Introduction: Solving the Visibility Gap Across a Diverse Solar Fleet

The City of Banyule, located in Melbourne’s northeast and spanning over 63 square kilometres, is a leader in sustainability and renewable energy adoption. Over the past decade, the council has deployed 82 solar systems across municipal buildings, community centres, libraries, sporting facilities, and depots.

However, as the network grew, so did the complexity. These solar systems were made up of multiple inverter brands—including Fronius, Growatt, SMA, Sungrow, ABB, and GoodWe—and installed across a wide range of building types and time periods. With no central monitoring system, the council had zero visibility into how any of these systems were performing.

Each system operated in isolation, and the council had no means to know:

• Which systems were underperforming
• If faults had occurred
• Whether energy savings were being realised
• How much of their energy use was being offset by solar

The need was clear: a centralised solar analytics platform that could provide real-time insights, automated reporting, and proactive fault detection across a diverse and dispersed fleet.

Project Overview: Connecting a Complex Solar Landscape

To address this challenge, Banyule Council partnered with AlphaX Solar Analytics to roll out a comprehensive performance monitoring solution. The project required intelligent integration across a wide array of technologies and connection methods. These included:

• Direct inverter integration via MODBUS TCP, RS485, and proprietary protocols, enabling live access to production data and inverter fault codes.
• CT-based monitoring, used where inverter data could not be accessed, ensuring even legacy or isolated systems could be included.
• Single-phase and three-phase system integration, across facilities of varying complexity and energy demand.

Crucially, the entire system was connected via the council’s own LoRaWAN network, which provides low-power, wide-area connectivity across the entire 63km² municipality. This approach ensured cost-effective, reliable data transmission from each solar site—without relying on expensive 4G/5G connections or retrofitting networks.

Two-Phase Rollout: From Simplicity to Scale

The implementation was delivered in two phases:

• Phase One connected all single-inverter and smaller systems across general council buildings and community facilities.
• Phase Two tackled the more complex, high-capacity sites, including mega systems with up to seven inverters per facility, deployed at large-scale infrastructure sites such as aquatic centres and depots.

To minimise installation costs, AlphaX hardware was installed locally near the inverters, avoiding the need for extensive cabling back to distant switchboards—a smart design choice that significantly reduced disruption and expenditure.

Instant ROI: More Than 20% of Systems Underperforming

One of the most striking findings during implementation was that over 20% of systems were not producing to specification. Many had long-standing faults, underperforming strings, or degraded equipment that had gone unnoticed due to the previous lack of monitoring.

By identifying and rectifying these issues during rollout, the council recovered substantial energy output and cost savings, making the project cash-positive from day one. In effect, the AlphaX rollout paid for itself immediately—an outcome that redefined the business case for solar analytics across local government.

A Multi-Level Monitoring Ecosystem

The AlphaX platform introduced a fully hierarchical monitoring structure, mirroring the operational layers of the council:

• Council-wide Portfolio View: Summarises total generation, savings, and carbon offset performance.
• Individual Site Dashboards: Offer building-level performance insights and reporting tools.
• System-Level Dashboards: Show how each solar array is performing.
• Inverter-Level Dashboards: Provide granular diagnostics, fault histories, and string-level analytics.

Each stakeholder—from the sustainability team to maintenance crews—now has access to relevant, role-specific data.

Data-Driven Teams: Sustainability, Facilities, and Maintenance

The benefits of this system extend across departments:

• Sustainability Teams generate automated reports on energy offset, carbon reduction, and financial savings—key inputs for annual sustainability reporting and ESG disclosures.
• Maintenance Teams receive real-time alerts when system performance drops below expected levels, allowing early intervention.
• Facilities Management Teams use the dashboards to understand site-specific energy use, identify inefficiencies, and inform future energy planning.

AI-Powered Fault Detection and Resolution

AlphaX also includes anomaly detection algorithms that constantly compare production data against expected performance based on weather and irradiation inputs. When a deviation is detected, the system:

• Generates an automatic fault summary, explaining the likely cause
• Provides a rectification checklist, guiding facilities staff on next steps—even if they’re not solar experts

This has significantly reduced downtime, increased fault resolution speed, and ensured system performance stays on track.

Measurable Impact

By the end of the project, Banyule Council had transitioned from zero visibility to complete control over their solar network. They now have:

• Real-time insights across 82 systems
• Automated energy offset and dollar-value calculations
• Reliable maintenance alerts and AI-driven fault resolution
• A future-proof, scalable platform ready for future solar expansion

Project Highlights

• 82 systems across 63km² connected via council LoRaWAN
• Over 20% underperformance uncovered and rectified during implementation
• Multiple inverter brands integrated across various data protocols
• Hierarchical dashboards at council, site, system, and inverter level
• Real-time reporting, financial tracking, and fault detection
• Two-phase rollout including mega systems with 7 inverters per site
• Centralised, actionable data for maintenance, sustainability, and building teams

Final Thought

The City of Banyule didn’t just implement solar monitoring—they transformed their energy operations. By exposing hidden performance issues, recovering lost energy, and automating critical insights, AlphaX Solar Analytics delivered instant payback and long-term strategic value.

This project is a testament to how smart technology, when paired with an integrated connectivity backbone like LoRaWAN, can drive true sustainability outcomes and smarter asset management at scale.