Semtech recently announced a partnership with Cloud Energy, a Vietnam-based IoT solution provider, to design and operate a network based on the LoRaWAN standard for a wireless solar power system deployed on facility rooftops. Due to increased hardware and installation costs, as well as a higher level of ongoing required maintenance, a wired energy solution did not fit a rooftop solar power system, particularly in rural areas of Vietnam where rodent damage to cable is a major issue.

Cloud Energy’s wireless solar power solution, which incorporates Semtech’s LoRa devices and LoRaWAN connectivity, provides complete, accurate, and independent data management from inverters, electricity meters, and sensors to site owners. Cloud Energy claims that its solar power system solutions saved its customers more than 30% of the initial cost of a monitoring system.

The Cloud Energy wireless solar power system is a plug-and-play solution that consists of multiple wireless Cloud Energy modules, one Kerlink gateway that uses LoRaWAN, and a Cloud Energy web app that monitors real-time data to review and forecast performance independently across meters, inverters, and sensors. The Cloud Energy solar power system is a totally wireless solution that offers stable data transmission for end-users to manage energy usage across large regions thanks to the inclusion of LoRaWAN.

Semtech’s LoRa device-to-cloud platform is a widely used long-range, low-power solution for IoT applications, enabling the quick creation and deployment of ultra-low-power, cost-effective, and long-range IoT networks, gateways, sensors, module products, and IoT services around the world. The communication layer for the LoRaWAN standard is provided by Semtech’s LoRa devices, which are maintained by the LoRa Alliance, an open IoT alliance for Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) applications that have been used to create IoT networks in over 100 countries. The LoRa Alliance was founded by Semtech.