Schneider adds smart solar edge devices

  • October 26, 2020
  • Steve Rogerson

Schneider Electric Solar has expanded its energy management ecosystem with smart edge devices.

As part of Insight, the French company’s energy management ecosystem, InsightHome and InsightFacility can provide simplified management of solar and storage systems. Insight helps homeowners take control of their energy management decisions, making the most of their energy.

Installers can use Insight to support their customers remotely, reducing site visits by half.

InsightHome and InsightFacility are Schneider’s latest additions to the Insight energy management ecosystem. Both are smart edge devices that connect users of Schneider solar and storage systems to the Insight app. InsightHome targets the residential solar and storage market globally. InsightFacility is for large residential and commercial solar and storage systems.

Digital technologies have been transforming energy management. Homeowners want to take command of their energy decisions, such as which energy source they use at different times of the day. They are also looking for ways to optimise energy consumption based on time of use rates and demand charges.

Insight helps homeowners make decisions on their energy footprint. They see their energy production and consumption from mobile or web apps and control their solar and storage systems.

Installers use Insight to manage their portfolio of installations. Installers can reduce site visits by half thanks to Insight’s remote management features.

InsightHome suits a single-family home with up to 26kW of storage. Homeowners use the Insight app to monitor their home energy performance in real time from anywhere and from any device. They can also see their money savings and reduction in carbon emissions.

For installers, features such as wireless connectivity and Li-ion battery integration make it easier to design and configure their customer’s solar and storage systems.

InsightFacility supports larger solar systems of up to 3MW or storage systems of up to 50kW. Portfolio management tools, customisable dashboards and remote control make managing a single commercial site or a large number of commercial sites easier. The communication protocols allow for connectivity to utilities, third party inverters and lithium storage technologies.

“Sustainability and energy resilience continue to be top of mind for many of our customers,” said Bernhard Kiechl, VP of marketing at Schneider Electric Solar. “We’re excited about the evolution of Insight, bringing our customers peace of mind. Insight allows them to control their energy at their fingertips; it’s like having your own power plant, knowing energy management is in place.”

Both InsightHome and InsightFacility are compatible with Schneider’s hybrid solar and storage offerings, including the XW and SW lines of storage inverters, the MPPT solar charge controllers and the accessories. For the European and Australian markets, Schneider Electric’s commercial three-phase string inverters are also compatible.