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TSS

ABB a valuable partner in securing safety and reliability

Solar innovator TSS4U uses ABB technology to make energy more sustainable

TSS4U of the Netherlands supplies innovative, off-grid solar power systems to critical applications worldwide, helping companies replace diesel generators with sustainable energy. Telecoms towers, oil and gas facilities, and water treatment plants rely on TSS4U’s solar systems to provide reliable power in the most demanding environments.

Solar innovator TSS4U and ABB technology

Power regulation plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and efficiency of these systems

ABB’s expertise and smart Emax 2 circuit breaker technology play an important role in TSS4U’s solutions, protecting against overloads and short circuits.

ABB supports TSS4U in complying with the switching and protection requirements and regulations

TSS4U’s Operations Director and Founder, Jan Willem Linsen, said: “Customer specifications for solar power systems are extensive and complex. ABB supports us in complying with the switching and protection requirements and regulations. Their global presence and technical support make it easier for us to tailor solutions to meet local standards.”

Jan Willem Linsen, TSS4U

“ABB’s circularity framework and transparency make them a reliable and progressive partner in sustainable solutions. They share our passion for innovation and circularity as we work together on more responsible ways of generating energy”

Jan Willem Linsen

TSS levert 151 solar power systems aan ADNOC verzekerd met ABB technologie

TSS4U realiseert off-grid solar energiesystemen

Met toekomst- en omgevingsbestendige vermogensautomaten
ABB solar enegriesystemen TSS4U

UITDAGING

TSS4U, leverancier van off-grid solar energiesystemen, had als uitdaging om ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Compagnie) te ondersteunen bij de transitie van dieselaggregaten naar energiezuinige solar power oplossingen in het Bu Hasa Oil Field in Abu Dhabi.

TSS4U zocht naar toekomst- en omgevingsbestendige oplossingen voor de

energieverdelers.

OPLOSSING

In de 151 solar power oplossingen voor ADNOC zijn ABB vermogensautomaten gebruikt. Deze voldoen aan de voorschriften van ADNOC, presteren maximaal onder omstandigheden in de woestijl
en hebben het ABB EcoSolutions™ label. 

Bovendien zijn de schakelaars eenvoudig in onderhoud en service.

UITKOMST

De vermogensautomaten dragen bij aan de energiezuinige off-grid solar power oplossingen die TSS4U creëerde voor ADNOC. Hiermee zijn dieselaggregaten verleden tijd en wordt een verantwoorde manier van energieopwekking mogelijk.

Voordelen:

✓ Vermogensautomaten toepasbaar in temperaturen van –25 tot 70 graden
✓ Alle toegepaste  vermogensautomaten zijn voorzien van het ABB EcoSolutions™-label

Visit TSS at Egyps

Visit TSS at EGYPS

The Egypt Petroleum Show is North Africa and the Mediterranean’s leading oil, gas and energy exhibition and conference where oil and gas professionals convene to engage in dialogue, create partnerships, do business and identify solutions and strategies that will reshape the global energy markets.

 

EGYPS 2023 will take place from 13-15 February 2023 in Cairo at the Egypt International Exhibition Center

TSS and Saft batteries, an electrifying combination

TSS and Saft batteries, an electrifying combination

TSS solar systems in combination with Saft batteries are providing ultimate and uninterrupted reliability for Pertamina’s unmanned GG-platform. Proven performance for 7 years and counting.

 

Saft solar nickel battery system delivers reliability and cost efficiency for Pertamina offshore gas platform.  Solar system integrator TSS4U selected Saft Sunica+ nickel batteries for their high quality, reliability, high temperature capability and expert support in Indonesia.

Old school batterij technologie in offgrid energiesystemen

De uitrol van zonnepanelen draait in coronatijd volop door, zowel in de residentiële als de zakelijke markt. Het gebruik van batterijen komt sterk op, in Vlaanderen in de vorm van de thuisbatterij en in Nederland in die van grootschalige opslagsystemen. Dit is echter niet de wereld van TSS4U. Het levert offgrid solar en solar hybride-systemen, met name voor offshore en onshore olie- en gasinstallaties. Die markt kent zijn eigen wetten, zowel wat betreft conjunctuur als technologische vereisten.

TSS4U heeft zijn roots in het voormalige Shell Solar in Helmond. Chief operational officer en mede-eigenaar Jan-Willem Linsen werkte er eerst aan netgekoppelde, daarna aan autonome industriële zonne-energiesystemen. Na de overname van Siemens Solar in 2001 zette het bedrijf een punt achter de productie van zonnepanelen in Nederland.
2 jaar later werden de offgrid-activiteiten overgeheveld naar München. Linsen en enkele van zijn collega’s besloten uit te stappen en richtten TSS4U op.

New infinitum S2/S5 Control Box extremely popular

New infinitum S2/S5 Control Box extremely popular with Telecom customers

The superior capabilities include:

  • Modular, plug & play, upgradable anywhere, anytime
  • Hybrid solution with capability to control multiple energy sources with only one unit (less components – more reliability)
  • Includes TSS Σ-Ahr MPPT controller provided with two independent array inputs
  • Passive cooling / no ventilators, up to 85°C enclosure temperature
  • Two outputs possible (essential and non-essential loads)
  • Four different remote monitoring solutions available
  • Old and new hybrid systems and old and new batteries can be combined, due to the TSS smart diodes, without compromising on reliability & lifetime
  • Dual & triple system set-up, resulting in continuous 24/7 uptime

CO2 savings

With the TSS infinitum control box and the TSS infinitum TCO software tool various diesel hybrid and solar only solutions can be provided. In below table we show the various cost and CO2 reductions you can achieve.

The TCO calculation TSS provide is taking into account the cost for maintenance and fuel. Transport of diesel and maintenance crew is not taking into account as this is depending on the location where the system will be installed. Each location requires a different solution resulting in a project specific TCO as shown right side.

infinitum Solar Hybrid Energy Solutions news

Infinitum Solar Hybrid Energy Solutions

With the increasing demand for Internet access and mobile services globally, telecom operators need to bring connectivity to remote and rural areas without a grid connection. The infinitum modular hybrid solution combines solar and any other (renewable) energy source along with energy storage batteries, such as any diesel generator or fuel cell.

Infinitum_logo-350

TSS – Solar System Integrator

  • +35 years’ experience in design and supply of Solar Energy Systems
  • In-house innovation with intensive field and lab testing
  • Modular Infinitum solar hybrid energy system, upgradable at any time
  • Designed, engineered and manufactured in the Netherlands, Europe
Infinitum_logo-350

infinitum – Art of No Cooling

  • 24/7 Running system, without cooling
  • No cooling required of batteries and controllers
  • No Energy loss, all captured energy flows to the loads
  • No cooling systems & fans required
  • No moving parts, no wear & tear
Infinitum_logo-350

infinitum S2 & S5 TSS Control Box

 

  • Modular, plug & play, anytime upgradable
  • Ideal for Hybrid solutions with capability to control multiple energy sources
  • Old and new solar systems & batteries can be combined
  • Dual or Triple system set-up, ease of maintenance, uptime & high reliability
  • Including TSS charge controllers, smart diodes, remote monitoring …
  • Passive cooling, no moving parts, up to 85°C enclosure temperature
Infinitum_logo-350

infinitum E2 – TSS Rectifier Box

  • AC/DC rectifier optimized for battery charging
  • Modular enclosure: 5kW, 10kW, 15kW…
  • Adjustable power output to maximize fuel efficiency
  • AC/DC rectifier optimized for battery charging
  • 230 Vac-1 phase/440Vac-3 phase
    Including TSS rectifier …
Infinitum_logo-350

infinitum X6 & X8 – TSS Support Structure

 

  • Modular, mounting of various solar module sizes in tilt angles of 10, 20, 30 or 40°
  • Environmentally friendly, high-quality carbon steel with outstanding corrosion resistance
  • Designed for high wind speeds with double bolt connection
  • Ready for mounting enclosures and cable trays
  • Space saver for battery boxes and telecom equipment underneath

Choice of charge control technique: Active or TSS Passive MPPT?

Choice of charge control technique: Active MPPT or TSS Passive MPPT?

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) are the two most common techniques used in off-grid solar charge controllers to charge batteries from a photovoltaic (PV) array. Both technologies have been widely used in the off-grid solar industry and both are great options for charging your battery. The choice of PWM or MPPT regulation is not merely based on which charging method is “better” than the other. Rather, it encompasses the determination of which type of controller will work best in a specific system design.

PWM charge control

A PWM charge controller is a switch which connects the PV module to the battery. When in PWM regulation, the current from the PV array tapers according to the battery’s status and recharging needs. When the switch is closed, the PV module and battery will be at nearly the same voltage and the PV module operational voltage is given by the following formula:

Since the PV modules operate at the same voltage window (battery voltage), rather than a higher watt peak rating, it is more important for a PV module to be able to produce more current at the battery voltage window when used with a PWM controller.

Active MPPT charge control

 

A MPPT algorithm-based charge controller sweeps the I-V curve of the PV module to pin-point the Maximum Power Point (MPP) of the PV module in all conditions. The power conversion is done with a DC-DC converter that converts the higher DC voltage from PV modules to a lower voltage required to charge the batteries:

Effect of PV module temperature on power extracted

 

An often forgotten aspect of PV modules is the change of parameters at different temperatures. Let us consider two scenarios of PV module temperature by maintaining the type of PV module and irradiance as constant.

PV module temperature at 25°C, at STC
Ppwm
For a 24V PWM based system, considering the average battery charging voltage to be 27.45V and a voltage drop of 10% (worst case), the PV module operational voltage will be 30.2V. From the above figure, it can be seen that at a PV voltage of 30.2V, the PV power output will be 325.3W.

Pmpp
The maximum power that can be extracted from the PV module with an MPPT-based controller is 359.8W. In this case MPPT extracts about 10.6% more power in comparison to a PWM controller at a PV cell temperature of 25°C.

Above case is considered at STC. STC stands for Standard Test Conditions which is at a PV module temperature of 25°C. In reality, the PV module temperature is much higher than the ambient temperature. As a rule of thumb, the difference in temperature is approximately 20°C. Hence, it would be more realistic to consider a cell temperature of around 50°C.
PV module temperature of 50°C

From the above figure, it can be noticed that at a PV voltage of 30.2V, the PV power output has reduced slightly to 322.4W in a PWM based system, only 0.9% reduction compared to STC. The maximum power that can be extracted by a MPPT based system is 328.8W, a reduction of 8.8% compared to STC. Reducing the difference in power output to only 1.9%.

 

Hence, at the actual temperatures a PV module will operate, the advantages of the MPPT over a PWM becomes negligible as the power output from a PWM based system is very close to that for an MPPT based system.

 

TSS passive MPPT charge control

In essence, with a PWM system the MPP is not actively tracked, but MPP operation is obtained by matching the module voltage to the system voltage. This can be achieved by using TSS PWM optimized PV modules. The combination of a TSS PWM charge controller and TSS PWM optimized PV modules provides a passive MPP operation which we call the TSS passive MPPT charge control and is provided in our solid solar only solutions.

Differentiators

Space Constraint

As seen in the earlier section, at lower temperatures, the MPPT controller can extract the same power as PWM from a lower number of PV modules. This leads to slightly lower number of PV modules for a MPPT system. To partly overcome this challenge, TSS uses PWM system optimized PV modules in order to extract the maximum power out of the PV system at any given ambient temperature.

 

Ease of system sizing

MPPT is the more advanced style charge controller as they will sweep the I-V curve throughout the day to maximize the energy harvest from PV array. Consequently, sizing MPPT based charge controllers is more complex as there are many considerations to take into account in comparison to a straightforward PWM based system sizing.

 

Controller de-rating with temperature

An overlooked fact is often that all equipment is installed inside enclosures where operational temperature will be higher than the ambient temperature. This difference can be up to 20°C to 30°C and additionally controller efficiency comes into play.
With a typical efficiency of a MPPT controller being 97%, its’ dissipated power will have a large effect on the enclosure temperature. Additionally, the complex electronics will demand a power derating at higher temperatures. Risking not being able to extract enough energy to supply the load and also charge the battery.

The TSS PWM Controller on the other hand has an outstanding efficiency of 99.97%. This keeps the enclosure temperature at a lower level compared to MPPT. Besides this a PWM controller does not demand for derating at higher temperatures.

 

Reliability

A MPPT based system consists of more complex electronic DC-DC converter circuits to cater the MPP tracking. A PWM controller is of a way less complicated nature. It only has to switch the PV modules on and off, making it a more reliable solution.

 

System cost

From a costing point of view, Solar Energy Systems are implemented in two main climates:

  • High temperature: similar system cost for both MPPT and PWM
  • Lower insolation: larger number of PV modules require larger number of MPPT Controllers, this reduces the benefit of MPPT since the cost of MPPT controllers is vastly higher compared to PWM controllers

Conclusion:

It can be concluded that the choice for a TSS Passive MPPT based system or an Active MPPT based system lies in the smart interplay between the various factors that need to be incorporated while designing a specific system. At TSS, we believe the choice for a TSS passive MPPT solution is still the best solution for remote industrial environments, since it provides the highest reliability and energy security. All at the same or lesser cost.

TSS4U Successful track record in Africa

TSS Successful track record in Africa

TSS the world’s most trusted builder of fully integrated and optimized pure solar and solar hybrid energy solutions for remote telecom sites successfully established presence in Africa with a new office in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

TSS was founded in 2003 by former management of Shell Solar. The company is headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and has additional offices in Abu Dhabi UAE for the Middle East Market and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Asia Pacific market. We equally work with numerous partners in Europe, Asia and Africa.

With over 25 years of in-depth experience in off-grid systems, and having successfully serviced the high standard oil and gas industry and deployed over 1,500 solar and hybrid systems across Africa, South East Asia, Middle East and Europe, it was time for TSS to have a footprint in Africa.

As a result, TSS expanded its sales organization and Kenya is one of the highly suitable locations to cater for our African target market where we are experiencing a rapidly growing interest in our solutions.

 

Kenya’s location allows easy access to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa and facilitates TSS to respond faster to customer support requests, and more efficiently support our partners.

There are thousands of telecom sites without reliable grid connection which translates into huge energy costs for operators.

 

TowerXchange, the independent community for operators, towercos, investors and suppliers has also forecasted that the volume of new build sites will be the highest in Africa with Countries, MNOs and Towercos making significant investment in cell site energy, and rural electrification with sustainable, environmentally friendly solar solutions.

TSS solutions has developed and perfected to solve exactly the kind of infrastructure challenges that operators are facing in emerging markets like Africa and addressing key concerns like grid availability, reliability, future energy requirements and expansion and how to cost efficiently power both existing and new sites in rural areas.

 

Esther and the team in Kenya will be collaborating with local partners in the Sub-Saharan region who have teams in place for installation, operations and maintenance.

Revitalize your Solar Energy System

Revitalize your Solar Energy System

In the past 30 years many large Oil & Gas companies started an off-grid solar department providing their own off-grid Solar System Solutions including their in-house developed charge control equipment. Many solar systems are now in use as the main energy supplier for vital equipment like Telecom, RTU, Wellhead control, valves, etc. Failure of the energy supply will result in high operational cost.

 

At TSS, we have seen many companies like Shell Solar, BP Solar, Total Energy/Tenesol stopping their off-grid solar activities resulting in clients not being able to maintain their current install base and to get spare parts or technical support for their Solar Power Systems. This has resulted in high downtime and high operation cost for these clients. TSS has been requested by many clients to help them in providing System Health Checks and spare parts for those systems for more than 10 years.

 

During the System Health Check our engineers provide you a report on the status of your system and which (preventive) maintenance should be carried out in order to revitalize these systems.

In order to be able to help these clients TSS has developed tailor made solutions by providing compatible new charge controllers which could replace the existing control equipment without the need of revising the whole system and including the system specific metering and alarms. Due to this we could provide a solution to our clients to keep their solar system running for the next 10 years or more without the need for a high investment for purchasing a complete new solar power system.

 

We would be happy to provide a similar tailor made solution for your off-grid solar systems that are currently failing due to the lack of spare parts or technical support from the manufacturer.

 

TSS4U Management Team

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