REFUcontrol

Manual
for REFUcontrol RC-10, RC-11, RC-12

Variants REFUcontrol REFUcontrol REFUcontrol

RC-10 RC-11 RC-12
Art. No. (Components) 924002 924003 924004
Art. Nr. (Cabinet with wiring/documentation) 924005 924006 924007
REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

1 Important Note
The use of products described in this manual is oriented exclusively to:

- Qualified electricians or persons instructed by them, who are familiar with applicable
standards and other regulations regarding electrical engineering and, in particular, the
relevant safety concepts.
- Qualified application programmers and software engineers, who are familiar with the safety
concepts of automation technology and applicable standards.

2 Copyright
This handbook and the information included therein are the property of REFU Elektronik GmbH.

No part of this handbook is to be reproduced or copied without the express written permission of
REFU Elektronik GmbH. Any unauthorised use of this handbook is strictly forbidden. Copyright ©
2016 REFU Elektronik GmbH.

3 Scope
Almost every solar plant needs some kind of monitoring or remote control solution. The modular
REFUcontrol solution is based on the proven, industry graded PLC solution from Phoenix Contact.

Standard tasks like inverter data forwarding of RS485 connected solar parks to the REFUlog
monitoring portal or remote active power control can be used out of the box. This means, no
configuration is needed in most of the installations.

All kinds of individual requirements for professional park management with active and reactive
power control, direct marketing and remote control can be realized with the support of qualified
Phoenix Contact Solution Partners. Please contact us for more details.

References

This manual is intended as a setup guide. It does not replace the manuals of the components:

1) Installing and operating the ILC 191 ME/AN and ILC 191 ME/INC Inline controllers, available
at www.phoenixcontact.com
2) Installation manual REFUsol 08K … 23K, available at www.refu-sol.com

4 Installation
Please refer to Phoenix Contact Manual for installation instructions of the ILC controller, the power
supply and its components

Note:

Terminals 1.3 and 2.3 on connector 1 can be jumpered if the communications power and the
segment voltage are not to be electrically isolated.

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 2 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

5 Wiring of RS485 connected parks

The following scheme shows the connection of REFUcontrol to RS485 connected parks:

Up to 25 inverters can be connected to one RS485 interface of the ILC controller. REFUcontrol RC-12
provides 2 RS485 ports for connection up to 50 solar inverter (25 inverters connected to each RS485
port).

Where to find the RS485 Interface

ILC 191 Terminals REFUsol 08K … 46K Terminals

Please note: the additional IB IL RS 485/422PAC module is only present on RC-12

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 3 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

Connection between ILC 191 and REFUsol 08K … 46K

For the connection to the REFUsol inverter, a Phoenix Contact type M12MS SACC-4SC SH plug and a
shielded twisted pair cable must be used. The outer diameter of the connecting cable can be max. 8
mm. Failure to observe this can lead to damage to the inverter and therefore void the warranty.

Phoenix ILC RS485 REFUsol Inverter RS485

Pin Signal Pin Signal
1.2 RX+ (RS485+) Pin 1 (only used for termination)
2.2 RX- (RS485-) Pin 2 RS485+
1.3 R+ (Termination resistor +) Pin 3 RS485-
2.3 R- (Termination resistor -) Pin 4 Reference
1.4, 2.4 Functional earth ground

Use the following connection scheme between Phoenix Contact ILC and the REFUsol solar inverters.

Phoenix Contact ILC (RS485) REFUsol Inverter Last REFUsol Inverter

(with termination) (with termination)
RS485 IN RS485 OUT RS485 IN RS485 OUT

Termination

Termination of the RS485 bus is necessary on the Phonenix Contact ILC between Pin 1.3 – 1.4 and Pin
2.3 – 2.4 with two wire bridges.

Termination of the RS485 bus is necessary at the last REFUsol inverter between Pin 1 – Pin 2 and Pin
3 – Pin 4 with two wire bridges.

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 4 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

6 Wiring of Ethernet connected parks

The following scheme shows the connection of REFUcontrol to Ethernet connected parks.

Typically, a group of inverters are connected to a Ethernet switch, switches are interconnected to
each other, and the last switch is connected to REFUcontrol:

Inverter connection
ILC 191 Terminals REFUsol 08K … 46K Terminals Ethernet

Ethernet

Use an Ethernet cable according to at least CAT5 of IEEE 802.3 with S/FTP design (shielded foiled
twisted pair).

For the Inverter connection, use Phoenix Contact plug type Quickon VS-08-RJ45-5-Q/IP67.

Ethernet Connection

Pin Signal
Pin 1 T+
Pin 2 T-
Pin 3 R+
Pin 6 R-

Observe the bending radii of the Ethernet cables used.

The interface is able to switch over the transmitter and receiver automatically (auto crossover).
Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 5 / 12
REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

7 Wiring of Remote Step control of active power

This function can be used to connect Ripple control receiver (Rundsteuerempfänger) to control the
power in steps of 100%, 60%, 30% and 0%. The signal is transmitted via RS485 and Ethernet to any
connected inverter using broadcast messages.

REFUcontrol RC-10

The digital inputs of the Phoenix ILC 151 can be found at the 3rd connectors segment:

Terminal Assignment
Connect the ripple control receiver to Digital inputs 1 to 4 on the Phoenix Contact ILC 151 as follows:

ILC Assignment Name Pre-configured

Terminals setpoint in % from
rated AC power
1.1 I1 Digital Input 1 0%
2.1 I2 Digital Input 2 30%
1.2, 2.2 24 V Power Supply UM for 2 and 3 wire connection
1.3, 2.3 GND Earth connection for 3 wire connection
1.4 I3 Digital Input 3 60%
2.4 I4 Digital Input 4 100%

REFUcontrol RC-11 and RC-12

The digital inputs of the Phoenix ILC 191 ME/AN can be found at the 3rd connectors segment:

ILC Assign- Name Pre-configured

Terminals ment setpoint in % from
rated AC power
1.1 I1 Digital Input 1 0%
2.1 I2 Digital Input 2 30%
1.2 I3 Digital Input 3 60%
2.2 I4 Digital Input 4 100%

Note: If you need a different power limitation function, see chapter Configuration.

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 6 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

8 Commissioning
Please follow these steps to start-up the system:

1) Switch on power supply

a. The UL, UM, and US LEDs light up
b. after around 10 seconds, the FR and RDY LEDs are flashing
2) Check operation mode
a. The dip switch has to be in position „RUN/PROG“
b. LED „FR“ on
3) Testing RS485 connection (if used)
a. LED „TxD“ yellow flashing: sending data
b. LED „RxD“ yellow flashing: receiving data
4) Testing Digital Inputs (if used)
a. LED „I1“ … „I4“ yellow on: the corresponding input is set
b. Solar Inverters will display a message in the display if power
reduction is active
5) Testing Ethernet Connection
a. LED „LNK“ green on: Connection established successfully
b. LED „ACT“ yellow on: data transmission active (sending or receiving
data)

9 Configuration
Reaching the device

REFUcontrol will receive an IP configuration from Switch or Router with the activated DHCP function.
In this case, the assigned IP address needs to be verified using the web interface of the Switch or
Router.

Alternatively, the free PC tool NetNames+ from Phoenix Contact can be used, which is part of the
development environment PC Worx:

If it is connected to a PC (without DHCP server), it will use the pre-assigned address 192.168.0.2

The internal configuration pages of REFUcontrol can be accessed with a web browser, by typing the
IP address of the REFUcontrol into the address bar of the browser:

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 7 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

Screens

Login Screen

Input of the password level1, to reach the basic configuration screens. Input of password level2, to
reach the configuration screens for power control.

Confirm the password with Enter Key and click on the Lock symbol:

DNS IP

As default setting the Google DNS IP address 8.8.8.8 is used. If you need another DNS Server address,
you can change this in the field „new DNS IP“.

Home Screen

Select from the following option:

Date and Time settings

Communication statistics

Logout

Date and Time settings

Input the date in format day / month / year and time in format hour / minute / second.

Saving Date and Time on the control with upper Save Button, sending the Date / Time to all
connected inverters with the lower Save button.

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 8 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

Communication Statistic

Using the arrow keys to change between the screens.

Power Reduction Settings

Current active power Setpoint Shows actual power setpoint

Enable Active Power Management Enable / disable Active Power Management

Fix active power setpoint Fix active power setpoint as a percentage of the rated
AC power of the inverter

Enable setpoint from digital input Enable /disable setpoint from digital input

Active power setpoint for invalid digital Active power setpoint for invalid digital
input combination input combination as a percentage of the rated AC
power of the inverter

Switch between the available screens with the Arrow Keys

Saving the Settings with Save button.

With Back Button the screen is closed without saving the settings.

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 9 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

10 Technical Data

Variants REFUcontrol REFUcontrol REFUcontrol

RC-10 RC-11 RC-12
Art. No. (Components) 924002 924003 924004
Art. No. (Cabinet with wiring/documentation) 924005 924006 924007
Application for Ethernet for RS485 for RS485
connected connected connected
parks parks with up parks with up
to 25 REFUsol to 50 REFUsol
inverters inverters
FUNCTIONALITY
Data forwarding to REFUlog
Data collection from REFUsol inverters (RS485) -
Power reduction via 4 Digital Inputs (RS485) -
Power reduction via 4 Digital Inputs (Ethernet)
Time synchronization of inverters with REFUlog
Reactive Power control at Point of Inter- - - -
connection
Active Power control at Point of Inter- - - -
connection
Connection to remote control IEC 60870-5-104 - - -
or Modbus TCP
Connection to direct marketing platforms - - -
Connection of Irradiation/Temperature sensor - - -
Customized functions - - -
Master Park Control - - -

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 10 / 12

REFU Elektronik GmbH REFUcontrol

COMPONENTS
Control ILC 151 ETH ILC 191 ETH ILC 191 ETH
ME/AN ME/AN
Power Supply UNO-PS/1AC/24DC/ 30W
Inline communication terminal - - IB IL RS UNI-
PAC
INTERFACES
Digital Inputs 4 4 4
RS485 interface - 1 2
Ethernet interfaces 1 2 2
ELECTRICAL DATA
AC nominal input voltage range (V) 100 … 240
Frequency range AC (Hz) 45 ... 65
Max. used power (W) 5.0 7.5 8.0
Typical max. current (mA) 210 310 325

MECANICAL / ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Components Cabinet
for Art. No. 924002 / 924003 / 924005 / 924006 /
924004 924007
Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth, mm) max. 127 x 135 x 90 400 x 400 x 200
Weight (kg) max. 0.6 ~3
Housing plastic Metal, coated
Colour green / grey grey (RAL 7035)
Protection Degree IP 20 IP 54
Protection Class III, IEC/EN 61140, I
VDE 0140-1
Ambient Temperature range (operation) -25 °C ... 55 °C
Ambient Temperature range -25 °C ... 85 °C
(storage/transport)
Air Humidity range 10 % ... 95 % (nach DIN EN 61131-2)
(operation/storage/transport)
Air pressure (operation/storage/transport) 70 kPa ... 106 kPa (bis 3000 m üNN)

Version 1.0 Jan. 2017 / Doc. No: 982007 Page 11 / 12

Please address any questions on malfunctions or technical problems to:

Europe

Service-Hotline: +49 (0)7121 4332 – 333

(Monday - Thursday, 8am to 5pm, Friday 8am to 4pm)

Online

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.refu-sol.com

Direct link: www.refu-sol.com/en/accessories/technischer-support/