Solar + Storage

Alencon Systems can provide you unique, cost effective solutions for integrating storage into your next PV project or even to retrofit storage into an existing PV plant. Alencon's solutions provide totally unique DC-coupled Solar + Storage solutions. Alencon offers two products for deploying Solar + Storage:

SPOT - PV-Centric, Uni-directional DC-DC Optimizer for Solar + Storage

BOSS - Battery-Centric, Bi-Directional DC-DC Optimizer for Solar + Storage 

Alencon Systems unique galvanically isolated DC-DC optimizers can help you combine Solar + Storage in a truly cost effective manner.  Alencon's products assure that your Solar + Storage project will generate more power during periods of grid curtailment or DC clipping. 

Alencon Systems’ SPOT and BOSS can be used to enable the deployment of DC-coupeld solar and storage with inverters from many of today’s leading PV inverter manufacturers.  Additionally, the SPOT and BOSS are battery chemistry agnostic solutions, allowing you to pair battery offerings from virtually any vendor into your Solar + Storage project.

The SPOT: Alencon's PV Centric Topology for DC-Coupling Solar + Storage

Alencon Systems’ String Power Optimizer and Transmitter (SPOT) can be used to enable the deployment of storage in a PV array with inverters from many of today’s leading PV inverter manufacturers. Such integration can be done either in new plants or retrofit into existing PV plants.  In this topology, SPOTs are placed between the PV strings and a DC bus that is connected to a battery as shown in the diagram above. The Alencon SPOT acts as a slave to the DC bus voltage as the batteries are charged or discharged at the direction of the system controller.  The SPOT based, PV centric approach offers the following benefits:

1. Allows for maximum energy harvest with granular MPPT

2. Eliminates the possibility of backfeeding current into PV panels from the batteries

3. Allows maximum DC Overbuilds or Inverter Loading Ratio (ILR)

See how the PV Centric DC Coupled approach works from this video:

The BOSS: Alencon's Battery Centric Topology for DC-Coupling Solar + Storage

Alencon Systems’ Bi-Directional Optimizer for Storage Systems (BOSS) can be used to enable the deployment of storage in a PV array with inverters from many of today’s leading PV inverter manufacturers. Such integration can be done either in new plants or retrofit into existing PV plants.  In this topology, BOSS units are placed between the battery racks and a DC bus that is connected to a PV array as shown in the diagram above. The Alencon’s BOSS charges and discharges the batteries at the direction of the system controller.  The BOSS based, battery-centric approach offers the following benefits:

1. Maximizes battery rack utilization

2. Minimizes fault currents

3. Allows for easier integration of Solar + Storage with string inverters

4. Makes battery rack augmentation over the life of a project easier

See how the Battery Centric DC Coupled approach works from this video:

Which Approach - Battery Centric or PV Centric - is Right for You?

Alencon's SPOT and BOSS are both unique solutions for DC-coupling Solar + Storage. They both offer the powerful benefits of galvanic isolation, which allows you to map large differences in voltage between batteries and PV strings as well as the ability to integrate grounded PV with floating batteries.  Which topology is right for your Solar + Storage project will depend on a variety of applications factors. Alencon's product specialists can help you determine which product - the BOSS or the SPOT or both - is right for your project. Alencon is the only power electronics vendor that offers both PV centric and battery centric solutions for DC-coupling so we are uniquely positioned to offer you a solution without restricting you to specific topology.  You can learn more about which approach is right for you by downloading this whitepaper. 

Want to Learn More?

You can learn more about our unique solutions from by clicking on these links:

1. DC-Coupled Solar + Storage Design Considerations

2. Benefits of DC-Coupling Solar + Storage

3. Solar + Storage: The Holy Grail of Alternative Energy?

4. Voltage Mapping: The Key to Making DC-Coupled Solar + Storage Work

5. Thinking About Retrofitting an Existing PV Plant with Storage?