Introduction
Enapter Energy Management System Toolkit (EMS Toolkit) helps to integrate energy systems for different applications.
Key features of Enapter EMS Toolkit:
- Lua Programmable. Create flexible integration logic using the Lua programming language. Compared to graphical programming, this approach makes complex behaviors easier to implement, supports version control (e.g., Git), and allows you to leverage modern LLMs for coding assistance.
- Integrations Marketplace. Browse a library of open-source, ready-to-use integrations to speed up your development process.
- Local First. Run entirely without an internet connection, with no dependency on third-party cloud services.
Blueprints
Enapter Blueprints is a technology that backs all device integrations in the Enapter EMS including our own devices — electrolysers, dryers, and others. By 2025 we have more than 50 energy device manufacturers already integrated. We noticed simple yet powerful patterns that repeat over and over in such integrations and we extracted them in a user-friendly set of tools under the common name — Blueprint.
Every device we integrate fits into a simple unified model which consists of properties, telemetry, commands, alerts and configuration. Describe your device in these terms and the platform will know what it capable of:
- which charts can be shown on a telemetry dashboard,
- which commands can be executed,
- when to notify you about device alerts,
- and how the device can interact with other parties of an energy system.
To know more about blueprints, visit: https://marketplace.enapter.com/about.
Universal Communication Modules
Hardware UCMs
To enable the physical communication level between your endpoint device and Enapter EMS we use Universal Communication Modules (UCM in short) — small independent DIN-rail mountable controllers capable of wireless (802.11a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz) and wired (Enapter LINK) communication.
On a hardware level, every UCM implements one major industrial communication standard. These standards define how to transmit information over the wires. Different standards require different UCM models.
Physical communication standards provide a basis for the higher level concept — communication protocols. Protocols define what exact information is being transmitted and, for example, which format is used for the data inside. In some cases, the same protocol can run on top of different communication standards, for example, Modbus RTU runs on RS-232 and Modbus TCP runs over Ethernet.
On a software level, UCM implements an Application Programming Interface (API) which allows to request, receive and process information from a connected device.
Built-in UCM firmware provides an isolated execution environment that can run custom user-defined Lua script. The script uses the communication API to implement data exchange with the connected device. While UCM firmware is managed by Enapter, the Lua script is also a part of a blueprint.
Software UCMs
There is also Virtual UCM — a 100% software implementation of the hardware Enapter UCMs that runs on personal computers. It enables easy integration of devices using any protocol running over TCP/IP (Modbus TCP, HTTP, OPC UA, etc.), but also, if the PC is officially supported, can work directly with the computer’s built-in hardware.
To view the list and specifications of all available UCMs, visit: https://handbook.enapter.com/modules.
Gateways
The Gateway is the central part of the Enapter EMS Toolkit, responsible for provisioning and controlling all connected devices.
Gateway is a PC with running Enapter Gateway Software, an operating system based on Enapter Industrial Linux — an open-source, reliable, and secure Linux distribution designed for industrial applications. It is tolerant to power failures and allows easy startup from a USB stick with a simple FAT32 partition.
Key functions of the Gateway Software:
- Provides the Enapter EMS Web interface and supports Enapter Mobile Application.
- Stores and compresses aggregated data from all energy system devices, with support of retention policies and automated backups.
- Automates energy systems using a Rule Engine with Lua scripting.
- Provides OPC UA and HTTP API interfaces for third-party integrations.
- Enables Docker integration via Podman to run third-party programs and services in containers.
- Provides built-in Virtual UCM.
To download the latest version of Gateway Software, visit: https://fw.enapter.com.
Enapter EMS Toolkit should not be used for life-sustaining or safety-critical use cases. Enapter is not responsible for any harms or losses incurred as a result of any failed automation.