Advanced ML algorithms in our inverters automatically adjust charging profiles for optimal battery performance: Ganesh Moorthi, Luminous Power
Transforming energy management with advanced technologies, driving efficiency, sustainability, and tailored solutions for diverse needs.
In an insightful interaction with Express Computer, Ganesh Moorthi, Chief Technology Officer, Luminous Power, shares the company’s transformative journey in renewable energy and power backup solutions. He discusses their strides in digital transformation, adoption of emerging technologies like IoT and AI, cybersecurity measures, and tailored solutions for rural and urban markets. Moorthi also highlights Luminous’ leadership in solar energy innovation, sustainability efforts, and their vision for advancing energy efficiency and customer-centric solutions. This interaction offers a comprehensive view of how Luminous is shaping the future of energy management in India and beyond.
Can you share insights into your digital transformation journey and highlight some of the key digital initiatives undertaken over the past couple of years?
At Luminous, our digital transformation journey has been closely tied to our products and solutions, especially in the renewable energy space. Our focus has been on solar power generation and the backup industry. In solar power systems, there are three main components: solar panels, inverters, and batteries. All of these are connected through emitters, and the data is accumulated in the cloud.
Our key digital initiative has been ensuring that all our solar power generation systems are interconnected. This enables us to monitor and manage these systems, making efficient use of the generated power and managing them effectively. We’ve developed software solutions to support this, creating front-end applications for both end users and system installers. End users can track their power generation and backup performance, while system installers can manage customer service, including annual maintenance contracts and system downtimes. This digital journey spans across our product and solution lines.
How are you leveraging emerging technologies like IoT, AI, or machine learning to enhance power backup and energy management solutions? Could you also touch on your approach to integrating these innovations?
At Luminous, we’re at the forefront of developing solar power generation systems designed and developed in-house. This allows us to manage all the components—panels, inverters, and batteries—together as a cohesive system. While we haven’t heavily advertised some of our advanced machine learning algorithms, they are already integrated into our products. For instance, our inverters can detect the type of battery connected, whether it’s lead-acid, lithium-ion, or sodium, and automatically adjust the charging profile for optimal performance. We call this adaptive battery charging control.
We also have features like the battery water level indicator in lead-acid batteries, which are popular in India. Looking to the future, advancements in AI and machine learning will help us personalise every inverter for each customer. Since power usage and outages vary by location, we aim to customise our inverters to individual use cases. Using AI, we collect data from our connected inverters and analyse patterns related to power outages and grid conditions. This allows us to predict outages, notify users to keep their batteries charged, or even suggest when to export power back to the grid to save money. Personalising inverter solutions with AI-driven algorithms is a significant advantage we’re developing for our battery and inverter solutions.
Cybersecurity is becoming critical in connected devices and energy management systems. How is Luminous ensuring the security of its IoT-enabled energy solutions?
At Luminous, we take a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity for our IoT-enabled energy solutions. From day one, we’ve prioritised security, knowing the importance of adhering to industry standards for connected systems. Our first layer of protection is a Cybersecurity IC, an integrated circuit chip that encrypts and decrypts data going in and out of our devices. We also implement multi-level authentication systems, ensuring that only authorised users can access the data.
In addition, we conduct regular security audits and vulnerability tests. As part of the Schneider Electric Group, we benefit from the global Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which performs compliance audits and provides scores aligned with international cybersecurity standards. We follow all relevant data privacy regulations and have implemented a secure development lifecycle in our software teams that adheres to ISO standards. Furthermore, we store our data on Microsoft servers located in India, ensuring robust protection for our customers’ information.
With the increasing global focus on sustainability and renewable energy, how is Luminous Power positioning itself to lead in the solar energy market?
Luminous Power is committed to decentralised power generation, focusing on small-scale solar power systems on rooftops. While centralised power generation (like thermal, hydro, and nuclear plants) still exists, we believe the future lies in decentralised systems where power is generated right at homes. In the solar energy market, efficient integration of solar panels, inverters, and batteries is crucial, and Luminous is uniquely positioned as the only company that develops all these systems in-house.
We ensure our solar panels are optimised to work efficiently with our inverters and batteries, such as our specialised C10 solar lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries with LFP chemistry. By integrating these components with a connected system and software, we are well-positioned to lead in solar energy and support the Indian government’s goal of connecting 10 million homes to solar power in the coming years.
How are you utilising GenAI within your internal operations? Could you share any significant use cases or benefits observed so far?
Yes, of course. We use GenAI extensively in our daily operations. One example is simplifying the selection process for inverters and batteries, which can be quite technical. Typically, people struggle to determine their load requirements—how many lights, fans, or TVs they run—and the expected power outages. To make this easier, we’ve built a recommendation chatbot. Users can input details like the number of appliances and outage duration, and the chatbot suggests the best inverter and battery options, even highlighting features such as compatibility with lithium-ion batteries or faster charging capabilities.
Similarly, for solar power generation systems, which also require technical calculations like area and panel capacity, we’ve integrated a feature in our mobile app. Users simply enter their location, and the system calculates the optimal solar setup, providing insights on cost savings and return on investment based on their state and location.
These are just a couple of examples of how we’re leveraging GenAI to simplify complex processes for both customers and our internal operations.
How are you adapting your products to address the unique challenges of rural areas? Do you have any specific offerings tailored to meet the needs of these regions?
Many of our products are specifically designed for rural markets because these regions present unique and challenging conditions. From inconsistent power supply to surges and fluctuations, rural areas often experience issues like high humidity, dust, and extreme temperatures. To address these challenges, Luminous has developed a process called the “mission profile.” This approach tests our products based on the specific characteristics of different environments, including rural areas. Almost all our products undergo this testing, but we’ve also developed specific offerings for these regions.
For example, our “Shakti Charge” product is designed for rural applications, with a higher charge current and a wide voltage range, making it durable for agricultural use. It can even power motor pumps in backup mode. While many of our products are adaptable for various regions, rural markets are a significant focus for us, and we continuously tailor our products to meet their needs.
How is Luminous integrating energy efficiency into its product designs, and what innovations can we expect to see in the near future?
One of the key highlights of Luminous’ efforts in energy efficiency is that our solar panels were among the first to receive a five-star rating from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Similar to the ratings you see on air conditioners and refrigerators, BEE has introduced star ratings for solar panels, and we were quick to ensure our panels met the highest standards. We are also aiming for five-star ratings across our solar inverters.
In terms of product design, energy efficiency is a core focus for us. We carefully select components that minimise energy losses and use high-frequency switching topologies to further reduce these losses. We also prioritise efficient magnetics and natural air convection cooling systems to enhance performance. From the component level to the system and architecture levels, we work to ensure that our round-trip efficiency and power conversion efficiency are industry-leading, setting benchmarks in the inverter category.
We are extending this focus on efficiency to new product lines, such as hybrid inverters, VFDs, charge controllers, and battery management systems. Our goal is to ensure that every watt of power generated by our solar systems is used to power the load, rather than being consumed by the systems themselves. This is our main focus moving forward.