Smilics Technologies is a specialist company that provides the necessary tools for measurement, control, and usage of energy consumption in sectors such as residential/commercial, industrial, or in electrical distribution networks.
Aligned with “The Yellow Nest,” a global business group serving over 80 countries worldwide, Smilics Technologies is dedicated to offering innovative solutions in the energy efficiency space through state-of-the-art products and technological applications, leading the transformation of the electrical sector.
Interview with Rafa Garcia, Product Marketing Manager of Smilics Technologies.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Rafa Garcia: Our target market is professional, although many of our solutions have a significant impact on the end consumer, B2B2C. Our clients range from installers managing various photovoltaic or shared solar installations, to large electrical utilities seeking to digitize and modernize their infrastructure.
E.E: What’s the news about new products/services?
R.G: At the end of last year, coinciding with the Enlit Europe exhibition held in Paris, we presented our latest innovative solution called 2GRID.
2GRID is the most powerful solution on the market for digitizing low-voltage distribution substations. This innovative solution consists of 5 customer-selectable devices, with which to monitor all electrical features of the critical infrastructure of a distribution substation such as feeders and the transformer, and all environmental parameters that may affect the quality of service provided by the DSOs (Distribution System Operators).
E.E: What are the ranges of products/services?
R.G: We cover multiple sectors of the industry:
WIBEEE is our solution for the residential, commercial, and industrial markets. It stands out for being very easy to install and providing a large amount of useful information, to both companies managing various photovoltaic installations, which for example, can become independent of the brand of inverter, and to end users thanks to the automatic disaggregation of appliances that our software can perform through artificial intelligence. This means that Wibeee, along with its associated software platform “NEST,” is capable of automatically identifying the consumption of different appliances without you having to declare them separately, and providing recommendations that promote your energy efficiency.
Additionally, as mentioned earlier, we offer 2GRID solution for large utilities and electrical infrastructure and a wide variety of SENSORS, necessary for all data acquisition. We specialize in the design and manufacture of split-core current transformers and Rogowski coils. We manufacture not only for our own solutions but also sell them to other companies as OEM products.
E.E: What is the state and trends of the market where you are currently active?
R.G: For months now, we have been experiencing a true revolution in the Utilities market. Energy demand is changing at a pace never seen before. The electrical grid has transitioned from being directional to bidirectional, and there are loads on the grid that never existed before. Photovoltaic systems, storage batteries, electric vehicle chargers that not only charge but also feed energy back into the system, etc.
All DSOs (Distribution System Operators) are forced to digitize their infrastructure if they expect to control their operations and adapt to the new market demands.
E.E: What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
R.G: Precisely due to the context being experienced in the Utilities sector, as mentioned in the previous point, our 2GRID solution for the digitization of low-voltage substations will be our main growth driver for the coming years. It is an innovative, scalable solution that can be installed in low-voltage substations without interrupting service. In Europe, we are already working with several top-level utilities, and we have just returned from the international fair “Distributech” held in Orlando, Florida, where it received a very warm reception. We have secured several pilots to enter into the American market.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the beginning of 2024?
R.G: Depending on which sectors and segments we are discussing. The residential solar market continues to stagnate at the same level as the second half of 2023; however, many installation companies have shifted their focus to the industrial solar sector, which maintains stable growth.
On the other hand, all countries are allocating significant investments in modernizing the electrical infrastructure, and all DSOs are very active for now. In this field, there is still much ground to cover, and I am convinced that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. The near future will witness a significant increase in electrification, and digitizing the infrastructure to understand and manage it is the only solution for electric companies.