POWER REDUCER BOX. SMA Australia Pty Ltd

Feed-in management for large-scale PV plants

With the Power Reducer Box, SMA delivers a solution for large PV plants that must take part in feed-in management. It allows the network operator to remotely control the plant performance. It achieves this by translating the transmitted setpoint values into control commands for the Sunny WebBox, which forwards them to the inverters. During this process, each change of status is logged twice, once in the Power Reducer Box and once in the Sunny WebBox. In addition, the network operator’s requirements are visualized in Sunny Portal, informing the plant operator immediately.

Reliable

Complies with the German EEG* amendment on feed-in management
Logging of all events and status changes
Meets the requirements of the German Medium-Voltage Directive (BDEW)** for grid safety management

Flexible

Active power limitation and reactive power setpoint
Reliably controls up to 2500 inverters

Simple

Straightforward integration into existing plants
Easy installation
Free support from the SMA Serviceline
Integrated web server

* German Renewable Energy Sources Act
** Directive established by the German Federal Association for Energy and Water

	Power Reducer Box
Communication
PC communication	Ethernet
Communication with Sunny WebBox	Ethernet

Terminals
Ethernet	10 / 100 Mbit, RJ45
Radio ripple control receiver (AUX-COM)	4 digital inputs

Max. Number of SMA Devices
Sunny WebBox (from Firmware Version 1.45)	50
Sunny WebBox with Bluetooth® (from Firmware Version 1.04)	50

Max. communication range
Ethernet	100 m

Power Supply
Power supply	External plug-in power supply
Input voltage	100 V – 240 V AC; 50 / 60 Hz
Power consumption	typ. 4 W / max. 12 W

Environmental Conditions in Operation
Ambient temperature	-20 °C ... +60 °C
Relative humidity	5 % ... 95 %

Memory
Internal	16 MB in a ring buffer configuration
External	SD card 1 GB / 2 GB (optional)

General Data
Dimensions (W / H / D)	255 / 130 / 57 mm
Weight	0.75 kg
Mounting location	Indoors
Installation options	Top-hat rail mounting, wall mounting
Status display	LEDs
Software language	German, English, Spanish, French, Czech
Language versions (manual)	German, English, Spanish, French, Czech

Features
Operation	Integrated web server (Internet browser)
Warranty	5 years
Certificates and approvals	www.SMA-Solar.com

Accessories
SD card	opt.
Plug-in power supply with adapters	yes

Type designation	Power Reducer Box

Version 1.6.0 (August 2011)

Latest status information on Sunny Portal
Transfer of current data and events from the Power Reducer Box to Sunny Portal. Charts with grid operator specifications, event log and e-mail notification of specification changes or faults via Sunny Portal.
Operation mode in case of invalid input signals ("Fallback")
Switch to a definable operation mode if permanently invalid input signals are received, e.g., if the connection to the ripple control receiver is lost. Configuration of the operation mode via the user interface in the context menu "Status configuration".
Support in selecting safe passwords
Analysis and display of the password quality when passwords are changed via the user interface.
Additional software language: Spanish
General improvements and error eliminations
- Important: In order to transmit data and events to the Sunny Portal, a DNS server must be entered in the network configuration. After this, the Power Reducer Box must be restarted.
- Important: After performing the firmware update to version 1.6.0, the "Fallback" mode is activated: If a permanently invalid input signal is received, the Power Reducer Box switches to the "Fallback" mode after 12 hours and active power limitation is reset to 100% (maximum feed-in capacity). Please check this setting, and change if necessary after the software update according to the technical description!
- Information: Update the Power Reducer Box using the update file in the download area and an SD card according to the technical description. Before performing the update, read also the instructions in the "Readme" file.

Version 1.5.5 (June 2011)

New software language: Czech
New time zone: UTC–4:30 (Caracas)

Version 1.5.4 (April 2010)

Bug fixings of firmware version 1.5.2

Version 1.5.2

Extended access authorisation for installers to set the reference parameter for active power reduction and reactive power setting (Status configuration | Settings).
Per link on the Power Reducer Box’s user interface, a ‘compatibility list’ can be downloaded. This pdf document includes an up-to-date listing of the inverters supported by the Power Reducer Box and their reference parameters.
Please do not rename the upate file ‘SMAupdate’!