Introduction to complete solar energy green energy-saving solutions

Looking around the world, the most popular trend right now is undoubtedly low-carbon and environmental protection. As a renewable energy source, solar energy is naturally a representative of low-carbon and environmental protection. It is rich in resources, can be used for free, does not require transportation, and does not pollute the environment. It has created a new way of life for mankind, allowing society and mankind to enter an era of energy conservation and pollution reduction. And the use of solar energy in the electronics industry is also increasing.

In response to this environmental protection trend, here is a complete solar energy solution:

The program consists of the following six parts:

Solar Panel

Solar Junction Box

NXP Solar Cell Maximum Power Tracking MPT612

TI C2000 Inverter Solution

NXP non-billing energy metering EM773

TI Power Line Communication Modems

1、Solar Panel

GET Main Product ：

2、Solar Junction Box

3. NXP solar cell maximum power tracking solution MPT612

The MPT612 is the only low-power integrated circuit that provides maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for solar (PV) cell or fuel cell applications. The MPT612 chip uses a patent-pending MPPT algorithm and can be widely used in applications such as solar cell charging control units, distributed MPPT and micro converters to achieve 98% energy extraction.

NXP's MPT612 can be easily configured in various solar DC charging control units using MPPT, such as battery chargers for portable devices and home applications; railway and traffic signs; street, garden and driveway lights. MPT612 is also very suitable for use in non-storage electric motors such as water pumps and electric fans.

Key features and benefits:

Powered by low-power, 32-bit ARM7TDMI-S™ processor

Supports multiple serial interfaces including I2C, UART, SPI and SSP

Hardware functions include voltage and current measurement, panel parameter configuration, and the ability to send output signals to control external switches.


To simplify development and optimize system efficiency, the MPT612 is provided with object files that include NXP's patent-pending MPPT algorithm, application-specific software libraries, and easy-to-use application programming interface functions (API functions).

API for system configuration to set buck or buck-boost topology

Provides up to 15KB of flash memory space for application software and three levels of flash memory code read protection (CRP) to ensure the security of user-developed code

Development Tools:

Flashmagic , IAR, Keil and other development tools all support MPT612.

System block diagram:

Demo board：

4. TI C2000 Inverter Solution

TI C2000 Inverter Solution Block Diagram

Demo Board Images

Renewable Energy Developer‘s Kit：

Digital Power Experimenter’s Kit

F28035 Piccolo controlCARD， USB docking station， CCS V3.3 ， USB Cable

5. NXP non-billing energy metering solution EM773

The EM773 energy metering chip is the world's first 32-bit ARM® solution for non-billing energy metering. In recent years, power companies and utility companies have adopted Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and smart meters, and introduced more accurate pricing models and tariffs to encourage users to adjust their energy consumption patterns accordingly. NXP's EM773 energy metering chip breaks through the traditional billing concept, allowing system designers to easily integrate energy metering functions into any type of equipment, providing end users with more convenient and intuitive electricity information. General consumers and industrial users can use EM773 to instantly understand their energy consumption, ranging from smart sockets, smart appliances, energy-saving electronic products to residential sub-meters, industrial sub-meters, and even rack-mounted servers in data centers.

As a metering engine, the EM773 chip has automatic single-phase energy metering function, and its API instructions can greatly simplify the design of non-billing metering applications. NXP EM773 uses ARM Cortex™-M0 processor.

The EM773 energy metering chip enables 'easy metering' - even designers without a deep metrology background can design non-billage metering. The NXP EM773 enables rapid development and design of innovative devices that will ultimately change our energy consumption patterns, whether in home appliances, mobile devices, or industrial environments.

Through the powerful ARM Cortex-M0 platform, the NXP EM773 can complete complex communication tasks, such as operating a multi-function wireless m-bus stack, so that power consumption information can be quickly transmitted within the home or enterprise and displayed on terminal devices such as computers and smartphones. The EM773 standard demonstration set comes with a wireless plug-in meter that can transmit data from the metering engine to a USB transmitter via the wireless m-bus. The USB transmitter uses the OL2381 wireless transceiver and LPC1343 microcontroller produced by NXP.

The NXP metering engine, accessed through simple API commands, can automatically calculate active power (in watts, with an accuracy of less than 1%). The metering engine can also calculate passive power, apparent power, power factor ratio, and even total harmonic distortion (THD). In addition, the open source plug-in meter application attached to the energy metering chip demonstration group integrates power data (kWh) that can be sent to a computer and displayed.

The powerful 32-bit Cortex-M0 platform not only supports up to 48 MHz operating frequency, but also maintains the advantages of small package size and low cost of silicon components , which is comparable to the cost of traditional 8-bit and 16-bit microcontroller units. The NXP EM773 adopts an integrated design of 32KB flash memory and 8KB SRAM memory to support complex customer application software and improve the cost-effectiveness of the system by reducing the number of external components. The EM773 can further reduce costs by using NXP's complete display design results and the support of the standard ARM tool chain environment.

System parameter design diagram:

6. TI Power Line Communication Modem

Power Line Communication (PLC) provides a cost-effective way to introduce intelligent monitoring and control in many industrial applications by leveraging the existing power line infrastructure. It makes PLC one of the preferred technologies for smart grid applications such as smart metering, lighting control, solar energy, plug-in electric vehicles, and heating, air conditioning and security systems in homes and buildings.

Implementing low frequency narrowband PLC (LF NB PLC) technology for these applications will provide the best fit for bandwidth, power consumption and cost requirements. Operating in the narrowband domain (up to 500kHz) ensures data integrity while minimizing system cost. Data rates range from 1.2kbps to hundreds of kbps, depending on the existing standards.

Developing efficient PLC implementations can also be challenging. Power lines are inherently noisy, so a robust architecture is required to ensure data reliability. Additionally, each application and operating environment is different, requiring developers to optimize designs for a variety of factors. With a variety of protocol standards and modulation schemes, developers need a flexible development platform that simplifies design, optimizes for environmental conditions, complies with local regulations, and can be easily adjusted to meet evolving standards.

Block Diagram:

Design Considerations

The modulated signal in a power line communication modem system first enters the receiver stage or active bandpass filter, where the op amp selected for the filter should provide low noise, low harmonic distortion and low input bias (such as TI's OPA365 or OPA353). Wide dynamic range and optimized signal processing can be achieved when the received signal is conditioned using a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) such as the PGA112. It needs to be fast and accurate enough to connect to the input of the analog-to-digital converter to properly convert to digital form for processing. This can be achieved with the on-chip 12-bit ADC of the F28235 Delfino or F2802x/03x Piccolo microprocessor, which is a member of the scalable C2000 32-bit microprocessor (MCU) family. The 12-bit ADC operates at frequencies up to 12.5MSPS and also includes triggering mechanisms to support multi-frequency and phase sampling (secondary sample and hold functions). The C2000 MCU family allows developers to support multiple modulations on the same hardware, so there is no need to redesign the modem to support different modulations or standards. This makes the C2000 32-bit MCU family a smart and flexible platform for power line communication implementations.

The processed signal is transmitted back to the grid by the PLC transmitter stage, which is used to drive high output currents. Duty cycle resolution supported using the C2000 ePWM down to 150ps can be controlled to provide more control over harmonics and reduce sample-to-output delays. The transmitter stage must be carefully designed to receive digital signals from the MCU, filter these signals to eliminate band emissions, and drive the low impedance of the AC power line. The OPA564 is a 24V, 1.5A, 17MHz power operational amplifier that meets the stringent requirements of PLC line drivers. When the AFE031 (a highly integrated PLC analog front end) is combined with the C20000TM, integration, performance, and cost can be further improved. The AFE031 integrates the transmit filter, power amplifier, receive filter, and PGA in a programmable integrated circuit designed specifically for PLC.

The resulting modem MCU + AFE can communicate directly with external systems (wired and wireless applications) via one of the C2000TM serial interface options including CAN, I2C, LIN, SPI or UART.

TI PLC software is available through the plcSUITE library, allowing developers to support multiple modulations and standards in a unique design. Developers can implement SFSK IEC61334, PRIME and G3 standards, use FlexOFDM for custom OFDM implementations, and can also be upgraded for future standards.

From a power management perspective, the PLC module can be powered from an existing system DC rail or directly from the main AC power used for communications. If it is the main AC power, the 115V, 60Hz in the United States (or 230V, 50Hz in Europe and Asia) needs to be filtered and converted to an isolated DC power supply for the MCU, AFE, and various supporting components. The UCC28600 or UCC28610 Green Mode Flyback Control Unit is best used to provide an isolated 12V or 15V DC rail for direct use in the power amplifier and connection to a DCDC module (such as the PTH08080W) or a buck converter (such as the TPS54231) to provide a low voltage (5V) PLC system rail. If a linear regulator (such as the TPS79533 LDO) is added, a practical low noise 3.3V voltage rail can be provided through low power components (such as MCU, PGA, op amps, USB transceiver, and any other digital or analog components).