Alencon Systems will unveil its newest product — the BOSS, or Bi-Directional Optimizer for Storage Systems — at the Energy Storage Association’s Annual Conference and Expo. The BOSS will be on display in Alencon Systems’ Booth No. 500.
The BOSS features Alencon’s patented Galvanically Isolated DC-DC conversion topology. This unique architecture offers users a number of benefits not available from other non-isolated DC-DC converters, including the ability to incorporate grounded PV systems with floating batteries on the same DC-bus, as well as the ability to pair high voltage 1,500-V PV with lower-voltage battery chemistries. Additionally, because the BOSS is a rack-level DC-DC converter, it assures the most optimal utilization of each battery rack in the cabinet. By addressing each battery rack individually, the BOSS also improves system safety by limiting the fault currents in the case of a sudden short to ground thus potentially reducing system cost by eliminating the need for additional safety devices. Additionally, the BOSS makes battery rack augmentation over the life of a storage project much easier and more cost-effective by allowing battery racks with different charge-discharge voltages to be installed onto the same DC-bus. The BOSS also makes it easy to deploy DC-coupled solar-plus-storage projects with string inverters.
“As a leader in the field of DC-coupling for solar-plus-storage, our customers looked to us to help them to continue to find more cost-effective solutions for deploying DC-coupled solar-plus-storage projects, which lead us to develop the BOSS,” said Alencon Systems president Hanan Fishman. “DC-coupling of solar-plus-storage is growing rapidly in popularity. The Alencon BOSS applies our unique galvanically isolated technology to address a number of needs that storage developers are facing.
“The BOSS addresses a number of heretofore unmet needs by DC-DC converters in the DC coupled solar-plus-storage space, including the ability to incorporate transformerless string inverters into these projects, the ability to resolve grounding challenges on the same DC-bus, the ability to optimize battery charge at the rack level as well as offer a more intuitive approach to battery rack augmentation over the life of a project.”
The BOSS is available in two form factors. One is a 19-inch rack-mounted unit that can be installed and easily integrated into a battery cabinet. The other is an outdoor rated, rail- or wall-mounted form factor that can be installed either inside a battery cabinet or outside of it. Any number of BOSS units can be installed in parallel and can be easily packaged into a single cabinet if desired. The devices feature a unique mechanical packaging with forced air cooling.
News item from Alencon
Tell Us What You Think!