idenergy

Idenergy specializes in advanced power electronics for solar inverters and battery chargers for both residential and voltage regulation uses. We have recently developed a special inverter technology to be installed in a utility electric pole and placed at the secondary of the distribution transformer, in parallel with homes, dedicated to injecting kVARs into the local grid and driven only by utilities. When voltage is too high due to residential solar production during the day, reactive power will bring the voltage back down within acceptable limits and when electrical vehicle chargers all charge at night, during costly peak hours, our units will raise the voltage, brought down by the heavy local electrical load, back to a higher level.

Our utility pole inverters communicate through cellular connections and are able to transmit local grid signal samples in order to show utilities the current harmonic distortion content, voltage and frequency variations. Similar innovations were installed on poles in the recent years but were mainly electro-mechanical solutions; capacitors and coils, driven by relays remotely activated by utilities. What we propose here is a real inverter system (power electronics), ultra efficient and rugged for harsh environments that will inject the exact precise quantity of required VARs required.

This is achieved thanks to our highly efficient state of the art silicon carbide high frequency switching technology, enabling low heat losses and natural convection, guaranteeing high reliability over the years. Considering previous projects had millions of dollars in contracts with utilities despite their relatively simple approach, we know that there is a market for this kind of technology improvement.

Idenergy is developing and about to commercialize a next-generation smart-grid renewable energy management platform based on its advanced power electronics and electrical converter technology. The rise in home owners and businesses using solar power has reached a point where it is creating grid instability and other problems, and thus preventing further deployment of Decentralized Energy Resources (“DER”), such as solar photovoltaic power.

To keep grids within acceptable parameters, utilities now need to turn energy distribution networks into smart grids. Energy providers need to communicate with individual residential energy or DER, such as solar panels or residential batteries, and other systems to ensure that the grid remains within acceptable parameters. Electrical converters are also an indispensable part of photovoltaic power generation. They allow the power coming from the panels to be transformed into usable electricity, sending it to batteries, appliances, or the grid.

On a smart grid, grid operators are then able to send orders directly to the converters and thus increase control over stability on the network. Idenergy's innovative residential energy management system integrates into one platform (i) highly efficient solar PV conversion modules (ii) inverter modules which generate AC current, (iii) battery charger modules and (iv) communication module for remote control capabilities. Transformerless, fanless and engineered with electricians, home owners and smart-grid requirements in mind, with easily swappable modules, offering great flexibility, Idenergy’s platform targets the soft costs of solar projects, simplifying their design and installation.