The Serial Rs232 Interface; The Rs485 Interface - Kaco Powador 1501xi Operating Instructions Manual

S e ctio n 4 · O pe rati on
You can now scroll through the menu and retrieve the values
for the current day. If over one minute elapses without a key
being pressed, the display automatically switches off again.
The inverter saves only the current values of the day. The
"Annual operating hours", "Total operating hours", "Annual
yield" and "Total yield" data is saved and added up for each
setting. This data remains in the memory even if the unit has
not been in operation for a considerable period of time. If
required, the date and time may have to be confi gured once
again if the unit has not been in operation for several days.

4.7 The serial RS232 interface

Operating data can be transmitted to a computer (e.g.
notebook) over a galvanically isolated serial interface (see
fi gure 4.6 - (2)). It can then be individually processed further
using standard spreadsheet software.
A standard serial 1:1 interface cable is all that is required to
connect the inverter to the computer. The cable length should
not exceed 20 metres.
NOTE
With the optional accessories (see section 5), you can also
implement wireless data transmission over long distances
between the inverter and your PC.
The data from the inverter is sent unidirectionally as pure
ASCII text over the serial interface. The data is not checked
for errors.
Powador Sub-D
Meaning
male 9-pole
2 TXD
3 RXD
4 RTS
5 GND
Table 4.1: RS232 interface pin assignment
The RS232 interface has the following parameters:
Baud rate Data bits Parity
9600 baud 8 none
Figure 4.7 shows, as an example, a few of lines of transmission
via the RS232 interface.
Page 10
PC Sub-D
female 9-pole
2
3
4
5
Stop bits Protocol
1 none
Data can be received with any terminal emulator, which comes
with every operating system, or with the KACO-viso visualisa-
tion tool.
The KACO-viso visualisation software can be downloaded
from
http://www.kaco-newenergy.de
Together with the Powador inverter, KACO-viso takes over
the role of a data logger. It saves the data from the inverter
and displays it in various diagram types as a daily or monthly
representation.
The PC, however, must also run continuously. Because of the
amount of energy used, this type of monitoring only makes
sense over limited periods, such as during a fault analysis. For
permanent monitoring, we recommend the optional accesso-
ries Powador-display, Powador-easyLOG or Powador-proLOG
(see section 5).
The interface of the connected PC or laptop must comply with
the standard for RS232 interfaces. Some computer manufac-
turers do not fully comply with the standard. In such cases,
problems may occur during data transmission.
Calculating effi ciency by measuring the current and voltage
values leads to unusable results due to the tolerances of
the measuring devices. The sole purpose of these values
is to monitor the basic operation of the system.

4.8 The RS485 interface

Powador inverters are also equipped with an RS485 interface
(see Installation Instructions, fi gure 6.11) in order to enable
remote monitoring of your photovoltaic installation. Several
inverters can be monitored over this interface at the same time.
Using the Powador-proLOG series, you can receive yield and
operating data as well as error messages by SMS (text message)
or e-mail. This monitoring option is especially recommended
for situations where you are unable to check the functionality
of the installation on-site at regular intervals, e.g. if you live
far away from the installation site. In addition, you can use the
Powador-link within your installation to bridge long distances
between several inverters or between an inverter and the
Powador-proLOG using wireless radio transmission. Contact
your installer if you wish to integrate remote monitoring into
your system.
Operating Instructions Powador 1501xi/2501xi*/3501xi/4501xi/5001xi**
NOTE
NOTE