The different components of the renewable energy system should form a “smart” and self-managing system, which ensures safe operation of all components through communication.

Currently, the communication protocol is not yet fixed. However, EnergyBus is a very promising candidate.

Requirements for the communication protocol

• Plug and play (high-level protocol needed)
  • Only advanced features should require previous configuration
• Master-less (distributed system)
• Advanced energy management features
  • Multiple sources and sinks
  • Prioritization of nodes (e.g solar has higher priority than diesel generator, fridge has lower priority than laptop)
• Cheap and reliable
• Remote firmware flashing
• Possible candidates:
  • CAN and CANopen/EnergyBus
  • RS485 and proprietary protocol (Modbus not capable of master-less communication)
  • TCP/IP via Ethernet or WiFi (expensive!)
  • Cheap low-power radio (e.g. NRF24L01+, RFM12, BLE)
    • Problem: How to identify plug and socket?