INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION
INTRODUCTION
Until just some years ago, generator sets were considered autonomous systems with no need to be monitored. They were merely supposed to start up when the usual power supply failed, as that was their purpose. But what about when they didn’t start up? With the rise of critical applications, along with the computerization of all industrial areas, both productive as well as administrative, the landscape today could not be more different. The generator set industry has vastly changed and the applications are extremely varied.
Nowadays, permanent power supply is necessary in data centres and telecommunications, cooling systems of cogeneration or biomass plants, anti-hurricane systems in wind farms, in hospitals… These and other applications require highly reliable generator sets, but the maximum precision still isn’t enough: technology goes beyond that. As such, when the genset has any issue at all, this must be detected preventively, so reporting the problem in the most precise manner possible is also an essential factor.
It is precisely here where industrial communication systems come into play, that is, we’ve gone from gensets whose communication was based on wired signals, with a very limited number of signals at that – many of which merged information (mechanical and electrical failures, warnings, etc.), to gensets which must inform of their status in detail.
The generator set industry has vastly changed and the applications are extremely varied.
The most common protocols
Of all the industrial communication protocols most used in the generator set industry, the following stand out:
Modbus (RTU o TCP):
It’s the most common protocol, used to integrate a generator set in the facility’s supervision system. Amongst its advantages is the simplicity in which the protocol is implemented – which allows any system to adapt to it -. On the other hand, its main disadvantage is found in the signals it emits, as they are not identified by the protocol, meaning the system must be programmed and configured according to the registry tables sent by the generator set manufacturer in order for the genset and supervision equipment to understand each other. Likewise, the supervision system must send queries to the generator set every now and again to receive its data.
SNMP (Simple Network Messaging Protocol):
This protocol is widely employed for Data Centers as it was initially designed for the monitoring of computer systems. A couple of its most notable advantages over Modbus are as follows:
- The data it transmits already has identifying names.
- It’s possible for the generator set to send a notification to the supervision system when an alarm or event is set off.
DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol):
Used more in America than in Europe for communication with industrial SCADA systems, especially in the electrical industry (substations). This protocol was designed in a robust manner and has an object model at its disposal which allows the definition of the type of data sent out. It also has up to three different levels which allows it to prioritize the carried out requests.
IEC61870-5-101/104:
It’s a protocol used mostly in Europe for the monitoring of power systems (electrical substations). It’s a robust protocol which allows the consultation of data as well as the sending out of events or control of the equipment. This protocol’s systems are practically identical to those of the DNP3 protocol.
IEC61850:
A collection of protocols for power systems towards which many systems with electrical control are migrating. This set of protocols is more robust than the previous ones, and has a greater range of application. It includes:
- SMV: Transmission of measurement, protection and control values.
- GOOSE: Transmission of critical values in real time.
- SNTP: Time synchronization.
- MMS: Protocol for exchange of application data, device configuration data or monitoring data between equipment.
Efficient and reliable
At Genesal Energy, we’ve managed to integrate each of these protocols in our generator sets, including the customization of the data tables, all according to our clients’ requirements and in such a way that the integration with their systems is done in the smoothest possible manner.
The obtained result is optimal: it allows for all kinds of genset monitoring and control tasks in real time, ensuring the generator set informs of any detected issue in the least time possible and with the most available information in order to achieve maximum precision, reliability and effectiveness, without a doubt, three key factors in high quality units.
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