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Photovoltaic Simulator
User Manual
InteGrid Lab – EECL, CSU
2012
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
This manual was originally written by Peter Vieira from the 2009-2010 Senior
Design Team. Major revisions were made by Andrew Geck from the 2011-2012 Senior
Design Team.
This manual is intended to provide an overview of the hardware and software
associated with the Photovoltaic (PV) Simulator so that anyone unfamiliar with the system
can have some understanding of how the system operates, of how to run a simulation, and
of how to collect and observe the output data from the system. For more detailed
information on the underlying theory and system operation, please consult the following
files which should be located on the lab PC in the
"C:\PV Simulator Documentation\Reports" folder:
PVEmulatorDocumentation.pdf -- "Adapting King’s Model to Design a DC Bus
Photovoltaic Emulator." Written by Joel Nelson. Summer 2009.
InteGridFinalReport2010.pdf -- "Final Report: InteGrid ~ Photovoltaic Simulator"
Written by B. Ambon, M. Fox, J. Taylor, P. Vieira. May 2010.
PVFallReport2011.pdf -- "Grid Tied Photovoltaic Simulator"
Written by Andrew Geck. Fall 2011.
PVSpringReport2012.pdf -- "Grid Tied Photovoltaic Simulator: Final Report"
Written by Andrew Geck. Spring 2012.
Page | 2
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
Table of Contents
Safety…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Lock Out/Tag Outs……………………………………………………………………………………
Circuit Breaker Safety……………………………………………………………………………….
Built-in Safety…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Warnings…………………………………………………………………………………………………
4
4
4
4
5
System Description……………………………………………………………………………………………
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Hardware Components……………………………………………………………………………..
Software…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6
6
6
15
Setup & Configuration………………………………………………………………………………….……
Bitronics Power Meter Setup …………………………………………………………………….
Summit® DC Power Supply Setup ……………………………………………………………...
LabVIEW Program Setup ………………………………………………………………………….
Adding Inverters & PV Modules……………………………………………………...
Adding Irradiance Data…………………………………………………………………..
16
16
18
19
19
19
Operation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Test Preparation/Turn-On Procedure……………………………………………………….
PV Simulator LabVIEW GUI ………………………………………………………………………
PV Simulator Walkthrough ……………………………………………………………………….
System Turn-Off Procedure ……………………………………………………………………...
20
20
21
23
24
Output Data……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
LabVIEW…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
Bitronics Interface …………………………………………………………………………………… 26
Appendix:
Suggested Maintenance …………………………………………………………………………… 28
Information on Electrical Schematics & Matlab codes………………………………... 28
Glossary/Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………… 28
Page | 3
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
Safety
The Photovoltaic Simulator is equipped with safety in all parts of the system in order to
protect the system and its operators. It was built according to National Electrical Code.
The photovoltaic systems section of the code, Article 690, was used to ensure adequate
installation and safety measures.
Lock Out/Tag Outs
•
•
The 480VAC PV Simulator 80A Fused Disconnect fed from CBPB01 must be locked
out/tagged out whenever the PV Simulator is not in use.
Lockout/tagout procedures must be adhered to on all outgoing circuit breakers
connected to the power grid or InteGrid when not in use.
Circuit Breaker Safety
•
•
All circuit breaker and disconnect doors must be bolted or latched shut at all times
to prevent possible harm to operators or the system.
The 24V battery supply from the InteGrid switchgear must be connected at all times
for the safety circuit to work.
Built-in Safety
Any of the following actions will activate the safety circuit, triggering the shunt trips on all
of the Eaton/Cutler-Hammer AC breakers, thereby powering down and isolating the
system from the 480V and 240V sources:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pressing the Emergency-Stop button on the outside of the control cabinet.
Pressing the Emergency-Stop button on the LabVIEW front panel while the program
is running.
Removing the DC or AC connection covers on the Summit® DC Power Supply while
power to the 24V circuit is connected.
If the 120V power to the PV Simulator control cabinet fails.
If the 480V AC input voltage to the Summit® DC Power Supply drops below 354VAC.
If the Bitronics power meter is configured to activate a digital output when the AC
current exceeds a given limit, it will activate a relay. This limit should be set to the
maximum AC output current for the inverter being operated to improve the safety of
operation.
Page | 4
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
Warnings
•
The fan switch to the Preload Resistor Bank must always be on while DC output
power is on in order to cool the resistors and prevent overheating.
•
Each Preload Resistor Bank (5 resistors each) contains an inline fuse which is
located in their respective DC disconnect box. These fuses must be open and the DC
disconnect must be open to conduct maintenance on the Preload Resistor Banks.
•
Check for latent voltage before conducting maintenance on any device.
The DC supply and inverters contain large capacitors which store charge and
could be dangerous for several minutes after power is removed.
•
A common ground runs from the 480V Main Distribution Panel to the entire PV
Simulator, including the frame, boxes, cabinet, conduit and devices. Do not touch any
hot lines to any of these pieces of metal or a short will occur.
•
Do not operate the output of the Summit® DC Power Supply above 600V nominal.
This would exceed the voltage rating of the cables used for the DC
connections and the inverter maximum input limits.
•
The Bitronics power meter must be configured to trip its output relay to the shunt
trip circuit at the max AC output current of the inverter under test to ensure
maximum safety of operation.
•
The Bitronics power meter measures non-scaled voltage, therefore caution must be
taken when around the voltage terminals on the meter or possible injury could
result. These terminals will have 480V or 240V on them when live.
Page | 5
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
System Description
Introduction
The Photovoltaic Simulator is an advanced PV emulator that allows for the testing of
solar generation systems with the use of simulated photovoltaic arrays and physical
grid-tied solar inverters in the range of 2 – 25kW. It is adaptable to inverters with
208VAC, 240VAC, and 480VAC output connections.
The controls for the simulator use measured current and voltage signals, and a prerecorded solar irradiance profile to operate the DC power supply. The response of the
DC supply is made to behave as though it were a PV array. Each half of the power
supply can be connected to a different inverter and can operate independently at up to
25kW. The inverters have their own stand-alone control systems to monitor their DC
inputs, convert the DC to AC power, and push the AC power onto the grid connections.
The LabVIEW front panel user interface provides a means to setup, initiate, and observe
a simulation. The behavior of the DC supply is recorded by the program and saved to a
file at the end of the test.
The system is also equipped with a Bitronics AC power meter to observe and record the
AC output properties of the system. The information from this device can be used to
observe the effect of the AC output from the PV Simulator on the rest of the grid to
which it is attached.
Hardware Components
This section describes all the major components of the PV Simulator. An image and
some basic information are provided for reference. For more detailed information on
the components, manuals and spec sheets can be found on the control PC in the "C:\PV
Simulator Documentation\Manuals & Datasheets" folder. If files are available for a
component, the file name(s) will be given in the description.
Page | 6
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
 Summit® DC
C Power Su
upply – 25k
kW x 25kW Dual Outp
put
(S
S/N 673426
6, M/N 3152700-204B
B)
Conveerts incomin
ng 480V 3Φ
Φ AC into tw
wo independ
dent DC sourrces.
It is controlled by
y the N.I. cD
DAQ through
h the user cables. A serrial cable is
conneected to the control PC for setup an
nd configurration purpo
oses only.
In
nput: 480V 3Φ AC.
Output:
O
Miniimums: 100
0W, 50V, 1A
A
Maxiimums: 250
000W (each
h side), 1000
0V, 83.3A
Filles:
"Su
ummit 25k
kW x 25kW
W 57000015
5-00B
Usser Manual.P
PDF"
ummit VFP User Manual.PDF"
"Su
Front of unit.

Back of unit.
V rated
Fused DC Diisconnects (x2) – 600V
Locatted between
n the DC outtput of the ssupply and tthe connecttions to the
invertters.
Exterior of Disconnects.
Intterior of Dissconnects.
Pagge | 7
Photovo
InteGrid
d
oltaic Simulaator
 PVPowered
P
d 30kW Sola
ar Inverterr – 480V
(S
S/N PV0300
0BACF0310
0100299)
Conveerts incomin
ng DC sourcce to 480V 3
3Φ AC. The inverter haas a
Maximum
M
Po
ower Point Tracking
T
ro
outine to moodulate its o
own output.. It also
automatically matches the
t phase an
nd frequenccy of what itt sees at thee AC
onnection point.
p
Actuaal output po
ower is limitted by the 2
25kW availaable from
co
th
he DC supplly.
Inputt: Maximum
ms: 600V DC
C, 100A DC
MPPT Range: 295-50
00V DC
Outpu
ut: Nominall: 480V 3Φ A
AC
Maximum
ms: 30kW, 4
41A
Frequenccy Range: 59.3-60.5 Hzz
Power Faactor: 0.95 to 1.0
0kW-480V Inverter
I
Dattasheet.PDF
F"
File: "PVP-30
Note:
N
A printted manual for the PVP
P30kW is avvailable with
h the physiccal
documentatiion.

PVPowered
P
d PVP3500 and
a PVP28
800-XV Sola
ar Inverterrs - 240V
(S
S/N PV3524
40041007322 and 280XV111005
5714)
Conveert incoming DC sourcee to 240V 1Φ
Φ AC. Each inverter haas a
Maximum
M
Po
ower Point Tracking
T
ro
outine to moodulate its o
own output.. It also
automatically matches the
t phase an
nd frequenccy of what itt sees at thee AC
onnection point.
p
Only the PVP350
00 is conneccted at this ttime.
co
PVP3500: (on
( left)
Inpu
ut: Maximu ms: 500V D
DC, 26A DC
450V DC
MPPT Raange: 200-4
Outp
put: Nominaal: 240V 1Φ
Φ AC
Maximu
ums: 3.5kW
W, 19A
Freque ncy Range: 59.3-60.5 H
Hz
PVP2800-X
XV: (on rightt)
Inpu
ut: Maximu ms: 500V D
DC, 15A DC
MPPT Raange: 170-4
450V DC
put: Nominaal: 240V 1Φ
Φ AC
Outp
Maximu
ums: 2.8kW
W, 14A
Freque ncy Range: 59.3-60.5 H
Hz
Files: "PVP2
2800 & 3500 Datasheet.pdf"
"PVP2
2800 & 3500 Inverter User
U
Manuaal.pdf"
Note:
N
A printted manual for the PVP
P3500 is alsoo available with the ph
hysical
documentatiion.
Pagge | 8
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
 AC
A Circuit Breakers
B
– 208V
2
3φ Main (no
ot
AC 3φ, 240VAC 3φ, 480VAC 3φ A, 480VAC 3
sh
hown) – Cutler-Hammeer breakers with shuntt trip accesssory.
Th
hese are thee points of connection to InteGrid
d and
th
he main AC supply for the simulaator. The sshunt
triip modules are activatted by the safety circu
uit to
iso
olate these ssources from the simullator.
Files:
"C
Circuit Breakker-Cutler-H
Hammer I.L
L.29C101G.P
PDF"
"Shunt Trip-C
Cutler-Hamm
mer I.L.29C
C140F.PDF"

Control
C
PC
The
T computeer controls the
t simulato
or through communicaation with th
he N.I. cDAQ
Q
loccated in the main contrrol cabinet. It also has a serial com
mmunication
n
cab
ble connectted to the DC
C supply forr configurattion and settup of the lim
mits
on
n the DC sup
pply.
Insstalled Softw
ware:
Windo
ows 7, Matlaab 2009, Lab
bVIEW 2009
9.
Fille: "JPK Desktop Compu
uter.pdf"

24V Battery
y Supply
This
T is the so
ource for the 24V safety
y and controol circuits fo
or the simulator.
he third secction of SG3B in
These breakers are llocated in th
the basem
ment. Theyy are supplieed from a baattery attached
to a charger located behind SG3
3B. The sou
urce runs fro
om
this breaaker to the p
point of conn
nection insiide the main
n
control cabinet of th
he simulatorr.
Pagge | 9
InteGrid
d
 Main
M
Contro
ol Cabinet
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
1
8
9
2
3
4
6
7
Exterior of Main Con
ntrol Cabinet
10
5
11
12
2
13
Interioor of Main C
Control Cabiinet.
The main
n control caabinet contaains the follo
owing comp
ponents:
1. Stack light indicaator: Illumin
nates green when main
n AC breakerr is open, an
nd red when
n
main
m
AC breaaker is closeed.
2. Emergency Stop Push Button: Push in to
t activate ssafety circuiit. Pull out tto deactivatte
and allow brreakers to be reset. Breeakers havee to be resett manually.
3. Bitron
nics meter and
a connecttion terminaals: see detaails below.
4. Fuse blocks
b
for liine voltage feeds
f
to Bitronics: open
n to removee voltage on
n Bitronics.
5. 15V DC
D power su
upply: see details below
w.
6. 120V supply to PV
P Simulator and receptacle.
ply (UPS): see details b
below.
7. Unintterruptable Power Supp
8. Conneections to saafety circuitt, relays, and Hall sensoors: see detaails below.
9. National Instrum
ments Compaact DAQ (cD
DAQ): see deetails below
w.
10. Userr Cable Breaakout Board
ds: see detaiils below.
11. 24V Supply con
nnection and
d control relays: see deetails below..
S
block terminalls: see detaiils below.
12. CT Shorting
13. Link
ksys Etherneet Hub: see details belo
ow.
The
T user sho
ould not neeed to open th
he control ccabinet und
der normal ccircumstancces.
Only opeen for mainttenance, con
nfiguration during setu
up, or troubleshooting. Follow saffety
precautions and cheeck for poteentially hazaardous voltaages before doing any w
work insidee the
cabinet.
Pagee | 10
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
 Bitronics
B
M572 Powerr Meter
The
T Bitronics has a digittal input con
nnection froom the cDA
AQ, a digital output to a
saffety circuit rrelay, and an
n Ethernet ccable conneected
to the
t hub in th
he cabinet. All the volttage and CT
T
terrminals on tthe meter haave short ju
umpers instaalled
to the
t terminaals located b
below the m
meter. If anyy
con
nnections neeed to be ch
hanged, it iss suggested this
be done at thee terminals b
below ratheer than on th
he
meeter itself. T
The 120V feeed to the meter is also
pro
otected by a small 3A fu
use.
Thee meter is p
presently co
onfigured to
o measure th
he
480
0V and 240V
V AC output.
onics M572 Datasheet.p
pdf"
Files: "Bitro
"Bitro
onics M57x User Manuaal.pdf"

+/+ 15V Pow
wer Supply – Phoenix 2938743
2
This su
upply takes a 120V AC input
i
and crreates a possitive and negative 15V
V DC
supply
y for the Hall effect senssors on the DC bus.
File:
"15V Power
P
Supplly - Phoenixx 2938743.p
pdf"

Uninterrupt
U
tible Power Supply
The
T UPS is a single phasse 120V backup and surrge protectiion system.
The contro
ol PC, monitoor, and the Linksys hub
b are pluggeed
into the batttery backu
up ports on tthe UPS. Th
he supply fo
or the
cDAQ is plu
ugged into a surge supp
pression po
ort. This waay,
loss of the 120V sourcce removes p
power to th
he cDAQ, wh
hich
triggers thee safety circcuit.
Pagee | 11
Photovo
InteGrid
d
oltaic Simulaator
 Relays
R
(x2) – Siemens 3TX7110-5J
3
JC03 1NO/1
1NC, 24V co
oil
One of th
hese relays is operated
d by the Bitrronics, the o
other
by the cD
DAQ. Both aare triggerss for the safeety circuit. The
terminalls to the leftt are the con
nnections to
o the safety
circuit, and
a the term
minals to thee right are tthe connections
to the Haall effect sen
nsors locateed in the DC
C disconnectts.
File: "Sieemens3TX7
71.pdf"

National
N
Insstruments CompactDA
AQ-9178
The chasssis contains the follow
wing modulees:
 NI 9472 8-Channel
8
24
2 V Sourcin
ng Digital Ou
utput Modu
ule
8
24
2 V Sinkingg/Sourcing Digital Inpu
ut Module
 NI 9422 8-Channel
 NI 9472 8-Channel
8
24
2 V Sourcin
ng Digital Ou
utput Modu
ule
8
24
2 V Sourcin
ng Digital Ou
utput Modu
ule
 NI 9472 8-Channel
ot
 Spare Slo
8
24
2 V Sinkingg/Sourcing Digital Inpu
ut Module
 NI 9422 8-Channel
4
+/-10
+
V, up to 100 kS/ss, 16-Bit DA
AC Analog Output Modu
ule
 NI 9263 4-Channel,
3
+/-10 V, up
p to 250 kS//s, 16-Bit AD
DC Analog Input Modulle
 NI 9205 32-Channel
ommunicatees with the
The cDA Q chassis co
control P
PC through a USB connection, and runs
LabVIEW
W programss executed o
on the PC. T
The
cDAQ co ntrols the D
DC power su
upply by
sending signals thro
ough the useer cables
d to the breaakout board
ds located beelow
attached
the cDAQ
Q.
nput and outtput
There arre a numberr of spare in
terminalls available for future eexpansion an
nd
modificaation of the ssystem.
nput modulee has been configured
c
tto take diffeerential meaasurements to
The 9205 Analog In
he incomingg signals. T his effectiveely reduces the number of
reduce the effects of noise on th
nputs to 16..
analog in
Files:
"NI CompactDAQ Daatasheet.PD
DF", "NIcDA
AQ-9178.pdff "
2-9474.pdf",, "NI9422.p
pdf", "NI926
63.pdf", "NII9205.pdf"
"NI9472
Pagee | 12
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
 User
U
Cable Breakout
B
Boards–
B
WINFORD: BR
RK37M Rev C
The boaards provid
de termination points fo
or the
connecttions betweeen the cDA
AQ and the SSummit® DC
C
power supply
s
userr cables. Th
he 37 conductor cables are
shielded to reduce noise, and the terminaals on the
breakou
ut boards allso allow seections of sh
hielded cablle to
be instaalled to the final connecctions on th
he cDAQ
terminaals or the coontrol relays.
File: "brk
k37m_rev_cc_datasheet..pdf"

Control
C
Rela
ays - Autom
mation Direcct 781-1C : 1
1NO/1NC, 2
24V coil
Th
hese relays are the inteerface for th
he digital inp
put signals for
th
he Summit® DC supply. The supplyy interpretss certain pin
ns in
th
he user cable shorted too a common
n return pin
n as digital
in
nputs. The digital
d
outpu
uts from thee cDAQ operate the relays
to
o perform th
he shorting action. Theere are six relays for eaach
haalf of the supply.
o the left of these relayys is the poin
nt where th
he 24V sourcce
To
enters the sim
mulator con
ntrol cabineet. The small fused discconnects are provided as a
means
m
to rem
move powerr to the systtem for main
ntenance orr troublesho
ooting.
File: "Au
utomationDiirect781-1C
Crelays.pdf"

CT
C Shorting
g Blocks (x3
3) – Southerrn Transform
mer SB-6TC
C, (x1) - SB-4
4TC
The shorting blocks provid
de a location
n to short to
ogether the CT
lead
ds. This prov
vides an ad ded measurre of safety if the meterring
conffiguration ever needs too be altered
d later, as op
pen CT lead
ds
can develop exttremely high
h voltages.
Pagee | 13
InteGrid
d
 Linksys Ethernet Hub
oltaic Simulaator
Photovo
Providees Ethernet communicaations to vaarious devices in the
system. The incom
ming feed is attached to
o the buildin
ng network at
CL.
the EEC

Current
C
Tra
ansformerss (x4) – Flexx-Core AL-10
01, (100:5 R
Ratio)
Theese are located in the w
wireway below the AC b
breaker
con
nnections to
o InteGrid. T
They are connected to the CT shorrting
blocks in the control cabin
net, and from there, run
n to the CT
term
minals on th
he Bitronicss.
Filee: "Flex-Core AL-101 CT
Ts.pdf"

Voltage
V
Diviiders (x2) – Sustainablle Automatiion HPVD-3-480, (100:1 Ratio)
Thesse are locateed in the up
pper DC wireway abovee the DC
disco
onnects. Th
hey provide a point to d
directly meaasure the DC
bus voltage
v
for each half off the DC sup
pply withoutt having thee DC
disco
onnects opeen during a test. They ccan also pro
ovide a scaleed
dow
wn voltage th
hat could bee used as an
n analog sign
nal to anoth
her
device.
HPVD-3-480
0 Datasheett.pdf"
File: "Voltagee Dividers-H

15, (100A:4
Hall
H Effect Sensors
S
(x2) – Tamura L03S100D1
4V Ratio)
These are located on th
he positive DC lead in tthe DC disco
onnects. Th
hey
d
measu
urement of tthe DC bus current thaat is sent to tthe
provide a direct
analog inpu
ut module in
n the cDAQ.
File: "Hall Effect
E
Senso
or - Tamura L03100D15
5.pdf"
Pagee | 14
InteGrid
d
 Preload
P
Ressistors (x10
0) - Huntinggton Electricc HPK600
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
These
T
resisto
ors provide the preload
d required b
by the Summ
mit® DC sup
pply.
There
T
are fiv
ve resistors wired in seeries, with th
he whole strring conneccted
in
n parallel with
w each hallf of the DC bus.
Each
E
resistorr is 50 Ω no
ominal, but tthe measureed value of each string
to
ogether is about 240 Ω.
Ω
File: "Resisto
ors - Huntin
ngton Electric HPK600.P
PDF"

Heat
H
Sinks (x6)
(
– Manu
ufactured in-house
The resisstors are mo
ounted to th
he heat sink
ks to provide extra heatt
dissipation capacity
y. Each heatt sink is largge enough fo
or two resisstors.
One of th
he heat sink
ks has a therrmocouple p
probe attach
hed to it forr
possible temperaturre monitorin
ng.

E
9906
Fans (x3) – EBM-Papst
The fan
ns operate on 120V and
d supply exttra cooling ffor the heat
sinks an
nd resistorss. The switcch to turn on
n the fans iss located next to
the prelload resisto
or box. Be su
ure to turn on the fans any time th
he
DC supp
ply is in usee.
File: "Fans - EBM
E
Papst 9906.PDF"
Softw
ware
This is a list of all the majorr programs used
u
in the operation o
of the PV Sim
mulator.
Additional details on each program
p
aree given in laater sectionss that descrribe their usse.





LabVIIEW 2009 - from National Instrum
ments
Matlaab 2009 - fro
om Mathwo
orks
Summ
mit Virtual Front
F
Panel (VFP) - from
m Advanced
d Energy
BiView
w v2 - from
m Bitronics: Areva
A
T&D
Config
gurator r3 - from Bitro
onics: Arevaa T&D
Pagee | 15
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
Settup & Co
onfigguration
n
The PV
P Simulato
or can be mo
odified for a number off different cconfiguratio
ons of hardw
ware,
meteering, or datta recordingg. If any chaanges are deesired, conssult the follo
owing sectio
ons
to en
nsure safe an
nd proper operation.
o
Bitron
nics Pow
wer Me
eter Settup
The Bitronics
B
M572 power meter can be
b configureed to measu
ure various values on th
he
AC ou
utput of thee inverters depending
d
on
o specific ttriggers. Th
he meter's voltage and C
CT
conn
nections sho
ould be wireed accordingg to the AC b
bus and invverters in usse, and the
softw
ware should
d be configurred to recorrd the approopriate desiired measurrements. Th
he
meteer is capablee of both waaveform and
d disturbancce recordings. For optiimum safetyy,
the digital
d
outpu
ut of the Bitrronics shou
uld be configgured to acttivate if the AC current
exceeeds the maxximum ratin
ng of the inv
verter beingg tested.
To ru
un the configuration prrocess, the spare
s
comm
munication ccable from th
he Bitronicss to
the open
o
serial port
p on the back
b
of the control PC n
needs to bee plugged in.
1. Go
G to Start>A
All Program
ms>Bitronicss>70 Series>
>Configurattor r3, or seelect the
sh
hortcut icon
n on the dessktop.
2. Select “M57X
X” under thee Load Data
a From secti on.
3. Select “M57X
X” under thee Write Data
a To section
n.
4. Set the conneection to the correct CO
OM (serial) port (4).
5. Select “Edit Configurat
C
ion”.
Pagee | 16
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
Oncee the Configu
urator open
ns, the follow
wing screen
n appears w
with the various
confiiguration op
ptions on th
he left.
Undeer Instrument Transforrmer>Ratioss:
 Set CT ratios to 100:5 for the Fleex-Core AL--101 curren
nt transform
mers.
 Set VT raatios to 1:1 for
f direct co
onnections w
without PTss.
Undeer Triggers and
a Alarms>Recorder Triggers:
 Set Waveeform and Disturbance
D
Recorders tto trigger on a Digital IInput 1 “higgh”
signal. This is the input from th
he cDAQ diggital output.
w
curren
nt is greaterr than inverrter max. Th
his is
 Set Digitaal Output 1 to go high when
the triggeer for the Biitronics relaay in the saffety circuit.
 Set Waveeform and Disturbance
D
Recorders tto trigger on any otherr desired values.
Undeer Recording Modes>Diisturbance or Record
ding Modes>
>Waveform
m:
 Select desired valuess to record in
i each casee.
Once all desired chaanges have been
b
made, hit the "OK
K" button an
nd allow thee unit to reb
boot
for the changes to taake effect.
Referr to the Bitrronics M57x User Manua
al for more detailed insstructions o
on setting up
p
CT’s, triggering, data collecttion, and meeasurementt recording..
Pagee | 17
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
Summ
mit® DC
C Powerr Supplyy Setup
p
The AEHost
A
Bus Virtual Fro
ont Panel software is ussed to set cu
urrent, voltaage, and pow
wer
limits, regulation
n mode, and
d control mo
ode on the SSummit® po
ower supplyy. These lim
mits
mustt be set to en
nsure safe operating
o
co
onditions. T
The 480V AC
C feed to the power sup
pply
mustt be on in orrder to comm
municate with
w it. Referr to the Turrn-On Proceedure on pagge
20 fo
or instructio
ons on turning the power supply on.
1. Go
G to Start>A
All Program
ms>Windows Virtual PC
C>Windows XP Mode.
2. Go
G to the Virrtual PC’s Start>All Proggrams>Advvanced Enerrgy>Summitt VFP, or sellect
th
he shortcut icon on thee virtual desktop.
3. Iff any changees are madee, click on th
he “Settings”” button in tthe Toolbarr and confirm
the p
power supply’s
“Unitt Address”,
“Bau
ud Rate”, and
d
“Com
mmunication
n
Mode”. Refer to
o
pagee 4-26 of thee
Summit® DC Power
Supp
ply User Manual
and p
page 3-9 of the
Summit Virtual
nt Panel Useer
Fron
Manual for detaails.
4
4. In the
Communication
n
Conttrols section
n, set
the cconnection tto
Locaal and to thee
correect COM (seerial)
port.. This shoulld be
COM1 of the virtual macchine.
U
Contro
ol Mode clicck on VFP to
o use serial communicaation.
5. Under
6. Click the “con
nnect” butto
on, , to co
onnect to th
he power su
upply.
U
the Co
onfiguration
n tab on the right, selecct Program SSource. Set tthe VFP to
7. Under
In
nternal, the Local/paneel to Externa
al, and the U
User/Analogg to Externa
al
8. Under
U
the Co
onfiguration
n tab, select PVI Limits aand set the power, volttage and currrent
limits for eacch half of the supply. These
T
numbers depend on the Pow
wer Supply aand
nverters in use.
u
Add exxtra power to
t the poweer limit to acccount for th
he power
in
dissipated accross the prre-load resisstors, or thee supply maay limit the p
power availlable
to
o the inverter.
9. Now
N
change the Controll Mode back
k to User/An
nalog. Thiss places the supply back
k
under the control of thee cDAQ.
10. Click
C
the “co
onnect” buttton, , agaain, to discon
nnect from the power ssupply.
11. Exit
E the VFP
P program, then
t
log outt of and closse the Virtuaal XP windo
ow.
Pagee | 18
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
LabVIEW Program Setup
There are two LabVIEW programs written to operate the DC supply. Both are
available through shortcuts located on the control PC desktop.
The first is a manual operator, which can be used to operate the supply as a constant
source. It requires manual operation of all digital and analog controls, and should
only be used for special testing by someone familiar with the system. It uses no
information about the inverters or potentially simulated PV modules. More detailed
information will not be provided here.
The primary program is the PV Simulator LabVIEW program. It uses inverter and
module data, predetermined irradiance values, and measured current and voltage
values during the simulation to automatically operate the DC supply as though it
were a real PV array. Listings of inverters, modules, and irradiance profiles already
exist in the program, but additional information can be added if desired.
Adding Inverters & PV Modules
Inverter and PV module models that do not exist in the lists in the simulator program
can be added manually. This is done by adding a row for each in the “Inverter&Module
Data.xls” excel file.
 Navigate to C:\PV Simulator\Inverter&Module Data.xls and open the file.
 Click on the Inverter Data sheet and add a row containing all known data for the
new inverter, entering data under the appropriate column header.
 Click on the Module Data sheet and add a row containing all known data for the new
module, entering data under the appropriate column header.
 Save the file. When the LabVIEW PV Simulator program is reopened the lists will be
updated.
Adding Irradiance Data
Three options exist to simulate irradiance data from days not already saved on the
control PC:
 Go to http://www.nrel.gov/midc/research/ and download desired irradiance csv
files to C:\PV Simulator\Irradiance Data\RecordedProfiles. The files being used on
the system are from the "SRRL 10Hz Direct Normal" section of the site.
 Use the IRModifierGUI.m Matlab program, located at C:\PV Simulator\Irradiance
Data\ . This program can modify existing recorded profiles, generate new simple
profiles, select a shortened portion of a profile, or join two profiles together. It saves
its output to the ModifiedIR.txt file. It is recommended this file be copied into the
TestingProfiles folder and then renamed with an appropriate description.
 Manually place a generated file in the RecordedProfiles or TestingProfiles folders. Be
sure to conform to the format of the other existing text files.
When the simulator program is reopened these new data files will be selectable.
Page | 19
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
Operation
Test Preparation/Turn-On Procedure
The following procedure must be performed every time a simulation is conducted:
1. Determine whether or not either of the Preload Resistor Banks will be used. If so,
open the appropriate DC disconnect box and close the 10A fuse located below the
positive terminal on the output side of the disconnect. Also, be sure to turn on the
fan switch located to the side of the upper DC wireway. If the Preload Resistors
will not be used, open the fuses and close the DC disconnect doors.
2. Open PV Simulator.vi located at C:\PV Simulator\PV Simulator.vi, or select the
shortcut icon on the control PC desktop. Special Note: Since the simulator program
uses some embedded Matlab scripts, the control PC must have access through the
Ethernet hub to the CSU campus network in order to retrieve a license from the
servers before the PV Simulator.vi will load.
3. Make sure all circuit breakers and disconnects are open.
4. The Load Bank or InteGrid AC grid connection should be turned on by an
experienced operator in the lab following the InteGrid lock-out/tag-out procedures.
5. Hit the "Run Program" arrow icon in the LabVIEW PV Simulator program. This will
activate the safety circuit relay so that the AC breakers in the system can be closed.
6. Remove lockouts and close the AC breakers and disconnects to the devices being
attached to InteGrid for the simulation.
7. Close the DC disconnects and switches to the devices being used in the simulation.
8. Turn on the Summit® Power Supply by closing the main circuit breaker, then
removing the lockout from, and then closing, the main fused disconnect. Once the
DC supply has powered up, the status indicators on the LabVIEW interface should
show that they are ready, and a simulation can begin.
From this point, follow the directions for running a simulation with the PV Simulator
program. See the descriptions of the interface and walkthrough in the following sections.
Page | 20
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
PV Simulato
or LabVIIEW GU
UI
The following
f
in
nstructions refer
r
to the PV Simulattor.vi file. A sample imaage is displaayed
and all
a the major parts are described,
d
then
t
a descrriptive walk
k through fo
or a simulatiion
will be
b given in the
t next secction.
5
1
9
8
6
2
10
3
1
11
7
4
m the Summ
mit® DC supp
ply, except ffor
1. Sttatus Indicaators: Thesee are digital inputs from
th
he "Simulatiion Completed" indicattors which llight up wheen either sid
de finishes a
teest.
2. The
T Record Bitronics button
b
activ
vates the diggital output to trigger a recording on
th
he Bitronicss. It is recom
mmended to
o hold this iin for a few seconds so the meter h
has a
ch
hance to reg
gister the in
nput. To rettrieve thesee recordingss, please seee the "Bitron
nics"
part of the "O
Output Dataa" section off this manuaal. The otheer two butto
ons can starrt or
sttop both sid
des of simulator at oncee.
3. The
T Program
m Stop and Emergency
y Stop butttons will end
d the simulaation. Presssing
th
he Emergen
ncy Stop buttton will also activate th
he safety cirrcuit.
m the E-Stop
p button on the main
4. Sttatus Indicaators: Thesee are digital inputs from
caabinet, and from the AC
C breakers. They indicate whether various co
ontacts are o
open
or closed.
Pagee | 21
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
5. A & B Tab control and Status window: Selecting one tab or the other will move
between the windows for Side A or Side B of the simulator. Each side can run a
simulation independently, and has identical controls and indicators. The large text
"A" or "B" towards the top middle of the screen provides a quick reference of which
tab is currently open. A tab does not have to remain open for the simulation to
continue to run. The Status window provides the user some quick instructions
during the start of a test, and an indicator of the state of the simulation during and
after a test.
6. The upper four buttons are for starting, stopping, or resetting the sides of the
simulator program independently. The 250 Ohm Preload Resistor? button
changes DC current calculations for the measurements so that only the current
flowing to the inverter is used in the voltage setpoint calculations. The default
setting for this button is to be enabled.
7. Inverters and Modules: The two lists on the right show all the inverters and
modules loaded into the simulator. The default inverter for Side A is the PVP3500,
and the default inverter for Side B is the PVP30kW. After selections are made, the
three boxes on the right display some of the important properties associated with
the inverters, modules, and calculated array that will be used for the simulation.
8. Irradiance Graph: Clicking the folder icon will open a dialog box to select an
irradiance profile text file to use for the simulation. The selected irradiance will be
displayed on the graph after the file loads. As the simulation runs, a green tracking
dot will display where the simulator is in the irradiance profile. The Start and End
Time boxes can be used to select a shortened section of the loaded profile. The
Elapsed Time box displays how much real time has passed since a simulation was
started, which should be useful for determining if the five minute warm-up period of
the inverters has elapsed.
9. PV Array I-V Curve: This graph displays the I-V curve for the calculated array at the
present level of irradiance. The red dot shows the Maximum Power Point, and the
green tracking dot displays the actual measured voltage and current.
10. Data Recording: These buttons control if, and at what rate, data from the simulator
is collected. The default rate is 10 Hz. Selecting "Fast Data" changes the rate to 1
kHz. This information is only the DC behavior related to the supply.
11. Display of values: This graph displays some of the measured and calculated values
for the simulator as it runs. The legend below the graph explains which values are
displayed.
Page | 22
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
PV Simulato
or Walktthrough
h
In the following desscription, so
ome physicaal steps will only need tto be perforrmed once,
r
step
ps can be folllowed for eeither Side A or Side B o
of the simullator.
while the program related
1. Perform step
ps 1 through
h 4 of the Tu
urn-On proccedure. (Seee page 20.)
2. Click on the LabVIEW
L
“R
Run” button
n,
, to starrt the progrram. (Step 5 of Turn-On
n)
ps 6 through
h 8 of the Tu
urn On proccedure. (See page 20.)
3. Perform step
4. Click on the small
s
folderr icon and seelect an Irraadiance Filee from the popup. This
populates the Irradiancee Graph.
E Time forr the test (in
n units hh:m
mm:ss).
5. Enter a Startt Time and End
verter to bee tested usin
ng the Inverrter list.
6. Select the inv
V module to be emulateed using thee Modules lisst.
7. Select the PV
V
the caalculated arrray size is co
orrect, i.e. ccurrent and voltage leveels are with
hin
8. Verify
atttached inverter limits.
9. Press the 250 Ohm Pre
eload Resisttor? button
n so that it iss illuminateed if the preload
reesistor bank
k will be useed. The deffault settingg for this buttton is to bee enabled. T
This
ch
hanges DC current
c
calcculations forr the measu
urements so
o that only th
he current
fllowing to th
he inverter is used in th
he voltage seetpoint calcculations.
10. Press the Continue buttton to calcu
ulate the I-V curves thatt will be displayed
th
hroughout the
t test. This should taake at least a few secon
nds to compllete, depend
ding
on the length
h of the simu
ulation bein
ng calculateed.
11. When
W
ready,, Press the Run
R button to begin thee test and sttart measurring/record
ding
data. You can press the Run button
n independeently on eacch tab (A or B) or the Sttart
A&B
A
button if both sides are ready to begin.
12. The
T test shou
uld begin an
nd the DC su
upply will sttart produccing output. Each of thee
in
nverters hass a five minu
ute "warm-up" period w
where it checks for adeequate
in
ncoming volltage beforee it begins to
o produce A
AC output.
T test will run until it has gone th
hrough the lloaded irrad
diance profi
file, at which
h
13. The
point the "sim
mulation co
ompleted" in
ndicator shoould illumin
nate, and DC
C output fro
om
th
he supply sh
hould ceasee.
Pagee | 23
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
14. To end the simulation and download all the simulator data to the “MEASURED
DATA” folder, press the Program Stop Output and Save Data button. The files will
be generated and saved to the folder located at C:\PV Simulator\MEASURED
DATA\Y-M-D HH:MM.
A few of the buttons can be pressed at any time during a simulation:
1. Press the Record Bitronics button to record AC output data on the Bitronics meter.
It is recommended to hold this in for a few seconds so the meter has a chance to
register the input. Refer to the Setup & Configuration section to configure the
triggered recording on a digital input on the Bitronics meter.
2. Press the Stop button or the Stop A&B button to turn the DC power supply output
off. This pauses a simulation. The simulation can be resumed, but the inverters will
go through another five-minute warm-up period. Enter the elapsed time into the
"Reset Simulation Time" box while the Stop button is still latched in, release the
Stop button, and then press the Run button to resume a simulation from the
entered elapsed time.
3. Press the Emergency Stop button while a simulation is running to trip all the circuit
breakers and isolate the system if an emergency situation develops. This completely
stops a test, and no output data files are generated.
4. After manually stopping a simulation, press the Restart Program button to start
over from the very beginning of a simulation.
5. Press the Record Fast Data button to record data at 1kHz instead of 10Hz.
System Turn-Off Procedure
The following procedure should be performed when turning the system off after the
test is complete and the LabVIEW program has stopped:
1. Ensure DC supply output is off, and allow the unit some time to run the cooling fans.
2. Open the 480V main circuit breaker and disconnect to the DC supply and
lockout/tagout the disconnect.
3. Open the AC circuit breaker connections to InteGrid that were in use and
lockout/tagout.
4. Open the remaining AC disconnects or DC disconnects that were closed for the test.
5. Open the main tie breaker to InteGrid in the switchgear downstairs, and open the
main InteGrid breaker & lockout/tagout upstairs.
6. Turn off the preload resistor cooling fan switch.
Page | 24
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
Outputt Datta
Therre are two primary sourrces of outp
put data for analysis of the PV Simu
ulator systeem.
The DC
D characteeristics are recorded
r
by
y the LabVIE
EW PV Simu
ulator progrram and outtput
as texxt files at th
he end of a test. The AC
C characteri stics are reccorded by th
he Bitronicss
meteer system an
nd must be retrieved
r
seeparately. T
The data fro
om the Bitro
onics can alsso be
observed or colllected whilee a simulatio
on is runnin
ng.
LabVIIEW
When
W
the Prrogram Stop Output and Save Da
ata button is pressed, aall the test d
data
will be saved in a folder entitled with the date
d
and tim
me of the tesst. Up to fou
ur separate files
are creatted, two forr each side of
o the DC supply, depen
nding on if o
one or both sides of thee
simulato
or were run. One file co
ontains the properties oof the simullation, such
h as the datee and
time of the
t test, the inverter, PV
V modules, and irradian
nce file used
d, ect. The o
other contaains
the numerical data collected
c
fro
om the simu
ulator.
In
n order to analyze this data, a Matllab file, “AnalyzeDataD
Draft7.m”, m
must be copied
from thee C:\PV Simu
ulator\MAT
TLAB folder and
a saved tto the folderr containingg the LabVIE
EW
data. On
nce copied, open
o
and ru
un the .m-fille. This load
ds the vario
ous numericcal data into
oa
Matlab data
d
structure and, if th
he file is not empty, creaates the folllowing plotss.
Each plot is versus
v
the simulation
s
time
t
in secoonds. The to
op plot show
ws DC curreent
(IOUT). The second
d graph is off DC voltagee (VOUT in b
blue, V SET PT in red), w
where VOUT is
d V SET PT i s the comm
manded voltaage to the
the actuaal output off the power supply, and
power su
upply. The third
t
graph is of DC pow
wer (Pmp in
n blue, POU
UT in red), w
where Pmp iis the
max pow
wer point off the solar arrray being simulated,
s
aand POUT iss the actual power outp
put
to the inverter. A seeparate figu
ure, not show
wn here, alsso shows th
he absolute d
deviation off the
Pagee | 25
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
DC voltaage relative to
t the voltage set pointt, and the DC
C power rellative to thee max power
point of the simulatted PV array
y. The data structures ccreated can
n also be savved and
de of
manipulated as desiired. Theree are a total of 15 differrent variablees recorded
d for each sid
the simu
ulator. Pleasse see the PVSpringRep
P
port2012.pd
df -- "Grid T
Tied Photovvoltaic
Simulato
or: Final Rep
port", for more details on the data collected.
Bitron
nics Intterface
The Bitronics
B
po
ower meter measures the
t AC bus ccontinuously, and has p
provided
softw
ware to view
w, collect, an
nd download
d this data. To access tthe Bitroniccs from the
contrrol PC durin
ng testing, consult the following
f
th
he procedures below.
1. Go
G to Start>P
Programs>B
Bitronics>BiiView v2, or select the sshortcut icon
n from the
desktop.
2. Select Cance
el on the sub
b-window th
hat opens in
nside the BiiView progrram.
G to the Filee dropdown
n menu in th
he program..
3. Go
4. Selecting Obsservation.ini will open a DNP3 con
nnection and
d load a screeen that
displays the present values measurred by the B
Bitronics. Th
he scale facttors shown for
th
he CTs and VTs
V are the DNP3 scalee factors onlly.
Pagee | 26
InteGrid
d
Photovo
oltaic Simulaator
5. Selectin
ng FileDown
nloading.inii will open aan
FTP connectioon for fast downloadingg of the
reccorded files located on the meter. It is suggessted
thaat these filess be downlo
oaded to thee
C:\BitronicsReecordings fo
older, or to tthe folder
creeated by Lab
bVIEW for tthe simulatiion being ru
un.
6. Selecting Ma
anualTriggerring.ini will open a Teln
net connecttion that allo
ows for man
nual
trriggering off recordings, outside of the operatiion of the simulator pro
ogram.
Once
O
the files have been
n downloadeed, they can
n be processsed as desirred. Please ssee
th
he Setup & Configuratio
C
on section to
o configure the informaation record
ded by the
Bitronics
B
meeter.
Pagee | 27
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
Appendix:
Suggested Maintenance
The filters on the front of the preload resistor box should be cleaned occasionally to
ensure adequate air flow for cooling the resistors.
The cooling fins of the heat sinks on top of the small inverters should also be cleaned
occasionally.
Information on Electrical Schematics & Matlab codes
Please see the printed electrical schematics located in the pocket of the main control
cabinet door. Current versions of the Matlab codes used in the simulator can be located on
the control PC at C:\PV Simulator\MATLAB
Glossary/Abbreviations
AC ……………
ADC …………
CBPB01 ……
cDAQ ………..
CSU ………….
csv ……………
CT ………….…
DAC ………….
DC ……………
DNP3 ……….
EECL ……..…
E-stop ………
FTP …………..
GUI …………...
IR ……….……
I-V ……………
kS/s …………
NC ……………
N.I. …………...
NO …………...
PC ……………
PTs ………….
PV ……….……
SG3B ………...
UPS …………..
VFP …………..
VTs …………..
Alternating Current
Analog-to-Digital Converter
Circuit Breaker Panel Board 01
Compact Data Acquisition
Colorado State University
comma separated value
current transformer
Digital-to-Analog Converter
Direct Current
Distributed Network Protocol
Engines and Energy Conversion Lab
Emergency Stop
File Transfer Protocol
Graphical User Interface
Irradiance
Current - Voltage
kilo-samples per second
Normally Closed
National Instruments
Normally Open
Personal Computer
Potential Transformers
Photovoltaic
Switch Gear 3B
Uninterruptable Power Supply
Virtual Front Panel
Voltage Transformers
Page | 28
InteGrid
Photovoltaic Simulator
User Notes:
Use this area to write down any desired additional information:
Page | 29