enphase Zigbee Range Test User manual

Page 1
© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Zigbee Range Test user manual
Introduction
The Enphase Zigbee Range Test allows installers to test the quality of Zigbee RF link
between any two locations. If conducted in advance of installing the actual Enphase Energy
System equipment, it can ensure that the Zigbee network is properly formed when the
equipment is installed and has an acceptable RF link quality. If the Range Test nds that the
quality of RF link with selected equipment locations is not sucient, it prompts the user
to rerun the test with a Zigbee Wireless Range Extender (ZWRE). It is a simple procedure
which is guided by the Enphase Installer App step by step. An alternative range extension
method based on Wired USB Extender (WUE) is also described in the user guide.
This user guide should be read along with the following supporting documents:
• Designing an Enphase Zigbee network tech brief
• Zigbee range extension FAQ
• Zigbee Wireless Range Extender data sheet
• Zigbee Wireless Range Extender installation guide
• Zigbee Wired USB Extender installation guide
The North American version of Zigbee Wireless Range Extender can be purchased here.
The user guide is organized as follows:
Section I: Ordering & assembling Range Test nodes
Section II: Preparing for Range Test
Section III: Conducting Range Test
Section IV: Range Test pass criteria
Section V: Selecting the right Range Extender
Section VI: Conclusions
USERMANUAL

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© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Section I: Ordering and assembling Range
Test nodes
Two Range Test nodes are required to conduct a Range Test. An assembled Range Test note
is shown below:
Range Test Zigbee Dongle:
The NA version of Range Test Zigbee dongle can be bought from Enphase Store: Comms-
kit-01. For EMEA, use COMMS-KIT-EU-01. Open the Communications kit enclosure to
extract the Range Test Zigbee dongle. The barcode on the Communications kit should be
peeled o and placed on the Range Test Zigbee dongle. One Communications kit each is
required for each of the two nodes.
Range Test Zigbee dongle
USB C to USB 3 Adapter
Power bank
Velcro
Peel barcode sticker
and place on dongle

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© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Stick Velcro on wall
at equipment location
Attach Range Test node
on wall
USB Adapter, power bank, and Velcro:
Here are the links and quantities needed for two nodes:
USB C to USB 3 Adapter: Quantity - 1 (there are two adapters in the package)
Power bank: Quantity – 2
Velcro: Quantity – 1 sheet
Range Test node assembly:
Charge the power bank overnight in case it has low charge. Insert the USB C to USB 3
adapter in the USB C power port of the power bank. Insert the Zigbee dongle at the other
end of the USB adapter. The blue light in the Zigbee dongle should light up and stay “ON”.
Attach Velcro hook to the rear side of the power bank.
Section II: Preparing for Range Test
At the site, determine the best location for IQ Gateway (either standalone or inside IQ
combiner), IQ System Controller, and IQ Batteries. For good RF quality without range
extension, it is recommended that all equipment be installed 40 feet within line
of sight.
At the selected locations for equipment, stick a Velcro loop on the wall as shown in the
gure below. Range Test node can be attached to the Velcro loop. Please ensure that the
Velcro loop is not attached on the surface of an existing metal enclosure as presence of a
metal backplane can aect the Range Test results.

Page 4
© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Section III: Conducting Range Test
Scan Barcode.
Mark respective
node # on
dongles for
future use
Select Range Test
Save test dongle serial
#’s in Installer App and
assign to the two nodes
respectively
Begin Range Test
Go to next step
Scan Range Test dongles
Overview of Range Test
process

Page 5
© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Begin comm between
dongles and phone
over Bluetooth
Node 2 being congured Select options based on
site specics
Begin Range Test
Begin conguration of
nodes 1 and 2
Node 1 being congured

Page 6
© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Range Test ongoing Range Test failed. Retry
if test results marginal,
otherwise go to next step
with ZWRE
Find location of ZWRE
Place node 1 at ZWRE
location and node 2 at
IQ Gateway location
Run Range Test between
ZWRE and IQ Gateway
Run Range Test between
ZWRE and IQ Battery.
If test fails consider
a dierent ZWRE location,
or a Wired USB Extender

Page 7
© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
Section IV: Range Test pass criteria
Range Test measures Zigbee RF quality using two metrics. Received Signal Strength
Indicator (RSSI) and Packet Error Rate (PER). The Transmitter (TX) in each Zigbee device
has an ability to transmit RF power at +19dBm or 79mW in North America and +8dBm or
6.3mW in Europe. All devices have a Receiver (RX) sensitivity of -102dBm.
The total RF budget is the dierence in TX power and RX sensitivity.
RF signals attenuate as one goes further from the TX location or if there are any kind of
obstruction between the TX and RX. Besides distance and obstructions, there are other
sources of errors that aect RF link quality. This includes noise and interference from any
transmitter that is emitting RF power close to the same frequency band, people walking by
or obstructing objects such as cars, environmental conditions, as well as multipath eects.
To account for these sources of errors, the Range Test pass/fail criteria is more stringent
than implied by the RX sensitivity of -102dBm. The table below shows the criteria used for
passing/failing Range Test.
Section V: Selecting the right Range Extender
Range extension is recommended whenever the Range Test fails. It is very important to
select the right Range Extender based on the results of Range Test and specic details of
location of equipment at a site. Enphase has considered two types of range extension.
Zigbee Wireless Range Extender (ZWRE)
Wired USB Extender (WUE)
The ZWRE works as a repeater and provides a path for a “hop” between the equipment.
Since the “hop” can reduce the eective distance between Zigbee nodes by a factor of
2, ZWRE can be expected to have a theoretical RSSI improvement of ~6dBm. More than
one ZWREs is not recommended as there is diminishing return in tradeo between RSSI
improvement and increase in latency.
ITK DISPLAY RSSI THRESHOLD PER THRESHOLD RANGE TEST PASS/FAIL
Excellent -50dBm 1% Pass
Strong -55dBm 2% Pass
Average -60dBm 3% Pass
Weak -65dBm 4% Fail
Unacceptable < -65dBM > 4% Fail

Page 8
© 2021 Enphase Energy. All rights reserved. Enphase, the Enphase logo, IQ8 microinverters,
and other names are trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Data subject to change.
ZRT-UM-0001-01-EN-US-2021-12-29
The ZWRE can also be very eective if the direct path between Zigbee nodes has
obstructions such as walls, but the ZWRE can provide an alternative path without these
obstructions. One example could be sites where the equipment is located on perpendicular
walls and do not have line of sight. In these cases, if an appropriate location of ZWRE can
be found, then the ZWRE can have a direct line of sight will all the equipment, thereby
providing a “hop” with a signicantly better RF link quality.
In sites where the IQ Gateway is located far from the IQ Batteries and IQ System Controller,
the WUE can be very eective. In WUE, a USB over ethernet receive/transmit pair is used to
relocate the Communications kit close to location of IQ Batteries.
The following steps are recommended during Range Test:
Step 1: Perform Range Test during planning/design phase or before installation. If all the
equipment is co-located and is within line of sight, range extension is not needed.
Step 2: If Step 1 fails, continue Range Test to check suitability of ZWRE.
Step 3: If Step 2 fails, repeat Range Test to check suitability of WUE. Use of WUE is
recommended if the IQ System Controller and the IQ Batteries are co-located and the IQ
Gateway is far from them.
Step 4: If Steps 1-3 fail, choose a dierent equipment location and repeat Range Test
Section VI: Conclusions
Enphase Energy System communication between the IQ Gateway, IQ System Controller,
and IQ Batteries is based on a high performing Zigbee mesh network. However often
extraneous factors such as environmental conditions, other sources of RF noise and
changes in sites conditions due to human or vehicular movements are not considered.
The Enphase Range Test provides a tool to installers to ensure that equipment is installed
with the right method of range extension while accounting for unpredictable site
conditions. By ensuring adequate RF link quality, a robust RF network will be formed under
all conditions.