Vietnam start-up Cloud Energy is using Semtech’s LoRaWan technology for monitoring solar panels installed on temples and industrial parks.

A wired energy system did not fit a rooftop solar power system due to higher hardware and installation costs as well as a higher level of ongoing maintenance, particularly in rural areas of Vietnam where rodent damage to cabling is a particular issue.

Cloud Energy’s wireless solar power system featuring Semtech’s LoRa devices and LoRaWan connectivity provides comprehensive, accurate and independent data management from inverters, electricity meters and sensors to inform site owners. According to Cloud Energy, the solar power system saved its customers more than 30% on initial investment for a monitoring system.

“We believe that the future of monitoring will largely adapt to LoRaWan wireless technology, which is highly scalable, simple to deploy and provides a reliable wireless connection,” said Tuan Anh Pham, Cloud Energy founder. “Solar power monitoring that uses LoRaWan technology may be a new future trend that not only solves the problem of reliable wireless connectivity, but also provides additional benefits of IoT standardisation, scalability, data analytics and interoperability.”

The Cloud Energy wireless solar power system is plug-and-play technology consisting of multiple wireless modules, a Kerlink gateway using LoRaWan and a Cloud Energy web-app to monitor real-time data to review and forecast performance independently across meters, inverters and sensors. Through the integration of LoRaWan, the solar power system is a wireless offering providing stable data transmission for end users to manage energy usage across wide areas.

“Cloud Energy’s successful implementation of the LoRaWan standard for its wireless solar power systems showcases the versatility of the internet of things technology to adapt to nearly any setting and budget,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president at Semtech. “The robust connectivity from LoRaWan is creating smarter buildings for more informed business decisions.”

Cloud Energy was established in 2019, specialising in IoT energy management for smart cities. The company has developed smart energy building management, smart utilities management and smart solar monitoring systems.