Network Operations Center

Let’s face it – equipment can break.  Circuit Breakers pop, Modems stop communicating, Inverters get old. Each of these issues and many more can keep a system from earning to its potential.

Our Network Operations Center (NOC) allows AED to monitor and dispatch service crews immediately to ensure your investment is operating efficiently and generating the maximum amount of energy, and revenue, as possible.

The NOC includes Virtual Reality (VR) capabilities that provide technicians with tools to diagnose service issues, as well as allowing virtual ‘visits’ to proposed project site locations to assist in planning and development.

Along with monitoring and dispatching, our NOC provides the following services:

Thermal-Imaging for Solar PV Systems

Utilizing infrared technology on Thermal-Imaging cameras, AED now has the ability to identify faulty cells that affect the overall performance of a Solar System with ease and transparency.

The Problem

Cells in solar panels can break or lose effectiveness, decreasing the output of the solar panel. When panels are wired in series, it becomes a difficult to identify which ones are underperforming. Identifying the underperforming panel requires individually unhooking each panel, and testing it with an ammeter or IV tester. This becomes a very tedious, and expensive task for any decent sized solar system.

Our Solution

Cells in solar panels absorb the sun’s energy and convert it into electrical energy. When a cell is damaged, it is unable to make this conversion. As a result, the cell heats up because the energy is being absorbed but not transformed. Using a thermal-camera we can distinguish damaged cells and identify solar panels that need should be replaced to ensure optimal system performance.

Why it matters

-Revenue lost from an underperforming system is greater than the cost to replace panels

-When too many cells are damaged, there may not be enough energy to meet the threshold needed to activate the inverter and start the conversion process from solar to electric, essentially sabotaging the effectiveness of the entire panel, or series of panels wired together.

Aerial Drone Service

AED is proud to now offer thermal-camera inspections, wind inspections, and system “glamour shots” via drones.

Thermal-Imaging Inspections

For larger solar systems, AED can quickly fly and document panels with damaged cells. A 1MW (1000kW) system has around 3000 panels that could take days to inspect individually on foot. Below is an image from our thermal camera, revealing several faulty cells.

 

Wind Inspections

Our certified drone operators respond quickly to system failures that cause the shutdown of a wind turbine or large solar array. This is the fastest, cheapest option for an initial assessment of the system failure root cause for larger systems. Our team can recommend and schedule service visits upon request.

System “Glamour Shots”

Want to show off your system? Hang a shot in your office, post to your website or social media accounts, or simply have on hand for marketing purposes. At AED we believe a renewable energy system is something to be proud of. Let us help you create some positive publicity surrounding your large capital investment that benefits not only your business, but the environment and world in general.

AED also provides Asset Management services for project owners.  We manage offtaking, incentive program billing, system registrations and many more tasks for system owners who just wish to be ‘silent’ landlords.  We are familiar with Community Solar, Virtual PPA’s, State Programs and Tax Equity investments.

Together with our Network Operations Center you can rest assured knowing that your renewable energy project is being watched and managed all the time.