AGC 150 Hybrid keeps egg production running in tropical Brazil climate
A hybrid energy solution designed by Brazilian engineering company Luz Sol Energia Solar to optimize energy consumption on a farm that produces over a million eggs a day. DEIF used the most modern hybrid control system, the AGC 150 Hybrid, a system capable of managing several energy sources, such as energy company, solar energy and generator.
In tropical Brazil climate, industrial henhouses are often fitted with climate control systems that ensure good conditions for the laying hens. If those systems fail because of a blackout, the result could be massive bird mortality. In addition, the automated egg sorting process would grind to a halt, reducing productivity and turnover.
In the countryside of São Paulo state, one egg producer is producing more than 1 million eggs a day in 16 henhouses. Needless to say, uninterrupted power is very important at the facility, but in rural Brazil, the power grid is not always reliable. To deal with frequent power interruptions, the egg producer had taken action by installing 9 diesel generators and a photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant with more than 5,000 PV modules.
“DEIF has been an excellent partner throughout this project.”
Carlos Alberto Parolari, Luz Sol Energia Solar
Before DEIF hybrid solution: Unstable mains – and unstable backup system
When the grid failed, the photovoltaic plant was disconnected, and the diesel generators provided the necessary energy. In order to reduce fuel costs and increase the generator life spam, the farm owner asked to Luz Sol Energia Solar to give a hybrid solution to his henhouse.
Founded in 2016 in Catanduva, São Paulo, Luz Sol Energia Solar specialises in designing and installing solar energy systems. The company serves a wide range of clients, from residential and commercial properties to large-scale power plants; for the egg farm, the company came up with a hybrid power pilot project to be installed on one of the generators in order to test the solution on a small scale.
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AGC 150 Hybrid
Providing all necessary functions for protection and control of hybrid installations, the AGC 150 Hybrid is ideal for small and medium PV plants with up to 16 inverters in many different hybrid applications.
New hybrid solution with DEIF control
The company Luz Sol Energia Solar designed a solution with DEIF that includes a 229 kWp PV plant with 4 Fronius inverters, maintaining the 260 kVA emergency generator, the energy company and DEIF’s power management system. The PV plant is capable of producing an average of 27,000 kWh a month, equivalent to 70% of the power consumption of the henhouse.
The main component of the control system is the DEIF AGC 150 Hybrid controller which fulfilled the project requirements to the letter. The controller is capable of controlling PV, genset, and grid power sources according to the user’s requirements, for example prioritising mains or solar power whenever possible and only switching to genset power when nothing else is available. When running in Mains Power Export (MPE) mode, the controller also enables the user to sell excess power to the mains grid.
DEIF delivered the AGC 150 Hybrid and a DBC-1 battery charger in a pre-assembled panel, ready for onsite installation. In addition, DEIF provided training and commissioning for the Luz Sol Energia Solar staff, preparing them for handling the DEIF equipment and getting the solution up and running quickly.
Reliable power and significant fuel savings
The hybrid solution was installed and commissioned on 20 April 2023, and the egg farm now has an entirely automated control system that keeps the power flowing, and the business going, while requiring no manual intervention by the end user. In the event of a grid failure, the AGC 150 Hybrid activates the protection and disconnects the energy company, starts the emergency generator and restores the operation of the solar system adjusting the operation of the solar system, seeking the biggest savings in fuel consumption from generator.
According to Carlos Alberto Parolari, CEO of Luz Sol Energia Solar, this pilot hybrid system already in operation, generate a fuel saving of BRL 3,000.00/month, only for the first henhouse cell (generator, PV power, power grid and 2 henhouses). Today the customer has installed 9 production cells, which after implementation in the remains cells, will bring a saving of BRL 27,000.00/month with the use of the generator.
Luz Sol Energia Solar
Founded: 2016
Headquarters: Catanduva, São Paulo state, Brazil
Activities: Design and installation of solar energy systems for a wide range of clients
Employees: 4
DEIF Solution – Why Carlos Alberto Parolari decided to use DEIF
“Because is a provider of latest generation solutions, which has been in Brazil for more than 17 years and develops technology for 90 years in Europe/Denmark and offers a wide range of possibilities for generator and inverter solutions, which is highly appreciated,” he says. “The training and commissioning provided by DEIF were of great quality and essential for delivering a properly functioning solution. DEIF has been an excellent partner throughout this project.”
Advanced Genset Controller AGC 150 Hybrid
- Minimum Genset load
- Load calculation in terms of solar power
- Genset start/stop based on mains import/export
- Genset start/stop based on PV production
- PV included in mode: MPE Mains Power export/import
- PV included in mode: LTO Load Take over
- PV included in mode: Fixed Power
- PV included in mode: AMF Automatic Mains Failure
- PV included in mode: Peak Shaving
