SmartHelio, a leading player in the SaaS solar industry, recently co-organized an informative webinar with PV Magazine titled “AI or not AI for fault prediction in solar plants: misconceptions and facts.” The webinar brought together industry experts and key partners of the company, Schneider Electric and VERBUND, to delve into their challenges, aspirations for scaling up, and how AI can support their objectives.
Throughout the event, SmartHelio shed light on the real-world problems faced by the industry and showcased how their innovative solution addresses issues such as data management, standardisation, and late fault identification. The discussions also explored the distinction between monitoring and analytics, as well as the limitations of AI algorithms. Moreover, the webinar highlighted the growing need for automation and predictive analytics to effectively manage expanding portfolios in the face of climate change.
In the dynamic landscape of the solar industry, achieving scalability and overcoming challenges is crucial. SmartHelio, an innovative solution, leverages the complementary strengths of artificial intelligence (AI), physics, and human expertise to revolutionise solar companies’ operations. By addressing issues like standardisation, data quality, availability, and reactive maintenance, SmartHelio empowers prominent solar companies at all levels, from asset management team to C-suite level, passing by performance and remote operations, to scale up their operations effectively.
Enhanced Data Quality and Standardisation: Fuelling Growth
With the integration of AI and physics, SmartHelio automates data collection and analysis, ensuring reliable and standardised information. This comprehensive approach guarantees high-quality data, enabling accurate performance assessments and informed decision-making. Standardisation across various solar assets provides invaluable insights and benchmarks for actionable improvements.
Proactive Maintenance: Eliminating Reactive Challenges
SmartHelio’s fusion of AI, physics, and human expertise allows for predictive and proactive maintenance strategies. By continuously monitoring key performance indicators, the system identifies anomalies and potential failures, enabling timely interventions. Proactive maintenance not only reduces downtime and operational costs but also extends the lifespan of solar assets, enhancing overall efficiency and profitability.
“Whereas physics-based models are very good on post failure analysis, with more Machine Learning knowledge in our data warehouse we will then be able to recognise very small deviations at an early stage to have prediction on where your next fault may probably happen”
– David Ebner, Project Engineer at VERBUND
Trust and Transparency: Foundations of Success
In an industry where trust and transparency are paramount, SmartHelio provides a transparent and auditable platform. This ensures data integrity and offers stakeholders full visibility into asset performance and operational metrics. Armed with trustworthy data, asset managers and performance managers can confidently make data-driven decisions, enhancing operational efficiency and driving business growth.
Client Testimonials: The Impact of SmartHelio
Leading solar industry players, including Schneider and VERBUND, have experienced remarkable potential transformations with SmartHelio. By seamlessly integrating AI and physics into their operations, these companies understand the possibility to streamline processes, reduce costs, and significantly increase productivity while opening the way to new business models.
“We have made an analysis on 12 months for a 3 year old, […] computed the lost revenues. And I can tell you that based on that, the energy manager at Schneider said, hey, we need to continue. So he was convinced that there was a value […] for more generation, safety and capability for new value for the future”
– Luc Hossenlopp, CTO Digitalisation at Schneider Electric
“SmartHelio was quickly identified as the best fit for us […] They identified all errors that we also found with our current monitoring solution. Plus, they also could identify some more failures which we didn’t know about yet.”
– David Ebner, Project Engineer at VERBUND
Autopilot: Full Control and Easy Integration
At the heart of SmartHelio lies its game-changing feature, Autopilot. This functionality empowers users with complete control over their solar assets, enabling automated actions and real-time optimisations. Moreover, Autopilot seamlessly integrates with existing software systems, ensuring a smooth collaboration between SmartHelio and other tools used by solar companies. This easy integration provides all teams and C-level people from solar companies with a comprehensive view of operations, saving time and enhancing productivity.
“Our system is built on three fundamental pillars: People, Physics, AI. Together, these pillars establish a foundation of trust, transparency and truth. This unique combination puts users in the center and give them full control over the results”
– Govinda Upadhyay, CEO & Founder of SmartHelio
Conclusion: Empowering the Solar Industry for Unparalleled Growth
SmartHelio’s integration of AI, physics, and human expertise offers a transformative solution for the solar industry. By addressing challenges related to lack of standardisation, data quality and availability issues, and reactive maintenance, SmartHelio enables leading solar companies to optimise operations, enable intelligent decision-making, and drive sustainable business growth. With Autopilot software providing full control and seamless integration thanks to its physics-AI unique combination, solar companies can unlock the true potential of their assets, maximising efficiency and profitability in an increasingly competitive landscape.
