Why Can Combiner Box Monitoring Solve the High Cost of Retrofit for Aged PV Power Stations?

When carrying out intelligent retrofits for aged PV power stations, the biggest headaches are uncontrollable costs and cumbersome construction. However, with a Combiner Box Monitoring solution—especially one with power line carrier communication like Fonrich’s—many of these long-standing problems can be easily resolved. Today, let’s explore how it tackles these stubborn issues.

First: The “Three Major Hurdles” of Aged Power Station Retrofits—All Costly and Labor-Intensive

1. Wired Communication Construction Is Both Difficult and Risky

When most aged power stations were first built, many did not have pre-buried communication cables (such as optical fibers). To achieve intelligent monitoring now, secondary construction (digging trenches and laying new cables) is required. But problems arise: Power cables are already buried at the station, and accidental damage during digging can lead to equipment downtime, electric shock, or even fires—endangering both lives and property. Even if no damage occurs, careful re-grooving and cable embedding add significant construction difficulty.

2. Construction Costs Are Painfully High

Take a 30MW aged power station as an example: It alone requires 6,300 meters of communication optical cables, plus 3,000 meters of trenches for burial. This is not the end—early-stage line surveying, pre-installed pipelines, and late-stage equipment debugging all add up to substantial labor, material, and machinery costs. Many power station owners stare at the budget sheet and wonder: When will we ever recoup this investment?

3. Wireless Communication Seems Convenient, But Is Full of Pitfalls

Some might say, “Why not use wireless instead of wires?” But on-site practice reveals wireless solutions are practically useless:

Short transmission range: Power station equipment is scattered, often exceeding wireless coverage limits. The control room cannot receive data, making the system useless.

No signal: Many aged power stations are built in remote areas with no 2G/4G coverage. DTU-based transmission solutions fail completely here.

Heavy interference: Wireless antennas installed inside combiner boxes are blocked by the box body and solar panels; installing them at height risks lightning strikes. Worse, harmonics generated by inverters disrupt signal transmission, leading to frequent data interruptions.

Not cheap: Monitoring modules with wireless functions cost about 100 yuan more than ordinary ones. For stations with many devices, these extra costs add up quickly.

A New Solution Arrives! Fonrich FR-DCMG-MMPL Power Line Carrier Communication Breaks the Deadlock

Due to the many flaws of traditional solutions, Fonrich’s FR-DCMG-MMPL Power Line Carrier Communication product has become a “savior”—it eliminates the need for re-wiring, using existing power lines to transmit data, drastically reducing retrofit costs and difficulty.

1. No Secondary Wiring: Fast and Safe Construction

The core advantage of this solution lies in using power lines as the “communication channel”: DC cables already exist inside combiner boxes. Now, monitoring data is transmitted directly through these cables—no trench digging, no new wire burial. This not only avoids the risk of damaging existing power cables but also saves labor and material costs for wiring. What once took weeks of construction can now be completed in days, doubling efficiency.

If more monitoring nodes are needed, a DC-DCMG-PLCx expansion module can be added, supporting up to 24 nodes. It covers power stations of all sizes and offers exceptional compatibility.

2. Comprehensive Monitoring Functions with Clear Data Visualization

Cost-cutting does not mean function reduction—this solution retains all essential monitoring features:

Real-time monitoring of string current, string voltage, combiner box temperature, and the status of surge protectors and DC circuit breakers.

Detection of DC arc faults with automatic alarms, eliminating the need to wait for O&M technicians to discover issues during inspections.

Data displayed via an LCD screen in bar charts, making current/voltage levels instantly visible. O&M teams no longer need to sift through piles of numbers, enabling rapid fault localization.

3. Flexible Alarms to Adapt to Aged Station Needs

All alarm functions come with customizable “on/off switches.” For example, some aged stations only care about current anomalies, while others prioritize arc fault alerts. Configurations can be adjusted based on actual needs, avoiding paying for unnecessary features. The system can also connect to a gateway via RS485 and communicate with the backend host computer, transmitting data to the central control room in real time for remote monitoring—no need for technicians to visit the site daily.

Conclusion: Why Does Combiner Box Monitoring Reduce Costs?

It fundamentally addresses the core pain points of aged power station retrofits:

No secondary wiring saves construction costs and mitigates risks;

No extra wireless modules eliminates device price premiums;

Comprehensive, accurate monitoring and remote O&M cut long-term operational costs.

Solutions like Fonrich’s power line carrier communication achieve three goals—“saving money, saving hassle, and ensuring safety”—turning aged power station retrofits from a “costly, painful chore” into an opportunity to boost power generation efficiency via intelligence and recoup retrofit costs early.

That’s why more and more aged power stations now prioritize Combiner Box Monitoring for retrofits—after all, who wouldn’t want to spend less while making their power station smarter and more reliable?