The Challenge

The customer faced significant challenges with their 6.12 kWp solar array, 1.25 kWh battery storage, and 18kW diesel generator. When solar generation ceased, and the batteries were depleted, the site would lose power until someone manually started the generator. This power loss disrupted essential systems like CCTV and lighting, causing operational issues.

To avoid this, the generator was kept running 24/7, resulting in excessive fuel consumption and unnecessary wear, even during periods of low or no demand.

Solution

Using Loxone, we implemented an automated energy management system to optimise generator usage and maintain uninterrupted power.

Battery Monitoring

The low battery alarm signal from the inverter was connected to a digital input on the Miniserver Compact. This input triggered the generator via a relay connected to a digital output, automatically starting the generator to recharge the batteries when their charge dropped below a critical level.

Energy Usage Monitoring

With the Energy Meter 3-Phase Tree, we continuously monitored the site’s total load and the generator’s output.

Load Management

If the site’s power usage exceeded 4kW, the system automatically started the generator to prevent overloading the batteries. The generator was programmed to run for an additional 30 minutes after the load normalised, ensuring the batteries were sufficiently recharged to maximise solar energy utilisation and reduce generator reliance.

Outcome

This solution provided the customer with a fully automated, fuel-efficient system that ensured:

  • Reliable power supply to critical systems, including CCTV and lighting
  • Reduced diesel generator run-time and fuel consumption
  • Prolonged battery life through intelligent load and charge management

We chose Loxone for this project because the existing inverter did not have the capability to control or modify its configuration to meet the customer’s requirements. Loxone allowed us to design and implement a custom configuration tailored to the customer’s needs, enabling us to deliver an optimal, reliable setup.

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