Our Latest Remote Monitoring Project: Improved technology brings remote offgrid site online
We’ve recently installed remote monitoring for renewable energy at an offgrid site where for years (since 2015 to be exact!) we haven’t been able to know how the hydro / solar and generator have been getting on without standing in front of it. There was no phone signal. None. Nada. Not for about 3 miles or so, and only then if you held the phone up really (really) high or were as tall as Gary or Kieron.
The setup relied on the Client or one of their team to go up to the site to check on things, and if there was an issue or a question to come half way back down the hill to make a call. Or for guests to do the same: call the Estate Manager who would probably then call us. And that’s not a situation anyone wants.
The system wasn’t overly complex or failure-prone, aside from when the 81-year-old original turbine eventually gave up the ghost and we fitted a new one. However, it was in a challenging location, with weather events, occasional overly inquisitive guests and / or older infrastructure eventually giving up.
The game changer is a certain satellite broadband provider whose kit looks like a tea tray on a tripod. Looks aside, this has allowed communication where there once was none. In the older days the owners of a site like this would have had multiple staff members, there would have routinely been folk onsite checking on things and all would have been well. However, with rising staff costs and health and safety considerations of lone working, for example, much has changed.
And now we can see…
What remote monitoring for renewable energy systems allows:
- Peace of mind!
- The ability to see any issues before they come to a head through alerts or weekly 15 minute checks that let us pick up trends.
- Less potential impact on users of the lodge.
- The Client to call us from the site and for us to look in and walk them through any questions, or changes they may wish to make.
- Reduced costs. The Client only needs to pay for the time we are helping, not necessarily for us to have to get there, only to flip a breaker and then drive back. It can save money.
But, it’s also been an enabler, adding opportunity. We / the Client can now manage outputs to the betterment of feed-in tariffs and revenue streams, i.e. make more money. The hydro is FIT registered, the solar not. Could we make sure the hydro is running when it can, and keep the solar for when it’s needed?
We have been able to add in these additional features for the Client:
- Temperature monitoring in the lodge will allow them to maintain temperatures and building fabric in the future.
- Monitoring diesel levels – a biggy, no one wants the back up generator to run out of diesel, but monitoring allows managed diesel runs and reduces the actual cost of diesel. Remember the cost of diesel in a remote site is not what you buy it for, it’s that PLUS the cost of getting it there. An additional run with 40 litres of diesel because you are worried you might be short makes that £/litre a lot more than a planned run with 1,000 litres.
- Security – the Client intends now to add cameras, which lets them look after their site. It’s disappointing to see the mess an angry hill walker makes of a dedicated open bothy they don’t seem to like.
Where would you need Remote Monitoring for Renewable Energy Systems?
Monitoring means different things to different people but there is a commonality for all.
It doesn’t have to be offgrid; perhaps it’s just a site where someone isn’t always there, or a site where the folks that are there just need support with a full understanding of what’s going on.
We have a new member of the team, Joe, who is working on a sponsored project to understand the benefits and to look at how the different systems we use manage remote monitoring. The outcome may just be bigger monitors in the main office, but I have a sneaking suspicion it may be something a bit smarter than that.
If you have any questions on simple ways you can put remote monitoring for renewable energy in place, and to see if it will help you, get in touch.