--- title: "Community microgrids monitoring | Nexus Observatory" description: "Remote communities often run on diesel or on a weak grid that fails for days. A community microgrid of solar, batteries and backup generation can supply…" url: https://observatory.global/industries/communities/community-microgrids/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-11-02 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Communities](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/) / [Specialized fields](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/fields/) / **Community microgrids** # Power the community can count on, and see. Remote communities often run on diesel or on a weak grid that fails for days. A community microgrid of solar, batteries and backup generation can supply homes, the clinic, the school, water pumps and the network. Monitoring every part lets local operators keep it running and show what it delivers. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) How it works [Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) **Industry**: Communities **Measurements**: 5 **Sources cited**: 5 1. Communities · Community microgrids Off the grid, or on a weak one Remote communities often pay dearly for diesel or live with a grid that fails for days. A community microgrid of solar, batteries and backup generation can keep homes, the clinic, the school, water pumps and the network running, if local operators can see every part and act before it fails. 2. What is measured Sun, battery, fuel and load Meters read solar generation, generator output and supply to every feeder and service, an irradiance sensor measures the sun the array receives, the battery management system reports charge, health and temperature, and the generator reports run hours, starts and fuel in its tank. InstrumentsPower meters · Irradiance · Battery management · Generator controller 3. The base node Tomorrow, forecast The node forecasts tomorrow's solar and load, advises the controller when the generator must run, warns when heat or deep discharge stresses the batteries, and computes the energy access each household and service receives, so the community can show what the plant delivers. 4. Radio and links Data out by cellular or satellite Where coverage exists, cellular carries plant data and remote support. Communities beyond coverage use satellite, often shared with their community network. The monitoring runs from the battery bank with its own reserve, so it reports even after a shutdown and tells remote support what happened. LinksPublic cellular · Satellite 5. How it works From a cloudy forecast to a generator The node forecasts three cloudy days and a full clinic. It advises a short generator run the next afternoon to keep the batteries above their limit through the night. The local operator approves it, fuel use is recorded, and the clinic never loses power. 6. From order to operation · Order Scope the loads and the plan The scope reads the community's homes, services and productive uses, present power and fuel costs, growth plans and who will own and run the system. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the plant design, monitoring, training, an energy access baseline and a price for building and for each year. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 7. From order to operation · Survey Survey the land and the loads Crews survey with the community: land for the array and battery room, shading and flood marks, the generator and fuel store, distribution routes, critical loads such as the clinic and water pumps, and backhaul coverage. Findings are recorded with photographs. 8. From order to operation · Permits Land, licences and agreements Land use is agreed with the community, generation and distribution are licensed or exempted under national rules, and the ownership, tariff and maintenance agreement is signed. Fuel storage follows fire safety rules. Every agreement is kept with the site record. 9. From order to operation · Build Build and test the plant Inverters, batteries, the controller, meters and the monitoring gateway are configured and tested together, with protection settings checked and battery safety systems proven. Nodes are enrolled with their identities and local operators join the bench work. Test results travel with the kit to the site. [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 10. From order to operation · Install Install the plant Crews and local workers set the array foundations and frames, install the battery room and generator, connect the controller and distribution, fit meters at homes and services, and install the gateway and backhaul. Every part is photographed and recorded. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. 11. From order to operation · Commission Commission and island Each node proves its identity. The plant is tested in every mode: solar and battery alone, with the generator, through a planned outage and back. Meters are checked against references, and the energy access baseline is measured for every household and service. 12. From order to operation · Operate Run it locally Local operators see generation, battery health, fuel and supply to every service. The generator runs only when forecasts need it, critical loads keep priority, and every outage is recorded. Funders receive energy access and performance reports from the same record. 13. From order to operation · Maintain Keep the batteries healthy Panels are cleaned, battery health is tracked and cells replaced before failure, the generator is serviced on run hours, and software updates arrive remotely in rings. Local operators carry out most work, with remote support for the rest. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. [Book field services](https://observatory.global/contact/field-service/) 14. Data products For households, operators and funders Households, the clinic, the school and water services receive supply and outage records; local operators receive plant health and forecasts; the governing body receives fuel use and savings; funders and governments receive energy access tiers, each tied to the plant and the period. [See the data products](https://observatory.global/data-products/) 15. Evidence Access you can show The plant follows the international specifications for rural renewable and hybrid systems, the controller the microgrid controller standard, solar monitoring the photovoltaic performance series and batteries the storage safety standard. Energy access is reported on the multi-tier framework from metered records. Drawn againstIEC TS 62257 · IEEE 2030.7 · IEC 61724-1 · IEC 62933-5-2 · Beyond Connections: Energy Access Redefined (Multi-Tier Framework) 16. What you get Microgrids and off-grid site power PV, storage and generator sizing for instruments and edge sites, with telemetry and remote control. Delivered as hardware + software and managed service, for remote sites, telecom, agencies, communities. Scale: Per site; fleets. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard. [Talk to sales](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) 17. Next step Plan community microgrids with us Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for community microgrids. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) [Open the Studio](https://observatory.global/studio/) **01** The place and its hazards ## Where it runs, and what can go wrong. Operating contextRural electrification with renewable and hybrid systems has its own international technical specifications, microgrid controllers are specified by an IEEE standard, photovoltaic performance is monitored to the international series and battery storage follows safety standards. Energy access itself is measured with a multi-tier framework that counts hours, capacity, reliability and affordability. Hazards - Diesel that is costly, polluting and late to arrive - Batteries degraded by heat and deep discharge - Outages that close the clinic and stop the water pumps - Loads growing beyond what the system was built for - No local skills to diagnose faults **02** What must be measured ## What, where, how often, and under which rules. Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below. | Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Solar generation and irradiance | Array and a reference sensor at the plant | Every minute | 1 | | Battery state of charge, health and temperature | Battery management system | Continuous | 2 | | Generator run hours and fuel | Backup generator and its tank | Continuous, events on start | 3 | | Supply to homes and services | Feeders and service meters | Every few minutes | 4 | | Controller dispatch and islanding | The microgrid controller | On every change | 5 | **03** The observation stack ## From one base unit to a network. The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol. 1. **01** Base unit A plant point: meters, irradiance, battery and generator data on an industrial gateway with a node. [Build a station →](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 2. **02** Site A site: the solar array, battery room, generator, controller and the distribution to homes and services. [Plan a site →](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 3. **03** Fleet Several community microgrids run with one view for operators and remote support, each owned locally. [Managed offers →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/solutions/) 4. **04** Network Communities, funders and utilities share energy access and performance records through open standards. [The open protocol →](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - **01** Energy and power-quality meter - **02** Compact weather station - **03** Generator - **04** OT gateway (OPC UA, Modbus) - **05** Edge node (Wedge) - **06** Cellular modem/router - **07** LEO flat-panel terminal - **08** Solar array - **09** Battery case Radio and links ### Public cellular Where coverage exists, cellular carries plant data and remote support. Radio and links ### Satellite Communities beyond coverage use satellite, often shared with the community network. Edge computeThe node forecasts solar and load for the next day, advises the controller when to run the generator, warns when batteries are stressed by heat or deep discharge, and computes the energy access tiers each household and service receives. PowerThe plant powers itself; monitoring runs from the battery bank with its own small reserve so faults are reported even after a shutdown. **04** How it works ## From the instrument to the product. One observation's path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks. Community microgrids: data path – of 07 01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Gateway 03 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 04 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 05 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 06 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 07 Products IEC 61850ModbusOGC SensorThings API 08 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC to thefield equipment 01 Energy and power-quality meter SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 Generator RS-485 · Ethernet Battery management system Not in the reference kit 04 OT gateway (OPC UA, Modbus) Ethernet · RS-485 · CAN · AnalogueI/O 05 Edge node (Wedge) Ethernet · Fibre · USB · RS-485 ·BMC 06 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 07 LEO flat-panel terminal Ethernet Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Supply and outage records Plant health and forecasts Fuel use and savings Energy access tiers 08 Solar array RS-485 09 Battery case USB RS-485 · Modbus RS-485 · Modbus RS-485 · Modbus CAN Ethernet · opc-ua Ethernet Ethernet LTE/NR Satellite IP From the instrument to the published product: each band is a tier, each connector names its interface, and the numbers match the bill of materials. Hover or focus a block to trace its path; scroll or step to follow one observation. | Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 01 | **Energy and power-quality meter** Meter for voltage, current, power, energy and power quality at a site or on a feeder. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | Modbus, IEC 61850 (MMS, GOOSE), DNP3 (IEEE 1815), MQTT 5 | 12 V DC | | 02 | **Compact weather station** All-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 03 | **Generator** Fuel generator with automatic start for backup or primary site power. | RS-485Ethernet | Modbus | Fuel | | 04 | **OT gateway (OPC UA, Modbus)** Read-only bridge from industrial fieldbuses and controllers (Modbus, OPC UA, DNP3, IEC 61850, CAN) to the site network, behind a security boundary. | EthernetRS-485CANAnalogue I/O | OPC UA, Modbus, DNP3 (IEEE 1815), IEC 61850 (MMS, GOOSE), MQTT 5 | 24 V DC | | 05 | **Edge node (Wedge)** Rugged edge node that boots from signed media, attests itself and establishes a site cell from little or no infrastructure. | EthernetFibreUSBRS-485BMC | MQTT 5, DMTF Redfish, IEEE 1588 PTP, NTP with NTS, OPC UA | 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC, AC mains | | 06 | **Cellular modem/router** LTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE | | 07 | **LEO flat-panel terminal** Electronically steered flat-panel user terminal for low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations. | Ethernet | — | PoE, 48 V DC, AC mains | | 08 | **Solar array** PV modules with charge controller sized to the site's load and climate. | RS-485 | Modbus | — | | 09 | **Battery case** Portable battery pack with DC outputs for field kits. | USB | Modbus | AC mains, HV DC, USB PD | How it scales 01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces. SITE Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality. CLUSTER ×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites. FLEET Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts. TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN ×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange The smallest deployable unit is one node; the same unit is replicated to meet the demand. Nodes form a site, sites may form a cluster, sites and clusters are coordinated as a fleet, and fleets exchange across independently administered trust domains. Each plane is a separate channel with its own open binding. **Data in the field**: MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses. **Telemetry**: OpenTelemetry OTLP. **Control**: TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2. **Data upstream**: At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links. **Evidence**: DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts. **Events**: Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3. **Exchange**: OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0. **05** From order to operation ## Every step, from the first call to a running site. The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance. 1. 01 Order Scope the loads and the plan The scope reads the community's homes, services and productive uses, present power and fuel costs, growth plans and who will own and run the system. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the plant design, monitoring, training, an energy access baseline and a price for building and for each year. 4 2. 02 Survey Survey the land and the loads Crews survey with the community: land for the array and battery room, shading and flood marks, the generator and fuel store, distribution routes, critical loads such as the clinic and water pumps, and backhaul coverage. Findings are recorded with photographs. 3 3. 03 Permits Land, licences and agreements Land use is agreed with the community, generation and distribution are licensed or exempted under national rules, and the ownership, tariff and maintenance agreement is signed. Fuel storage follows fire safety rules. Every agreement is kept with the site record. 4. 04 Build Build and test the plant Inverters, batteries, the controller, meters and the monitoring gateway are configured and tested together, with protection settings checked and battery safety systems proven. Nodes are enrolled with their identities and local operators join the bench work. Test results travel with the kit to the site. 2 5. 05 Install Install the plant Crews and local workers set the array foundations and frames, install the battery room and generator, connect the controller and distribution, fit meters at homes and services, and install the gateway and backhaul. Every part is photographed and recorded. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. 6. 06 Commission Commission and island Each node proves its identity. The plant is tested in every mode: solar and battery alone, with the generator, through a planned outage and back. Meters are checked against references, and the energy access baseline is measured for every household and service. 51 7. 07 Operate Run it locally Local operators see generation, battery health, fuel and supply to every service. The generator runs only when forecasts need it, critical loads keep priority, and every outage is recorded. Funders receive energy access and performance reports from the same record. 4 8. 08 Maintain Keep the batteries healthy Panels are cleaned, battery health is tracked and cells replaced before failure, the generator is serviced on run hours, and software updates arrive remotely in rings. Local operators carry out most work, with remote support for the rest. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. 2 **06** Data products and integration ## What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems. Data products - **Supply and outage records** Households, the clinic, the school and water services - **Plant health and forecasts** Local operators - **Fuel use and savings** The community's governing body - **Energy access tiers** Funders and governments Integration - **Microgrid controller** Advice and alarms reach the controller through its own interfaces. - **Billing** Meter readings feed the community's tariff and billing. - **Funders** Performance and access reports are exported for funders. Exchanged through IEC 61850, Modbus, OGC SensorThings API. **07** Questions buyers ask ## Before you scope it. Can our own people run it? Yes. Training and remote support are part of the programme. How much diesel will it save? The design estimates it; monitoring reports what was actually saved. What happens when batteries age? Health is tracked so cells are replaced before they fail. Can it grow? Yes. Arrays and batteries can be added as loads grow. **08** Resources ## The sources behind this page. Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does. 1. **1** [IEC 61724-1: Photovoltaic system performance, monitoring](https://webstore.iec.ch/) International Electrotechnical Commission 2. **2** [IEC 62933-5-2: Electrical energy storage systems, safety requirements for electrochemical based systems](https://webstore.iec.ch/) International Electrotechnical Commission 3. **3** [IEC TS 62257: Renewable energy and hybrid systems for rural electrification](https://webstore.iec.ch/) International Electrotechnical Commission 4. **4** [Beyond Connections: Energy Access Redefined (Multi-Tier Framework)](https://www.esmap.org/) Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, World Bank · 2015 5. **5** [IEEE 2030.7: Standard for the Specification of Microgrid Controllers](https://standards.ieee.org/) IEEE Standards Association **09** Related ## Use cases and solutions. [Use case Remote microgrid observatorySolar, storage and power-quality telemetry with a weather station and a small cell, for a community that is reducing diesel.The full use case →](https://observatory.global/use-cases/remote-microgrid/) [Solution Microgrids and off-grid site powerPV, storage and generator sizing for instruments and edge sites, with telemetry and remote control.Solutions for communities →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/solutions/#site-power) [Solution Operator and technician training on delivered systemsHands-on courses for customer staff on the systems they run; no public credentials are issued by the group.Solutions for communities →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/solutions/#operator-training) [Solution Sensing as a ServiceObservation networks designed, installed, operated and maintained for a monthly fee: weather, hydromet, air, seismic and environmental stations, with data delivered under a licence.Solutions for communities →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/solutions/#sensing-service) **10** Communities: specialized fields ## Other fields of this industry. [Specialized field Community cellular and broadbandCellular and Wi-Fi networks a community owns and runs, on shared or community spectrum, with solar power and satellite or microwave backhaul where carriers do not build.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/community-networks/) [Specialized field Small community water systemsWater quality, chlorine, tank levels and pumps in small community supplies, watched continuously so operators keep water safe and fix faults before taps run dry.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/small-water-systems/) [Specialized field Community early warningRain and river gauges, local alerts and sirens that a community runs itself, linked to the national warning service so warnings reach every household in time.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/communities/local-early-warning/) ### Bring us the site. 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