The core units in the thermal solar facility at the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Center are remotely supervised by means of IP Solar, a monitoring system developed in Austria. The system evaluates instrument data, supervises operation and monitors the energy yield of solar facilities automatically; it has been developed by S.O.L.I.D. in collaboration with four research partners: Graz University of Technology/Institute of Thermal Engineering, Kassel University/Department of Solar and Systems Engineering, Cerebra Informationssysteme GmbH and Schneid GmbH.
In practice it turns out that the energy yields from many large thermal facilities do not come up to expectations. High solar yields can be maintained long-term only if operation is monitored continuously. With IP Solar an inexpensive method of automatically supervising solar-based energy supply systems in a standardized way is now available. Quality control and yield assessment are handled by means of an intelligent system of complex algorithms. Not just the solar circuit, but the entire energy supply facility (including storage circuit, downstream heating unit and process water treatment) are monitored automatically. The current data are retrieved from the solar facility‘s controller and data logger. Any malfunction immediately triggers an SMS or E-Mail message to the facility operator. This makes it possible to plan maintenance steps in advance and to remedy malfunctions in operation without delay; as a result, service and maintenance costs are kept low and energy yields are maximized throughout. IP Solar currently supervises thermal solar facilities with a total area of roughly 17,000 m2 in Europe, Asia and North America.
Building on experience so far, the project partners AEE INTEC, S.O.L.I.D., LandesEnergieVerein Steiermark and Cerebra are now developing the monitoring system further in the follow-on project METHODIQA. The aim is to provide automated supervision and quality assurance for biomass heat plants, thermal solar facilities and systems combining solar, biomass and fossile sources of energy.
