A UPS (uninterrupted power supply) consists of a storage battery and an inverter with a switching device. It runs parallel to the public grid and allows an uninterrupted power supply of electrical consumers during power cuts. The scope of a "UPS" extends from the supply of an emergency lighting  to the safe operation of an entire server farm.

In this case, the customer wanted to secure heater electronics and pump against power cuts. In addition, it should be possible to mainting operation of lighting and the telephone system. The back-up time was chosen so that the operation of the above consumer can be maintained for at least 2 days. For this purpose, four AGM batteries with each 120Ah are connected in series to 48V.

The inverter was pre-mounted ready-for-operation on a wall board with addtional current sensor, battery switch, AC distribution box, twin-sockets and grounding bar. The system is designed to be extended by a solar generator on the DC or AC side at any time.

The digital display enables constant monitoring of the system and accurate battery status. A built-in datalogger is also available.

The presented system is used as small weekend house all year round. Most of the energy is required during the summer months and is covered to 100% by the 760Wp photovoltaic generator. For the other seasons a gas generator is provided to produce additional energy which can not be covered by the solar modules. The generator is automatically driven by the inverter - without manual intervention. In order to keep the battery of the generator fully charged, a 50Wp solar module is installed. The battery bank consists of 4 x 200 Ah gel batteries. The capacity was chosen so that the depth of discharge during normal operation does not exceed 25%. Thus a long battery life is guaranteed.

Besides the complete installlation material, the system was shipped - as all our systems - with a special custom-made quick installation guide to guarantee a quick and fail-safe installation.

The remote farmhouse is occupied both in the summer and partially during the winter months. In order to continuously supplied the object with electricity, a Xtender Power Set with a 1.14 kWp PV generator and a battery bank with 460Ah/48V has been installed. The system is supported by a gas generator which can be started automatically by the inverter. The generator is triggered in case of a low battery condition or depending on the consumer load.

The customized frame for the solar generator allows easy assembly and disassembly of the modules. So the customer is able to store the modules inside the building and prevent theft.

When it comes to off-grid power supply, we primarily think of photovoltaic electricity. However, there are certainly locations that are well suited for the use of wind power. These are particularly coastal locations and islands with constant winds. The presented system of a customer consists of a Ampair 600 small wind generator with a rated power of 700W, a Studer Xtender inverter and a 48V battery bank. Since even in the windiest places it may happen that it is totally calm on some days, in addition, a gasoline generator for backup power supply is connected to the off-grid system.

In order to integrated the turbine into the landscape, the customer has painted the turbine with blue color. Through a hinge at the base of the mast, the turbine can be easily lowered at any time for maintenance purposes or for upcoming storms.

The aim of the customer was to cover as much consumption as possible all year round by an off-grid power system. On the basis of the "Hybrid Power Set W-06" we have designed a ready-to-install power package for the customer. The hybrid off-grid system consists of a solar generator with1.9kWp (10x Suntech STP190S-24/Ad +), a wind turbine Whisper 200 with 1kW rated power, a battery bank with 690Ah at 48V capacity (12x Banner SBG 12-230) and a pre-wired wall board. Pre-mounted and pre-wired on this board is a Studer Xtender 6000-48 inverter with battery shunt BSP-500, a TriStar TS60 solar charge controller with display, a Whisper wind charge controller and fuse switches as well as a 230V distribution/fuse box with AC outlets. The board allows an easy and quick installation using the plug-and-play principle.

The remote controle RCC-02 of the inverter enables system monitoring at any time. Thanks to the BSP-500 the exact SoC of the battery can be displayed. Furthermore, all operating data is stored and can be analyzed on a computer.

In case the farm is connected to the public grid later on, the system can be operated with priority to the solar and wind generators. That means, that the system consumes electricity from the grid only when renewable energies are no longer sufficient. Unlike other systems, the battery is not charged by the grid but only via the connected DC power sources (photovoltaic and wind). This ensures an optimal minimization of the power purchase costs.

The system is designed for 100% energy autarky during winter and summer time. Overall, a daily consumption of approx. 60kWh is covered. The battery inverters have a total continuous power of 30kW. In addtion to the 22kWp pv generator, 2 CHP gas units, each 5kW, secure the energy supply especially during winter time. Excess power is converted by the Smart Loads into thermal energy for heating and hot water supply.

The capital of Togo suffers, like many other large cities in Africa, from poor network quality and frequent power cuts. These conditions are very bad especially for an Internet Cafe. Although the terminals consist of laptops with battery backup, it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted power supply for server and network infrastructure.

To make this possible, SMART has designed an off-grid power supply system with grid backup consisting of a Xtender inverter combined with a TriStar solar charge regulator. The inverter disposes of an AC input and a fast transfer system that can switch without interruption from grid power to battery mode and vice versa. The system also switches to battery mode in case of under/over voltage or high frequency variations of the public network. This protects the connected load and increases the life of electronic components.

Since the power cuts may last for several hours, a PV-generator provides additional autonomy time. The charge controller is well dimensioned so that the PV generator can be extended until a full autonomous operation is reached. The energy of the PV generator can be used also during grid-connected operation, by a special function of the inverter which gives solar energy priority. Power from the grid will only be obtained in case that the energy consumption cannot be covered by the PV generator. In this operation mode, the battery is discharged only by a small amount of energy. This guarantees minimum power purchase costs and a long battery life.

All components are pre-mounted on a wall board and pre-wired. This not only simplifies the assembly on site, but also prevents errors during installation by less qualified staff.

In order to ship the goods by sea freight, a special transportation box had been made. It contained the whole material (even the batteries and solar modules) safely and compactly.

On behalf of a customer, we elaborated a concept for an off-grid power supply for a small building in southern Germany. Both the planning and the installation was done by SMART.

The main energy source of the grid remote system is a solar generator with 1.1 kWp power. In order to achieve the highest possible energy yield, 2 modules were mounted on the south facade.

To ensure uninterrupted operation even during long periods of bad weather and during low-light winter months, an additional gas generator has been installed. The generator is equipped with a remote start system and automatically triggered by the inverter in case of a low battery condition or for power boost. The system thus operates fully automatically without manual intervention.

The inverter and charge controller are also equipped with remote displays, so that the customer is always informed of all operating conditions. The remote panels can be placed at a central location in the living room area.