively for the Varta battery, we support forecast-based charging time shifting to effectively utilize the power curve of the PV system. This function is especially important with regard to subsidized systems. In order to receive a subsidy in Germany, only a certain percentage of the generated energy can be fed into the public power grid. With the forecast-based charging time shift, the Solar-Log™ determines the optimal time corridor for the charging process every morning, taking into account the weather data, size of the PV plant, and the capacity of the battery system.
PV energy can be used in a variety of ways, including to generate hot water in conjunction with the Solar-Log™ and a heating rod. This allows you to use your PV energy optimally and efficiently yourself instead of feeding it into the public grid.
Here too, the Solar-Log™ offers various compatibility options with manufacturers. For example, by combining the Solar-Log™ and the AC ELWA 2 from my-PV, surplus PV power can be used to heat drinking water or combination storage tanks.
The power is regulated continuously from 0 to 3,500 W depending on surplus by the Solar-Log Base. Particularly in summer and in the transitional period, the combination increases the degree of self-sufficiency. During this time, it is often possible to completely dispense with fossil fuels for conventional water heating. The minimum temperature of the hot water tank can be defined via the device configuration. Thus, hot water can always be provided regardless of the available PV surplus. The AC ELWA 2 can be conveniently configured via the web interface of the Solar-Log Base.
The AC•THOR (0 - 3 kW) and the AC•THOR 9S (0 - 9 kW) are infinitely variable control devices for hot water, electrical heat sources and optional heating. For example, in combination with the Solar-Log™, the AC•THOR or AC•THOR 9S photovoltaic power manager controls an already installed heating element or a new screw-in heating element (often called a heating cartridge), depending on the PV energy and hot water requirement - for maximum self-utilisation! The same is also possible with the AC ELWA 2, where power electronics and heating element are combined in one product - also possible using Solar-Log™.
The combination of photovoltaics and a heat pump offers further potential for optimizing self-consumption of electricity. The basic idea is that a heat pump is supplied with surplus PV electricity. Depending on how the heat pump is connected to the Solar-Log™, either an enable signal or a power surplus is reported to the heat pump. Due to the integration of different protocols, the Solar-Log™ is compatible with various heat pump manufacturers.
For example, the protocol connection for the IDM heat dummy also includes the transmission of yield forecast data. Based on weather forecasts, Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ calculates an individual yield forecast for today and the next two days.
The IDM heat pump takes the data for the next 12 hours into account and can thus work in a forward-looking manner and as efficiently as possible.
The combination of a photovoltaic system, a Solar-Log™ device, and a charging column makes e-mobility even more efficient. The interaction of these three components ensures that the electric vehicle is always charged, cost-effectively, and environmentally friendly, with the maximum available share of photovoltaic power. If there is not enough excess electricity available, the charging process is not interrupted due to the Solar-Log™ function "surplus/ minimum charge".
The combination of a photovoltaic system, a Solar-Log™ device, and a charging station, such as the one from Keba, makes electromobility even more efficient. Thus, the "surplus/ minimum charge" function ensures that the vehicle is charged reliably and yet in a cost-optimized manner.
With the help of the Smart Energy Logics, settings for individual circumstances can be made, for example, activating additional loads at a certain surplus value. Different devices are available for the physical switching of the loads. Depending on the purpose, the potential-free, internal relay of the Solar-Log™ can be used, for a Smart Plug, the Smart Relay Box or the Smart Relay Station. A consumer can be controlled directly via the internal relay of the Solar-Log™ Base. The relay can switch devices with a maximum supply voltage of 24 V at a current of up to 2 A. With the Smart Relay Box, the Solar-Log™ is extended by eight potential-free relays. The Smart Relay Station can switch up to three consumers directly and additionally record the consumption via the device-internal counter.
Solar-Log™ can record and visualize the production of a device with combined heat and power using energy meters. To do this, only two energy meters need to be connected to the Solar-Log™. One energy meter records the current production output and the second meter records the consumption. In the event of a high heat demand, the running time of a cogeneration device can be shortened in conjunction with intelligent electricity consumers, such as the AC ELWA 2, and the electricity produced by the cogeneration device can be optimally used as heat. This avoids unprofitable feed-in to the power grid, and thus the Solar-Log™ can be used as a central monitoring and control element.
Solar Log™ offers the Smart Visual concept to visualize consumption and self-consumption in larger joint projects and for different user groups. Among other things, this can be used to meet the requirements of subsidy programs (e.g. KfW 40 Plus subsidy).
Furthermore, it is an ideal tool to let your tenants* participate in the energy turnaround and to show them directly the added value of a decentralized, renewable energy production. With the Solar-Log™ Smart-Visual concept, yield - consumption and self-consumption within an area or building can be divided into different sub-areas. Each user group sees the relevant share of consumption, production, and self-consumption, and can thus quickly see what advantages a "common" photovoltaic system can offer them.
With the scope shown here, you fulfill the visualization requirements for the Kfw 40 Plus subsidy!
*The system solution shown is not suitable for implementing tenant electricity concepts!
