SunSpec Modbus
SunSpec Modbus is an open communication standard that specifies common parameters and settings for monitoring and controlling Distributed Energy Resource (DER) systems. SunSpec Modbus utilizes SunSpec Information Models and is specified in IEEE™ 1547-2018, the U.S. national standard for DER.
Key Features and Benefits
- Enables multi-vendor interoperability for manufacturers of solar inverters, energy storage devices, trackers, meters, and other devices incorporated into DER systems.
- Semantically identical, and thus fully interoperable, with IEEE 2030.5 and IEEE 1815 communication protocols, thus ensuring a high signal-to-noise ratio for the majority of DER networks that implement multiple protocols.
- Specified in IEEE 1547, the national DER standard in the U.S., as one of three mandated standard communication interface options (along with IEEE 2030.5 and IEEE 1815).
SunSpec Modbus News
SunSpec Ecosystem Newsletter November 2021
On November 15th, President Biden passed a 1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill, signaling an unequivocal win for the renewable energy industry. With roughly $555 billion allocated to climate and clean energy projects, including tax credits for renewables, energy storage, electric vehicles and the transmission grid, we are excitedly anticipating massive growth in many of the sectors that the SunSpec Alliance is actively developing standards for.
SunSpec Ecosystem Newsletter September 2021
Addressing new interconnection requirements–including those for advanced inverter electrical functions and corresponding data communication interfaces–is a recurring theme for SunSpec and its members. While some requirements are local, and therefore less urgent to address, at least two national markets, the U.S. and Australia, have implemented changes that have firm deadlines. Companies that meet these deadlines have the potential to reshape the market.
SunSpec Modbus 700 Series DER Information Models are now APPROVED
Referenced in IEEE 1547-2018, the SunSpec Modbus 701-712 Series DER Information Models have officially been promoted from TEST status to APPROVED status, thus superseding the SunSpec Modbus 100 Series Models that were first introduced in 2009. Also now promoted from...
Four SunSpec Specifications Now in Countdown to APPROVAL
We're excited to announce that four SunSpec specifications have entered the final countdown of moving from TEST to APPROVED status. During this 45-day window for technical comments and IPR Review, which will begin on March 11, 2021 and conclude on April 20, 2021,...
SunSpec Alliance Releases SVP Dashboard Test Platform To Enable IEEE 1547 Communication Testing For Distributed Energy Resources
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 4, 2021-- To accelerate the delivery of Distributed Energy Resource (DER) technology such as solar and storage products that comply with IEEE 1547-2018, the U.S. national standard for DER, the SunSpec Alliance has released the SunSpec SVP...
New in 2021
SunSpec Modbus 700 Series DER Information Models
With the publication of the IEEE 1547-2018, SunSpec upgraded its core information models to meet the requirements of the IEEE 1547 specifications. These information models are incorporated in SunSpec Modbus and are now also available in JSON and accessible via the SunSpec RESTful web service interface. The benefits associated with this technology include all those listed above plus these:
- Utilizes the HTTPS protocol. HTTPS is used by most major internet applications (Google, Facebook, etc.) and by the IEEE 2030.5 standard used in the state of California.
- Supports TLS 1.2 encryption, the same security standard employed by IEEE 2030.5
- Designed for simple data transfer, very high speed, and low latency
- Ideal for gateway applications incorporating IEEE 2030.5, IEEE 1815, or IEC 61850-7-420