DEIF

Our EMS reads and controls generator sets through a DEIF AGC 150 or AGC 200 generator controller over Modbus TCP. The generator is part of a Microgrid: the EMS starts it when the battery runs low during a grid outage, gives it a power setpoint and stops it again once the battery is charged.

Supported devices

How the integration works

• Measurements: the active power of the set, its running state (for example starting or synchronising) and the position of its breaker GB, shown on the device page and on the live diagram.
• Fuel: the fuel level, when the set has a fuel level sensor, and the fuel counter of the engine controller for the microgrid report.
• Start and stop: the EMS starts the set below the start threshold of the microgrid settings and stops it above the stop threshold, taking the minimum runtime and minimum off time into account.
• Power setpoint: while the set runs, the EMS gives it a power setpoint between its minimum load and its rated power, and changes it no faster than the ramp rate.
• Incidents: the alarms of the generator controller become incidents on the generator device (see below).

The DEIF itself keeps starting the engine, synchronising the set and protecting it. Switch off Controllable in the device settings when the EMS should only read the generator and leave its control to the generator controller.

Setup

1. Prepare the generator controller

   Have the generator installer check the following on the DEIF:

   • The controller is on the same network as the Voltmasters Controller, with a fixed IP address, and answers Modbus TCP on port 502.
   • The running mode is AUTO. In SEMI-AUTO the controller does not report that it is ready to start, and the EMS raises the incident Generator controller is not in automatic mode.
   • The nominal power on the controller matches the set. The EMS uses it as the base for the minimum load, the target load and the ramp rate.
   • For island operation the set may close its breaker onto a dead bus (on the DEIF: Enable GB black close). Without it the set never forms the island.

2. Add the generator in the platform

   Add a device of type Generator, with brand DEIF and model AGC 150 or AGC 200 (genset). Fill in the IP address of the generator controller and check the prefilled port 502.

3. Fill in the generator settings

   Open the device settings and fill in at least the Rated power and the Ramp rate: without a ramp rate the controller does not dispatch the generator. All settings are described under Microgrid configuration, together with the start and stop thresholds.

4. Verify

   Check on the device page that the power and the running state come in. With the agreement of the site, start the set once with a manual override (see below) and check that it comes online and follows a power setpoint.

Backup generator

On a site with more than one generator, switch on Backup generator in the device settings of the set that should only run as a backup. The EMS then only starts it when no other generator of the site can run: the other set does not report ready to start, its start failed, it cannot be read or it is held stopped. Once another generator is back on the bus, the backup stops again after its minimum runtime. Leave this setting off on the main generator.

Auxiliary energy meter

A DEIF reports its power in whole kW. For a more precise measurement, choose an energy meter on the generator cable as Auxiliary energy meter in the device settings. The EMS then takes the power and the produced energy of the generator from that meter. Whether the set runs and whether its breaker is closed still comes from the generator controller.

• Only energy meters of the project with the measurement type Default can be chosen, not the grid meter.
• Set the metering direction of the meter to Inverted when it books the delivery of the generator on its import counter.

Manual overrides

On the Manual override tab of the generator, two overrides are available:

• Generator start/stop: Start brings the generator up to carry the power setpoint. Stop hands power control back to the generator controller and stops the generator.
• Generator power setpoint: a power setpoint does not start the generator. It only applies while the generator runs, kept between its minimum load and its rated power.

The controller refuses a start or stop when the generator cannot be controlled or the state of the site does not allow it.

Incidents

The alarms of the DEIF become incidents on the generator device, each under its own name. Among them:

• Starter battery test of the generator failed and Starter battery asymmetry of the generator
• DC supply undervoltage of the generator controller and DC supply overvoltage of the generator controller
• Switchboard error at the generator controller
• Generator controller tripped a non-essential load group
• Digital AVR of the generator reports a fault
• Engine control unit reports a diagnostic code
• Engine and set alarms such as Generator engine did not crank, Engine oil pressure low and Generator maintenance due (service timer 1)

The incidents the microgrid itself raises about the generator, such as a generator that did not come online after its start, are described under Microgrid incidents.