Wiznet makers

RIPower Inc. is a company specializing in RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) based power control systems. RIPower has recently developed the 'Zero Energy Export (ZEE) Reverse Power Controller' featuring WIZnet's high-performance hardware TCP/IP chip, the W6300, to solve the reverse power issues occurring in factories, schools, and public buildings.

1. The Challenge: The Double-Edged Sword of Solar Power, 'Reverse Power'

'Simple parallel solar systems' operated by factories or buildings are installed to reduce electricity costs. However, this system has a major drawback.

When power consumption (load) is lower than generation—such as on holidays, late at night, or during lunch breaks—surplus electricity flows backward into the KEPCO grid. This is known as 'Reverse Power'. It degrades power quality by raising grid voltage and can lead to serious legal issues or safety accidents.

The conventional solution was to simply use a 'reverse power relay' to trip (shut down) the entire solar power system when reverse power occurred. This method caused critical problems:

Decreased Profitability: Every time the system shut down, generation stopped, leading to massive generation losses (reduced ROI).

Operational Inefficiency: The circuit breaker required a manual reset, making immediate response difficult for staff and creating safety risks.

Secondary Damage: The instantaneous trip could cause sensitive factory equipment to malfunction or, in the worst case, lead to a total blackout.

To solve this, RIPower needed a system that could actively control generation rather than just shut it down, thereby preventing reverse power at its source.

2. The Solution: The 'Zero Energy Export (ZEE)' Active Controller

RIPower solved this problem by developing an RTU-based 'ZEE Controller' equipped with the W6300.

The ZEE solution monitors the relay and inverters in real-time. When the threshold just before reverse power occurs is reached, RIPower's core 'ZEE control algorithm' activates. Instead of tripping the breaker, this algorithm actively and rapidly controls the solar inverter's output to balance generation and consumption.

With this solution, the client no longer needs to halt generation. They can 100% self-consume the produced electricity without affecting the grid. This maximizes generation profits, eliminates the risks of manual operation, and dramatically improves the stability of the entire factory's equipment.

3. Why WIZnet (W6300)? : The Perfect Network Partner for a High-Speed Control Algorithm

RIPower's 'ZEE control algorithm' is a high-speed, real-time task that must react instantly to rapid load changes. If the main MCU had to process both this control algorithm and a software TCP/IP stack, the latency from network overhead would cause the control loop to fail.

To solve this, RIPower chose WIZnet's W6300 Hardware TCP/IP chip (TOE).

The W6300 processes all network protocols (TCP, UDP, IPv6) directly in hardware. Thanks to this, the main MCU is free from any network interrupts and can dedicate 100% of its resources only to the 'ZEE control algorithm'. This hardware offloading method guarantees the overwhelming speed and stability required for the ZEE system to monitor and control multiple inverters instantly.