Gateway logger

Carlo Gavazzi has introduced a gateway logger device that integrates with EoS Array - its complete solution for control, protection and monitoring of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) plants.

The new EoS-Gate gathers data from solar power installation powered by Eos-Array or Eos-Array Lite and sends them to a centralized supervisory web portal enabling users to monitor all their plants from a central location, using a simple web browser. Web-based monitoring complements the EoS Array's capability to provide local control and alarms together with remote alarms via SMS and GSM communications.

Operating with photovoltaic installations up to 200kW, EoS-Gate provides data polling (measurements and alarms) from Eos-Array/Eos-Array Lite, its energy meters and inverters, and transmits data over the Internet using 'Push' web-services to avoid firewall related issues. Its use of communications protocols based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) delivers a high degree of flexibility, allowing Eos-Gate to push data to multiple monitoring portals, including the Carlo Gavazzi Web Portal and the Fat Spaniel® Web Portal – a platform that likewise allows users to manage their data remotely through an easy and powerful Web based user interface.

Eos-Gate logging capabilities, its robust transmission protocol and the 99.9+% availability of Carlo Gavazzi's best-of-breed web-farm together ensure total  data security along the whole path from the field to the portal’s servers.

The logger is easy to configure, thanks to built-in auto-discovery of local devices, so installers can readily implement a centralized supervisory solution that focuses on the real benefits delivered by PV monitoring.

The solution is completely independent of the inverters used, eliminating the need to delegate data management completely to the inverter – a known weakness of many PV installations. In this way, plant operators can work with a common user interface throughout their operations, free from being locked into one specific inverter model or manufacturer.

Hardware is based on an industrial strength embedded PC with data acquisition, data logging and protocol conversion capabilities, featuring two RS485 communication ports (Modbus), twin Ethernet ports and data storage on a 1GB SD card using hardened industrial grade single level cell technology. Both wall-mount and DIN rail mounting options are available, and the device carries both CE marking and UL certification.