Stay Connected Anywhere: ARES’s Robust Connectivity & Real‑Time Data

scott5412
Jul 14
3 min read

How ARES keeps your soiling data flowing—even in the most remote PV fields

In today’s utility‑scale solar world, data gaps and spotty communications translate directly into missed soiling insights—and lost energy yield. Whether your arrays sit in remote deserts or sprawling farmland, you need continuous, reliable soiling and irradiance data to know when and where to clean. Enter the ARES Soiling Station: a self‑powered, solar‑charged sensor with built‑in eSIM, deep‑sleep battery management, and flexible comms that keep you plugged in 24/7—no matter how tough the field conditions.

Key Connectivity & Power Management Features

With uninterrupted data flow as your foundation, let’s dive into the core capabilities that make ARES the industry’s most reliable soiling station. Here’s how each connectivity and power feature works together to keep you informed and in control—no matter where your panels are installed.

5‑Minute Cloud Updates: Never Miss a Trend

By default, each ARES unit samples soiling loss and irradiance every five minutes, instantly pushing that data to your Fracsun portal. This high‑frequency cadence is more than enough to capture gradual dust accumulation while smoothing out fleeting shadows or passing clouds. And if you need even finer granularity—say, during a dust‑storm event—simply connect the optional Wash Extension battery and dial the interval down in the dashboard.

Smart Power: Deep Sleep, All-Day Battery

Solar panels stop generating at dusk—and so does ARES. As the sun sets, the station enters a low‑power “deep sleep,” preserving battery life for months of dark winter days. When dawn breaks, ARES wakes up, measures, transmits, and then returns to sleep as needed. The result? A maintenance‑free energy budget that keeps your system online without unexpected brown‑outs or manual recharging.

Global eSIM Cellular: Plug‑and‑Play Networking

Gone are the days of hunting for SIM cards or juggling carrier contracts. Every ARES ships with a built‑in global eSIM and LTE‑M1 modem that seamlessly registers on AT&T in the U.S. or 350+ networks worldwide. From Patagonia to the Sahara, ARES automatically finds the best 2G/3G/LTE signal, encrypts your data, and streams it into your portal—no local IT team required.

Flexible Comms: Antennas, Modbus & SCADA Ready

In fringe‑coverage areas, boost reach with a high‑gain external antenna. Prefer a wired backbone? ARES speaks Modbus RTU over RS‑485, so you can feed its data directly into your SCADA system or local data logger. Even better: use a simple TCP‑to‑RS485 bridge to mirror that real‑time stream back into the Fracsun cloud for unified visibility across all your assets.

Outage‑Resilient Analytics: True Daily Loss, Even with Gaps

Short cellular blips happen—but they won’t blindside your soiling metrics. ARES doesn’t store every datapoint locally, yet the Fracsun portal’s interpolation algorithms bridge small gaps in irradiance records to compute an accurate daily loss percentage. The upshot? You retain end‑of‑day soiling insights and clear cleaning alerts, even if connectivity hiccups disrupt a few readings.

Key Connectivity & Power Specs

Feature	Specification
Data Interval	5 min default (user‑adjustable)
Power Management	Deep‑sleep mode after sunset; solar‑charged LTO battery
Cellular Connectivity	Global eSIM; LTE‑M1 (NB‑IoT) / 2G/3G fallback
Antenna Options	Built‑in + external high‑gain
Wired Protocol	Modbus RTU RS‑485; TCP‑IP bridge support