SwitchDin expands Integration Lab to support more future-ready DER
We have completed the next instalment of the expansion of the SwitchDin Integration Lab at our Newcastle headquarters, tripling our capacity to integrate and test inverters and battery systems for partners.
The expansion comes on the back of increasing demand from new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners who have chosen to integrate their equipment with SwitchDin. It allows us to support the growing requirements with our key retailer, network operator and commercial/industrial customers.
With the completed expansion, SwitchDin currently hosts over twenty devices from 11 manufacturers in our lab, including inverters and battery systems from AlphaESS, Eguana Technologies, FIMER, Fronius, Growatt, QCELLS, SMA, SolaX, Sungrow, Tesla and Victron.
These additions complement devices that are already in our integration library, including models from EVO Power, Kostal, RedEarth Energy Storage, Senec, Solis and sonnen, plus a large range of power meters and other devices.
The integrations underway in the Lab include both hardware and cloud API integrations.
Building a flexible platform for future grid opportunities
SwitchDin unlocks value to OEMs by bringing new functionality to their DER hardware. At the same time, we deliver value to our energy company clients by enabling monitoring and orchestration of a broad, diverse mix of asset types and brands. Our Integration Lab serves as a testbed for this work, and includes PV inverters, hybrid inverters, battery systems, meters, grid protection devices to generator controllers.
The Integration Lab allows us to quickly adapt to changing requirements and test solutions on devices in a controlled setting. It also provides unique, site level interoperability by testing devices in varying combinations on our vendor-agnostic platform. It is operated and utilised extensively by our dedicated team of integration engineers, who have integrated devices from every major brand of solar inverters and battery storage systems on the market.
A crucial challenge for Australia’s increasingly renewables-powered and decentralised grid is the interoperability of distributed energy resources (DER). Our approach aims to open up opportunities for anyone who has DER - from solar and batteries to electric vehicles - to become active participants on the grid.
Integrating with SwitchDin
SwitchDin connects with OEM devices through three variations of our Droplet controllers:
Droplet - SwitchDin’s cutting-edge Droplet software in off-the-shelf hardware. Currently we offer a Residential Droplet for general use applications and a Utility Droplet for more heavy-duty applications. Droplets enable highly granular data visibility, device control & orchestration, and site-level management and optimisation of multiple assets.
eDroplet - SwitchDin’s Droplet software is embedded into an OEM’s hardware during the manufacturing process. This includes all the same functionality as the original Droplet.
Droplet API - A ‘virtual Droplet’ enabled through an API integration with the OEM’s cloud platform. No hardware is required to be installed, making it an attractive option for tapping specific functions without the need to go on site.
All Droplet options enable monitoring and orchestration of the integrated devices through SwitchDin’s Stormcloud platform.