Phoenix Contact – Your Partner in Safety and Reliability for Railway Industry

From eexin | November 10, 2017

Railway Phoenix Contact has been serving the railway industry for decades, especially for rolling stock and signalling. Safety and reliability has always been our number one concern when developing products for railway applications.

Safety on Board

The basic requirement for safety and reliability is standard compliance. Phoenix Contact has been certified by the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) since April 2008 and this standard is based on the quality management standard DIN EN ISO 9001, which has been extended with international railway-specific requirements. The ongoing tests during the development and production cycle of the products are essential to guarantee the product quality.

On top of that, all rail-specific products from Phoenix Contact fulfill the standards of DIN EN 50155, an international standard covering rolling stock; DIN EN 50121 electromagnetic compatibility; and EN 45545, fire protection on rail vehicle. Besides, shock and vibration test, material test and other fire protection is also critical for the railway application.

Safety should not be limited to the big ticket items and should even be extended to the passive component level. For example, the cable markings like shrink sleeve should be halogen-free and fulfill DIN 5510-2 with an oxygen index of 34.9%. besides being halogen-free, the cable ducts should enable individual bars to be broken without using any tools or resulting in any burr through defined breaking points according to EN 45545-2 (R22/R23:HL3). Behaviour in fire is another key concern and the plastic used for Phoenix Contact’s terminal blocks is halogen-free polyamide PA 6.6; which meets the highest safety requirement of UL 94 V0.

Push-in Terminal Blocks and Marking

Cable Management

Network on Board

Nowadays, commuters demand for “Internet on board” has made the information and infotainment systems essential in trains. The M12 network connectors with a mechanically robust design, in compliance with IEC 61076-2-101, together with high quality cables meeting the requirement of EN 45545-2 will ensure reliable communications. The heavy-duty connector, compliant with IEC 61373, with modular contact inserts form a flexible and safe transmission of signal and power circuit on rolling stock carriage connection and simultaneously ensures comprehensive protection in the event of electromagnetic interference fields.

Halogen-free Polyamide PA 6.6

M12 Network Connector

Surge Protection

Surge voltages and lightning strikes are common issues in signalling, hence the surge protective device (SPD) become significantly important to maintain reliable signal transmission. Phoenix Contact’s SPD has been tested according to IEC 61643-21 and the plug can be disconnected for test and maintenance by using the portable test laboratory. According to IEC 62305-3, the SPD must be tested regularly and the test values should be documented and traceable. Additional features like multi-stage monitoring (green – operating, red – fail and yellow – reach performance limit) for predictive maintenance and remote signalling for early detection of overloaded SPD can help to further enhance reliability.

HEAVYCON HPR	HEAVYCON Modular Inserts
Signal SPD with multi-stage monitoring (PT-IQ)	Signal SPD with remote signalling (TTC)

Power Supply

The power supply unit (PSU) is used to convert main AC to low-voltage regulated DC power and it should at least be compliant with EMC Directive 2014/30/EU, IEC 60950-1, DIN EN 61558-2-16 and UL 508. To ensure smooth operation and maximum uptime, the redundancy setup of the power supply cannot be overlooked.

A redundant system can made up of two power supplies and a diode or Phoenix Contact’s O-RING to prevent back flow of current. An ORING being a more advanced and modern redundancy module compared to the diode, comes with auto-current balancing (ACB) technology which ensures the power supplies work equally hard. This enables the power supplies to have a longer and more consistent lifespan.

The redundancy status as well as the status of the ORING can be monitored, whereas this cannot be done with a DIODE. The PSU becomes more reliable and dependable when it is capable of sending analogue signals to control system on measurement values such as real time current, voltage and power for early detection of operational fault as well as critical information to the user.

QUINT 4 Power Supply With Diode

QUINT ORING with ACB

Transporting You into the Future

Phoenix Contact will continue to develop the products or solutions that suit railway application and safety and reliability will always be the top concern on top of ease of installation, operation and maintenance.

To find out more about the solutions that Phoenix Contact has for the railway industry, check out our website or leave us your contact at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg and I will get in touch with you as soon as I can.

Display Carrier System: Enclosure for Display system

From beau | November 8, 2017

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The Display Carrier System protects mobile and stationary displays from mechanical impacts as well as from dust and water spray. Typical areas of application include laboratory and analysis technology as well as healthcare and building automation.

Features
Protection degree: IP54	Membrane keypad
Temperature range: -20℃ to +50℃
Display size: 5.7”, 7” and 15”
Material: shock-resistant ABS plastic
Color: light gray (RAL 7035)

Advantage for customer
Easy integration of displays	LCD Display
Direct entry possible via membrane keypad
Convenient handling
Battery integration
Customize versions for special requirement

Market Applications
Building automation
Industrial
Monitoring System

If you would like to find out more about Phoenix Contact’s Display Carrier System, check out our website or leave us your contact and I will get in touch with you soon.

PTSM – Phoenix Contact’s most versatile and powerful low pitch connectors

From billylim | November 6, 2017

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PTSM Connector

Phoenix Contact is well known for the high current terminal blocks and connectors which are widely used in the power devices such as frequency converters, inverters, power supplies & many more.

These connectors are able to support large size wires such as 10mm cross-section, 10mm pitch and high current capabilities. However, many are not aware that in the market of 2.5mm pitch connection, Phoenix Contact has a versatile product family, PTSM, and they are available as Terminal Blocks and Plug-able Connectors.

The PTSM series offer

PCB to PCB Connection	Wire to Wire Connection
Wire to PCB connection

Furthermore, it has Through Hole Mounting and SMD mounting as well. So what is so special about this series of connectors? When should you choose such connections?

PTSM are the only 2.5mm pitch connectors capable of handling up 6A/pole.
These are small connectors, only up to 5mm in height.
The small size is critical when there is limited space on the PCB.

LED Lighting Application

The PTSM series was initially developed for the LED Lighting market in 2012. Since then, the product has seen much improvement and has expanded its range within this Product family.

Recently, we managed to introduce the PTSM to a multi-national OEM company in Penang, Malaysia. They used to produce Test Measurement system that was well known globally. But have since re-focused their products to the areas of Life Sciences/Health and Medical solutions.

Every year, Phoenix Contact Sales personnel will arrange product road-shows to our existing and potential new customers. With 15 sets of sample boxes and 8 pieces of Demo PCB, I paid this customer a visit.

During the roadshow, one particular customer showed a specific interest in the PTSM. Which prompted him to ask what was this connector developed for? According to our product brochures, the PTSM was designed for T8 lighting or down lights.

Instinctively, I continued our probing and explored ideas with that R&D Specialist.

Eventually, he began to share his worries and concern for his design, and now that he has found the PTSM, he was relieved. He had been looking for a 3~6 pin connections to a DC Stepper encoder board that he was developing. This DC stepping solutions would be used in certain robotic functions in the Medical/Healthcare solutions.

He had been looking at conventional connectors of most of the known brands. All of them only offered up to a max current of 1.5 or 2 A per pin and were also not designed for reflow process.

This customer had been under the impression that we only had the FK-MCP or SPT series which they have been using in their solutions. The Road-shows has proved to be effective in bringing the new products and solutions to the customer.

The PTSM provided the solutions to this customer’s problem despite being originally designed for lighting applications. Finally, this connector has become a standard library solutions, that is adopted in this MNC for most of their DC Stepping/Encoding application.

The message I’m sharing is that, opportunities are created by having the right product and the right attitude. Even if the product was not develop for a particular industry, it does not mean that there will not be a demand for it. Create the Demand!

If you would like to know more about Phoenix Contact’s PTSM connector, check out our website or leave us your contact and I will get in touch with you shortly.

STRIKE – Leveraging on a Structured Sales Process

From randalchia | November 1, 2017

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I would like to share something I learned on a sales course I attended quite some time back hosted by a world renowned Tech Company, Hewlett Packard.

Although the course is mainly targeted at retail sales, we are able to relate some pointers back to corporate B2B sales.

STRIKE

The course is known as Sales STRIKE. Given the name of the course, in short, it shares a simple sales process that we can adopt.

“S” – Sell with Knowledge = Positioning / Key Selling Messages / Upsell

(U.S. Defense Department graphic illustration by Jessica L. Tozer/Released)

Selling with knowledge is the first step to be taken by all sales personnel. It is a step of preparation for the sales personnel to know the products, solutions & market position.

Most importantly, selling without knowledge usually leave your customers a negative impression which will eventually increase the chances of losing the deal and this is definitely not the kind of impression i want to give to the customer. All Phoenix Contact sales representatives are trained with the relevant product knowledge within the first few months, and this includes me, which puts me at ease to sell a PxC product with confidence.

“T” – Tailor to Customers’ Needs = Ask the Right Questions.

photo by: Uberprutser

This part of the STRIKE process is closely linked with the first step “S”. It means to understand your customers’ needs by engaging them with the right questions at the right time. Only then will you really know what they want. Customers these days are not only looking at your products; they are also expecting good service; someone who will understand them correctly. Customers are more likely to make a purchase when they feel that their needs are all being addressed by your solution offered.

Hence, identifying customers’ needs is all about asking the right questions @ the right time.

“R” – Recommend a relevant Solution = Good / Better / Best.

Photo by: Nick Youngson (http://nyphotographic.com/)

Now that you have uncovered their needs, the next step is to provide a solution that fits their needs. Always go with an angle of benefits, not just features. And you will have opportunities to Up-sell at this point by providing a ‘Good’, ‘Better’ or ‘Best’ solution as sometimes, the solution that your clients choose initially may not answer their needs fully.

But many would ask, “How do you up-sell?” You can do so by following the basics below,

Understanding of the products
Always relate the up-sell to the customers’ needs you uncovered in the previous step.

Doing so, you will be able to raise your services to the level of ‘Solution Provider’, not just a product sales.

Remember, it’s the Benefits – Not the features!

“I” – Initiate a Demonstration = The “WOW Factor.

Photo by Zexsen_Xie (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Knight_Singapore_1_(12537881585).jpg)

It will come to a point where the right solution is proposed, but some customers will still be dancing Cha-Cha; being indecisive. That is most probably due to the missing “WOW” factor to give them the push they need to commit to the purchase.

Now, Initiating a demonstration to show them the solution you have proposed; to show them physically how it will address each need they are looking at, will help in creating a “WOW” factor for your customers.

“K” – Know how to close in any situation = How to handle Objections

Photo by: Deveion acker (https://www.flickr.com/photos/draphotography/14750262951)

This portion of the process will be on how to handle objections which, on some occasions, may arise from opinions injected by a third party with no need for the solution or even from someone who does not even understand what you and your customer are working on. In most cases, these objections come from your customer’s own apprehension on some features or functions which they might not be sure whether it is critical to their work.

In such cases, what’s the best way to convince them again?
Lead them to answer their own questions. Provide relevant scenarios and pose those questions back to them for them to answer themselves. To which I will then say – “There you have it. You have answered your first questions yourself! Come let conclude this deal then….”

Now, this is a beneficial soft skill to gain by practicing and through experience. You can even try it out on your fellow colleague while convincing them to purchase a Watch / Phone / TV / Computer and you will realize it is actually quite a fun learning this process.

“E” – Explain the Need for Accessories

Euro

This final step in Strike is to cross-sell your services / add-on products that complement the solution you have already sold.

It can be a maintenance contract / accessories bundle that adds value to the solution even more.

Conclusion

These are just some simple lessons I have learnt that is helpful to me in my course of duties.

And I hope it does benefit everyone in some way or another that are reading this.

Happy Selling Everyone!

Let’s STRIKE !!!

You can contact:
Randal Chia
Mobile: +65 9223 4001 / Email: randalchia@phoenixcontact.com.sg

Environment Case System – All-weather protection for PCB Applications

From danielong | October 27, 2017

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As the world’s climate continue to change and the weather becomes evermore unpredictable, the need for an ideal enclosure to protect the printed circuit board (PCB) has just became more important.

Phoenix Contact has just the solution. Introducing the Environment Case System (ECS)!

The applications for this enclosure are endless. From a control unit on the exterior building to a sub electronic board on the top of a lamp post, the ECS is a suitable enclosure for even adverse weather condition.

5 Features of the Environment Case System

So what benefits do you get with the Environment Case System (ECS)?

Since it is designed for most outdoor use, the ECS is able to withstand operating temperatures of -40˚C to +85˚C, UV exposure, and it is even able to reduce pressure build up that occurs when an environment has temperature swings through an optional pressure compensation membrane. Therefore, providing an IP67 rating which is dust proof and jet water resistant.
Environment Case System – Pressure compensating membrane
It has tamper protection via a cable binder to indicate proof if the closure has been opened after installation.
Environment Case System – Anti-tamper
It is robust and hardy. Tests have been carried out with more than 100KG force applied with no distortion or damage.
Pole-mount accessories facilitates easy installation on a pole rather than requiring a wall to drill and secure the enclosure to.
Environment Case System – Pole Mount
Although the ECS is a standard product, the enclosure can be semi-customise of cut-outs is possible on any flat surface.

Market Applications for ECS

With such a lineup of features, what applications can you use the Environment Case system for?

Telecommunication locations
Outdoor building automation
Green energy such as wind and solar energy
Unmanned utility vehicle
Testing & monitoring equipment
Agriculture equipment

Cut, Strip and Crimp – Tools to Ease Your Cabling Pains

From eunicechua | October 25, 2017

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Today, we enjoy the fruit of technology as we turn on our television, air-conditioner, lights or our smart devices. Have we thought about what are the nitty-gritty details that have led to our enjoyment in this day and age?

What is common amongst all this technology is the need for electricity, and more importantly, what carries electricity around are wires. Wires and cables are the root that carries electricity all round; it allows current to flow from one point to another. What is often missed out is the hard work spent by the electricians who, behind the scenes, manages this labyrinth of wires.

Photo by: Derek (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcmorton/2446443103)

Cutting, Stripping and Crimping are steps that are very familiar to our electricians. However, they are not just merely steps; but in fact, they are techniques that we need to offer much respect to the electricians who handle them. Providing the right tools for the job makes it even more crucial to ensure they put their techniques into the right place.

Cutting, Stripping and Crimping of wires sound easy and effortless. However, using it on a daily basis requires the tool to be designed more than just a normal tool. Phoenix Contact takes ergonomics, usability into consideration and provides the optimal tools for its end users.

Tools to Cut, Strip & Crimp

Cut – CUTFOX 18

Safety Lock
Safety is a true concern in a workplace, and every effort to keep the workplace safe is extremely important. Slip guards are attached in our cutter which keeps the blades closed.
Less Fatigue
Spring-loaded pliers opens up automatically, which means users spend lesser energy. With the pivot near the cutting edge, it provides optimum power transfer.
Cutting Quality
Cut your wires perfectly with the special curved metal giving your wires a nice and squeeze-free cut.
Reliable Material
The steel material of the cutter has gone through heat and surface treatment ensuring your tool to be long lasting and corrosion resistant.
Comfort
Consisting of both soft and hard parts, meant for the best comfort for any hands. The curved designed of the handles and the angled head for the ultimate ergonomics.

Strip – WIREFOX 10

Easy Adjustment
Depth of the blades can be easily adjusted as required. Length of the stripped length can also be easily adjusted with the small measurement ruler and the stopper in place.
Flexibility
Interchangeable knife cassette gives you the option for all different wire sizes as required. One casing for all wire sizes!
Stopper
A wire stopper equipped in the knife cassette helps you to position your wire at the stripping length you need.
Convenient Cutter
Equipped with a cutter at the side, it gives you the convenience to cut your wires any time.
Comfort
Consisting of both soft and hard parts, meant for the best comfort for any hands. The curved designed of the handles and the angled head meant for the best stripping experience.

Crimp – CRIMPFOX CENTRUS 6S

Phoenix Contact Tools - CRIMPFOX CENTRUS 6S

Multi Range Die
Self-adjusting principals of the die covers a large cross section (0,14 – 6mm²), so you can use one tool for most of your needs.
Good and Complete Crimp
Built in ratchet mechanism is the key for a good crimp as it doesn’t allow the pliers to open until the process is complete. In this way, it ensures a proper and complete crimp.
No need for recalibration
Due to the special die closing process and its ball bearings, it reduces wearing out. Thus, eliminating the time and effort you need for re-calibration.
Less effort
Equipped with a rotating crimp mechanism, together with the tool size, ensures an optimum power transmission. In other words, you use less energy!
Comfort
Consisting of both soft and hard parts, meant for the best comfort for any hands. Its small size of 18cm tall, 6.5cm wide, and weighing at 380g serves as a compact and handy tool. The optimal positioning of the pivots gives the smallest opening handle angle in the market. Not forgetting the soft non-slip pressure pad supports your force transmission, so you can, for example, have it sit against a table surface!

After introducing the key features and ergonomically designs of our Phoenix Contact tools, would you like to experience it first hand on its comfort and ease of usage?

Get a “Cut, Strip & Crimp” Toolset kit today with our current promotion in Phoenix Contact! For more information on the promotion, just leave us your contact details at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg and we will get back to you soon.

Quality of Service: Phoenix Contact Thailand

From chart | October 23, 2017

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Quality Service Phoenix Contact strives to deliver excellence in both product quality and customer service.
Our team mission is for our customers to achieve optimal satisfaction when they use Phoenix Contact products.

I’ve never imagined that I would be writing an article for the company’s official blog. I did not consider myself a good writer; even curating a short post was not easy for me.

However, one cannot avoid challenging tasks forever.

Phoenix Contact is an electrical engineering company. We manufacture our own industrial-grade electronic devices and solutions. Our core products are our terminal blocks!
Most of our blog articles are technical or solution-based in nature. Thus, I felt that articles should be written by our product managers or engineers.

I had to crack my brain to figure out what article to write. It took me a whole week to think of something! Since I serve customers directly, I decided to write about why customers choose to work with us. From a salesperson’s point of view, customer relationships are key. We always do our best to figure out their likes and dislikes, and understand more about their needs.

QUALITY IS OUR PRIORITY.

Our Design and Engineering Team back in Germany ensures that all products are high-quality and user-friendly. The best proof? Our customer satisfaction feedback for product quality is always 100%, and they never have to worry about quality issues! We are extremely grateful for the constant effort that our German colleagues invest in product quality.
Additionally, we emphasize on providing great customer service to every client, and we work together as a team, from colleagues to our Southeast Asia headquarters back in Singapore, to each individual subsidiary sales office around the region. Every team member has a common goal – which as our team mission states: optimal satisfaction from start to finish with every purchase.

How do we define excellent service?

Here’s the breakdown:

Our sales team responds promptly to each customer regarding any kind of purchase, or project, regardless of size or nature. We understand that time is precious, so we try our very best to get back to our customers ASAP.

Our product managers are always on standby to assist and support any technical issues that may arise. They are also responsible for price negotiation. At Phoenix Contact, we try to make our product prices fair and reasonable to all customers. We suggest only what they need and we don’t upsell. We take pride in making our customers feel comfortable about what they are purchasing.

Our customer service team supports any order enquiries, while our logistics team handles the rest of our requests which are deemed as “almost impossible to be solved”. Almost impossible – but not completely!

We are not just a company that is solely about profit generation. We genuinely would like our customers to work with us to establish long-term friendships and working relationships.

If you are looking for a solution, a product, or an answer to your industrial problems, do not hesitate to contact us. We’re always here to help!
Just drop me an email or text at:

Rattakarn Chartnakrop, DC sales Division (Thailand)
Mobile : +(66) 81 782 8826
Email : rattakarnc@phoenixcontact.co.th

Importance of choosing the right PCB enclosure

From Ivan Ang | October 19, 2017

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What is considered important when it comes to choosing the right PCB enclosure. Let us guide you through the process.

Price? Style? Service & support? Reputation of the supplier?

In the matter of fact, all of above are essential. The engineers should select the enclosure at first and then choice the mechanical & electronic components to suit the enclosure.
We need to consider

Material
The 3 common plastic enclosures are ABS, Polycarbonate, Polyester which are high functionality, light weight, flexible in design.

The Ingress Protection
The ingress protection classification DIN EN 60529 determines and rates protection against solid particle (e.g. dust) as well as liquid incursion.

The letters IP (ingress protection) is followed by a two-digit number; the first digit indicates the level of Solid particle protection and the second digit indicate Liquid ingress protection. IP Code

Environmental Considerations
How the enclosure will last over many years of operation depends on how well you evaluate the environmental impact of elements such as UV rays, temperature, airborne debris, etc.
Different materials offer varying degrees of impact resistance.

Dimensions
The internal and external dimensions of a PCB enclosure is extremely important. Sadly, in many cases, the PCB is chosen first and this makes it difficult for the engineer to source the best fit enclosure solution.

Modification of Standard Enclosures
The enclosure supplier may need to support modifications with value-added services that include drilling, milling, printing, color, etc. Some suppliers can even provide advance services like fitting membrane keypads, displays on the enclosure, etc as a complete solution.

Ease of Assembly
A complex PCB design may make it difficult to assemble electronic and mechanical components in the enclosure, which make is an important point to consider when selecting an enclosure.

Range of PCB Enclosure

Check out Phoenix Contact’s range of enclosures here

We, at Phoenix Contact, understand your problems and offer a wide range of options for shape, color, and function when it comes to choosing the right enclosure. Whether on a wall or on a DIN rail, from light gray to sky blue, narrow or wide, many many to choose from. With the two new enclosures, Universal case system (UCS) and Environment case system (ECS) added into the selection, it is much easier to choose your enclosure.

Please view the Enclosure brochure.

Want to find out more? Feel free to contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

Phoenix Contact IIOT – Overcoming Challenges Together

From jasonsoh | October 12, 2017

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In the last few months, we have shared on how IIOT is useful for Power, Oil and Gas and Water Industry: In Power Industry, IIoT is intricately linked to the implementation of Smart Grid and IEC61850. In Oil and Gas where profitability is a bigger concern than ever, IIoT can help to reduce operations cost and minimizes downtime by allowing for predictive maintenance. For the water industry, we shared a possible scenario whereby IIoT is adopted by a facilities manager to understand about his systems.

If you have not already read those articles, click on the images below.

IIOT for Power

IIOT for Water

IIOT for Oil and Gas

How Phoenix Contact IIOT can help you get started

After engaging our customers in this topic, we have gained further insights and in this article, we will like to share some of these concerns and how we have helped customer overcome them.

How do we know for sure that we will have returns of investment from implementing IIoT?
There are indeed risks when it comes to Industrial Internet of Things, especially when data mining (finding patterns from database of data with no seemingly no use) is involved. Compared to traditional engineering methods where an engineer spot a problem or area of improvement and work to improve it, Big Data and IIoT is very much about not knowing problems, not knowing areas of improvements, yet hoping for some “miracle” to happen.Phoenix Contact reduces this risk in several ways:
1. We provide free demos for customers to try.
2. We provide data analytical and preparation services for customers to greatly enhance the odds of IIoT succeeding. This may seem easy, but data preparation and combination from disparate sources with different formats and different headers is really a tougher challenge than many expected. At least that’s what we gathered from feedbacks anyway
3. We encourage our partners to start with a system that is well known to benefit from IIoT. For example: Energy Savings, Predictive Maintenance and we help our partners along the way to achieve it.

1. How do I collect data from many sources and combine them together! It’s so complicated. How about reliability, cybersecurity, electrical surge ……
  Phoenix Contact addresses this by:
  1. Our Phoenix Contact IIOT Connectivity Solution is a portable, plug and play box including softwares that are able to ingest data of any format.
  2. PICS is fully customizable, which means that you can add Phoenix Contact reliable and extensive range of products to form a solution just right for you. This includes a wide range of data connectors including IP67 rated connectors for wet/dusty/oily industrial areas!
  3. Phoenix Contact will partner you along this journey and overcome these difficulties with you!

IIoT is expensive!!Phoenix Contact products are not only inexpensive, but the ROI it provides is way more than the initial cost! And as explained in point 1, we even provide you with full working demo and data analysis so you don’t have to spend till you are convinced!

To help you get started, we have a Phoenix Contact IIOT Quick Start Guide. Get your copy today!

If you will like to consult with us with regards to implementing IIoT, leave us your contact at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg and we will get in touch with you shortly.

Solar Power Energy – Standalone System (PLTS)

From sonny | October 10, 2017

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A solar power plant, also known as Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Surya (PLTS) in Indonesian, is a power generation system that uses solar cells (photovoltaic, PV) to convert sunlight into electrical energy.

Indonesia has vast landmass, a lot of which are remote areas. Thus, it is not possible for all to be connected to the grid (PLN = Perusahaan Listrik Negara = State Electricity Enterprise). However, with abundant sunshine all year round, Indonesia has the ideal setting with a high potential for solar power.

Currently, there are hundreds of small islands in Indonesia that have been installed with a Centralized PLTS. For islands or remote areas that receive general government assistance, the standalone PLTS have an output capacity of 5, 10, 15 and 30 kWp.

Solar Power Energy – Standalone PLTS

Example of a 2KW standalone solar power system

Image by Free Sun Power (http://freesunpower.com)

Called a standalone System or Off-Grid System because the system relies solely on solar energy as the main energy source. It utilizes a solar module circuit to generate electrical energy in accordance with the needs that have been planned.

Solar energy can be converted into electrical energy through the use of solar cells (photovoltaic). Solar cells are components that can convert solar light energy into electrical energy using the principle of the Photovoltaic effect.

The working principle of the photovoltaic effect is the emergence of an electric voltage due to the connection or contact of two electrodes connected to a solid or liquid system when obtaining light energy.

Image by University of Calgary – Energy Education (http://energyeducation.ca/wiki/images/1/11/Photovoltaiceffect.png)

Benefits of using Solar Energy :

Solar energy is abundant and free
Environmentally friendly
Long life time period of use around 25 – 30 years
Cheap maintenance costs
Not Noise (Silent)

Disadvantage of using Solar Energy :

Dependency on the weather
Requires large area for installation of solar modules
Big investment for initial installation solar energy

Efficiency of the PLTS (commonly around 80% – 93%) is determined by the degree of irradiation of the sun (the greater the irradiation value, the greater the power it can generate), the environmental (mountain or sea) temperature, dust and type of solar module, controller, inverter, losses of long cables.

So what makes up a PLTS Standalone System/Off-grid system:

Solar Module
The main function of a solar module is to convert solar energy into electrical energy. A Solar module consists of a number of silicon cells which when illuminated by the sun, will produce photons that can generate electrical current. A set of Solar Panels in one system is called an Array. Generally the most widely used solar modules are crystalline type either Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline. While thin film solar modules are still rarely used (in Indonesia). A solar cell can produce a voltage of approximately 0.5 volts. So a 12 volt solar cell consist of about 36 cells.PLTS Off-grid will consist of several solar modules according to their capacity. For example, a 10 kWp PLTS will consist of 50 units of 200 Wp solar modules or 100 units of 100 Wp solar modules. These solar module is arranged in series and parallel with certain configuration.

Combiner Box
In a solar power plant, solar panels can be arrayed in parallel to produce a larger current. Combiner boxes are used to connect the positive foot of solar panels to one another. Similarly, for negative legs. The positive foot end of the solar panel is connected to the positive charge controller leg and so is the negative leg. The resulting solar panel voltage will be used by the charge controller to charge the battery.
Fuse
The fuse is a component to protect PLTS / PV network system. In the event of a short circuit or over-current on the circuit or other load, it cuts the flow of electricity.
Charge Controller
A tool to regulate the current and voltage both to the incoming current and voltage of the PV panel as well as outflow / used load currents. The voltage and current entering the battery should be as intended. When either is larger or smaller than the specified range, then the battery or other equipment will be damaged. In addition, the charge controller also serves as a guard to ensure the resulting output power remains optimal, in order to achieve Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT).
Inverter
Inverter is a converter that will change the DC voltage (48VDC, 24VDC or 12VDC) on the battery into AC voltage (220VAC or 120VAC) at the output will be channeled to the load. Off-grid inverter can adjust the amount of output power based on the amount of load. so it can be used to turn on household electricity such as lamps, fans, television, etc.
Battery
In a standalone system , the battery serves to store the solar energy generated during the day so that the energy can be used both in the day and night.The voltage on the battery bank PLTS is generally 48VDC, 24VDC or 12VDC. The battery type that is widely used for such applications is usually a Lead-Acid type, either OPzS (wet battery) or OPzV (dry battery). Batteries used in the PLTS system are a deep cycle type which means the battery can be discharged up to 80% capacity (80% DOD).In addition to Lead Acid, the other battery type that can be used on a PLTS system is the Lithium battery. As with any battery on our mobile phone, lithium batteries are known as batteries with high energy density which means the same volume of energy that can be stored by lithium batteries larger than other batteries.
AC Breaker
The AC Breaker is required to limit the power of the inverter so that the power being injected does not exceed the existing load, resulting in a fire.
KWH Meter
To measure the amount of electrical energy that has been produced by solar panel can be used kwh meter.

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