The meteorological office in Altay, China, continuously collects weather data for the region in and around Altay in order to use it for weather forecasts as well as for research and studies. The measuring stations are dependent on a weather-independent power supply and require about 400 Wh per day. Especially in bad weather conditions, when the 100 Wp solar power system is no longer sufficient, a reliable backup power supply is neccesary.
During the winter period, from October through to March, the weather in Altay, China, is characterized by heavy and recurring snowfall. This makes it impossible to use the solar systems as sole power supply. Under these conditions the solar panels had to be cleared of snow every two weeks. The extreme snowfall made the way to the solar panels even more difficult and the growing cleaning effort increased the operating costs.
The EFOY Pro 900, the latest fuel cell generation, is the ideal power supply solution for this application.
“The zero maintenance of the EFOY fuel cell saves a lot of resources for the Altay Meteorological Bureau.”
Winter in Kanas National Geopark is quite long. As it snows a lot, solar could be unavailable for half a year without frequent maintainance. The station is quite difficult to reach and usually takes abou 4 hours driving time; in winter even longer. The zero maintenance of the EFOY fuel cell saves a lot of resources for the Altay Meteorological Bureau.
Eric Xiong, Green Century
The EFOY Pro 800 Duo (corresponds to latest fuel cell generation EFOY Pro 900) with a 100 Ah 12 V battery and 2x M28 fuel cartridges in a rotational moulding box with a 5 cm thick insulation layer, is the ideal solution to avoid downtime of weather stations due to insufficient solar power supply in winter. The EFOY fuel cell is weather-independent, maintenance-free and does not require costly personnel deployment. If the solar system fails, the weather station will be powered by the EFOY for more than 140 days without user intervention. The EFOY fuel cell is particularly reliable, which is very important for an uninterrupted data acquisition.
The reliable power supply of weather stations with EFOY Pro fuel cells, even under extreme snowfall and lack of sunlight, ensures uniterrupted data acquisition. Research and studies depend on a complete database to deduce the right results. In addition, the use of fuel cells has reduced the number of personnel required, which leads to lower operating costs.
