[ Greenfield ]

Born Digital. The Smartest Decision Happens Before the First Module Is Installed.

A Greenfield project is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The modules you specify today define what you can measure, compare and document throughout the plant's operating life.

Adding intelligence to an existing plant is possible — but it costs time, money, and effort. Adding it at the point of manufacture costs almost nothing.

Talk to Our Greenfield Team Start a 120-Module Pilot

Site plan · Greenfield

Born digital · no blind modules

SunSniffer Inside · every module

sensors factory-fitted · paired to serials · day-1 baseline

The greenfield advantage

This window opens once — at specification.

Intelligence added at the factory costs almost nothing: the sensor rides into the junction box on the production line. Added later, it means touching every module again — and the first years of data are gone forever.

SPECIFICATION

You decide here

“SunSniffer Inside” — one line in the module spec. The window is open now.

MODULE PRODUCTION

Sensors built in

Integrated in the junction box on the line, paired to each serial number automatically.

CONSTRUCTION

Two light tasks

String Readers installed, modules scanned into position once mounted.

FIRST CLEAR SKY DAY

Baseline on record

TrueSTC measured for every module — the Digital Birth Certificate is issued.

40 YEARS

Measured forever

Every module, every 15 seconds — warranty review, insurance documentation and resale supported by continuous module-level evidence.

SPECIFIED NOW

✓Sensor integrated during module production

✓Pairing automatic — serial to sensor, at the factory

✓Zero extra site labour for module sensors

✓Baseline from the very first clear sky day

RETROFITTED LATER

✗Every module touched again, on site

✗Clip-on sensor mounted module by module

✗Pairing scanned manually in the field

✗First years of performance history lost

Retrofit is possible — we do it every day. But nothing beats built-in. See the Brownfield path

Commissioning · Digital Birth Certificate

The first clear sky day changes everything.

Before the plant is handed over, every module has a name, a position, and a verified performance baseline. That is the Digital Birth Certificate.

Barcode scan — string by string

Installer scans the barcode of each module with a handheld scanner. The scan assigns every module its exact physical position in PlantView and loads the correct module list into each String Reader.

Position verification — on-site

If a module is in the wrong position, the portal flags it immediately. Problems get fixed on-site, before handover. Not months later.

First clear sky day — TrueSTC baseline

TrueSTC automatically calculates the STC-equivalent performance baseline for every single module — irradiance- and temperature-corrected, fully timestamped.

Live digital twin delivered

Every module mapped, every baseline documented, every deviation from that moment forward measurable.

Learn more about the Digital Birth Certificate on the EPC page

SUNSNIFFER · HANDOVER DOCUMENT

Digital Birth Certificate

Solarpark Altdorf · 4.98 MWp · commissioned 14 Mar 2026

TRUESTC

VERIFIED

MODULE 0417 OF 12,440

MODULE SERIALLR5-72HBD-0417-B

SENSOR IDSNS-88-30291

POSITIONRow 12 · String 04 · Slot 17

FIRST CLEAR SKY DAY21 Mar 2026 · 12:04 CET

TRUESTC BASELINE412.6 Wp · +3.2% vs nameplate

BASELINE CURVE · CLEAR SKY

POSITION IN PLANT

RECORD FINGERPRINT

sha256 · 9f2c…0417

timestamped · tamper-evident · verifiable in the portal

ISSUED AT HANDOVER · ONE PER MODULE · VALID FOR THE LIFE OF THE PLANT12,440 / 12,440 MODULES CERTIFIED

How to get it

One conversation. Everything else follows.

When specifying your next Greenfield project, tell your module manufacturer:

"I want SunSniffer Inside."

SunSniffer connects your module manufacturer with QC Solar — one of the world's leading junction box manufacturers. QC Solar manages the certification process for the junction box integration.

The modules arrive on your site with sensors already integrated and paired to their serial numbers at the factory. For the EPC, only two light tasks remain: install one String Reader per string, and scan each module's barcode at its mounting position. No separate procurement. No changes to your construction timeline.

STEP 01

You specify it

Tell your module manufacturer: "SunSniffer Inside." That is the entire conversation.

STEP 02

The factory does the rest

Modules are built with sensor-equipped junction boxes — each sensor paired to its module serial number in production.

STEP 03

EPC installs the String Reader

One unit per string — wired, or (in development) the String Reader Claw for contactless clip-on connection. Minutes per string.

STEP 04

Scan modules into position

Once all modules are mounted, each module’s serial barcode is scanned at its position — the plant map builds itself.

What you install

The complete system. One of three layers arrives pre-installed.

Everything SunSniffer needs on site — and the one decision the plant layout makes for you.

LAYER 1 · IN THE MODULE

Sensors — already inside

Factory-fitted in the junction box, paired to each module’s serial number. Module voltage + temperature every 15 seconds, transmitted over the DC line (PLC).

Nothing to install on site

LAYER 2 · AT THE STRING

String Reader or Claw

One unit per string collects the module data. String Reader (wired) additionally measures string voltage and current at 16 Hz — the Claw clips on contactlessly and reads the module PLC data. The Claw path suits one MPP tracker per string.

Minutes per string

LAYER 3 · PER PLANT

Gateway

Collects all String Readers over RS485 and sends everything to the portal. 30 strings per channel — the Gateway Plus carries 5 channels for up to 150 strings per unit.

One unit per plant segment

String Reader or Claw? String current decides.

Module data is identical with both. The difference is where your string current measurement comes from.

STRING READER CLAW · IN DEVELOPMENTcontactless · current from the inverter

The Claw clips onto the string cable — no DC line opened, no rewiring. It reads the module PLC data; string current comes from the inverter. That works when each string has its own MPP tracker — the inverter then delivers true per-string current. Where several strings share one tracker, the inverter only sees the sum: then you need dedicated string-current measurement.

Best when: one MPP tracker per string

STRING READERwired · measures the string itself

The String Reader sits in the string circuit and measures string voltage and current directly at 16 Hz — independent of the MPPT layout, at laboratory precision. It sees what the inverter cannot: fast electrical events, arcs, connector faults, per-string current wherever trackers are shared.

Best when: several strings share an MPPT · diagnostic depth required

Rule of thumb: your inverter's MPPT layout decides. One MPP tracker per string — the Claw plus inverter data covers it. Several strings per tracker — you need measured string current: the String Reader (wired, available today) or the X-String Reader with its own current measurement (clamp-on, in development). We check this against your single-line diagram during planning.

Full String Reader specifications

Coverage strategy

All in — or reference zones. Both are greenfield strategies.

New modules cost almost nothing to equip at the factory — full coverage is the greenfield default. If the budget says otherwise, sensor sets across a few zones plus your inverter data already deliver contract-grade numbers.

STRATEGY A · SUNSNIFFER INSIDEthe greenfield default

Every module, from the factory

Sensors ride into the junction boxes on the production line — marginal cost, zero site labour. Every module gets a Digital Birth Certificate and 40 years of module-exact evidence for warranty review, insurance documentation and resale.

Module-exact · decision-grade · born digital

STRATEGY B · REFERENCE ZONESthe budget path

120-sensor sets across zones

Retrofit sets on 1–3% of modules, stratified across the plant. All inverter data flows into the pvlib model; the measured reference calibrates the rest. Scale up to full coverage any time — set by set.

Fleet-accurate · upgradeable · low entry

What reference zones deliver — modelled planning values

Example: 10,000-module plant (≈ 5 MWp)

Retrofit sets	Sensors (coverage)	Modelled fleet-yield accuracy · 95% CI	Catches a batch defect affecting ≥ 3%
1 set	120 (1.2%)	± 0.45%	97%
2 sets	240 (2.4%)	± 0.32%	99.9%
3 sets	360 (3.6%)	± 0.26%	> 99.9%

Assumptions: module-to-module spread σ = 2.5%, sets stratified across strings, inverter data calibrated against the measured reference. Typical contract tolerance is 2–5% — even one set measures roughly 5× tighter. Module-exact evidence for individual claims still requires full coverage.

The long-term value

Built once. Measured forever.

A greenfield plant with SunSniffer inside carries its own evidence through every event of a 40-year life.

YEAR 0

Birth certificate

Every module named, positioned, and baselined at handover.

YEAR 6

Warranty review supported

Modules below the contractual curve — documented and prepared for warranty review.

YEAR 12

Refinancing / sale

Buyers and lenders get a complete measured record — not an extrapolation. The plant prices at its proven value.

YEAR 18

Storm claim documented

Timestamped module-level evidence from the record — claim scoping in weeks, not seasons.

YEAR 40

Record complete

Life-extension or repowering decided on measured degradation, module by module.

The pilot

Not ready to commit the whole project? Start with 120 modules.

Equip one zone of your new plant with SunSniffer. Run it alongside standard monitoring. See the difference in real time.

Specify a batch of 120 SunSniffer-ready modules for a defined zone of your Greenfield project. Install a String Reader per string and one Gateway. Connect to your existing SCADA via API.

Within the first clear sky days you will see TrueSTC baselines for every module. Within weeks you will see what standard monitoring misses.

Start a 120-Module Pilot

PILOT KIT · ZONE A1 zone · 6 strings · 1 gateway

120

SunSniffer-ready modules

sensors factory-fitted

String Readers

one per string · 16 Hz

Gateway

30 strings per channel

API

SCADA integration

standard interface

DAYS → first TrueSTC baselinesWEEKS → hidden losses visible

Your Greenfield decision

Specify intelligence. Not just modules.

The decision you make at specification stage defines what you can measure, compare and document for the plant's entire operating life.

Talk to Our Greenfield Team Start a 120-Module Pilot