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HISbox® Utility Scale – Combiner box for utility-scale PV plants
In utility-scale PV plants, DC infrastructure, monitoring and communication together determine operational safety and maintenance effort. That is why we configure the HISbox® Utility Scale as an end-to-end DC infrastructure concept for your project – tailored to plants in the MW and GW range.
Project engineering
We think from the plant structure – project requirements, national standards, operating conditions – and derive the optimal configuration of the HISbox® from this. Every HISbox® leaves the factory tested and ready for immediate use.
Durable quality
The HISbox® is built for continuous operation – protection rating up to IP65, GRP enclosure, operationally reliable from -20 °C to +55 °C. Compliant with IEC 61439 / EN 61439-2, manufactured and tested for a plant service life of 20+ years.
String monitoring
With integrated string monitoring – wired or wireless. Gateway boxes handle data transmission to the higher-level control system and enable efficient remote monitoring. Strings with reduced yield are detected and located early.
HIS Insulation Monitoring – detect insulation faults early and ensure plant availability
Utility-scale PV plants operate DC strings over extensive areas. Small insulation degradations can develop unnoticed – until they lead to inverter failures. With central inverters handling up to 4–5 MW, every failure means considerable yield losses.
Early detection at string level: Insulation modules continuously measure the leakage current behaviour of each string – degradation is detected before it affects operation.
Precise fault location: The fault is narrowed down to a single combiner box and a single string – for targeted and fast maintenance.
Operation continues: Diagnosis and location take place during ongoing operation – the plant does not have to be shut down for diagnostic measurements.
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We configure the HISbox® according to your project requirements. Contact us and we will support you from planning to delivery.
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Modular configuration – for every plant constellation
The HISbox® Utility Scale is designed as a platform. We put together the voltage level, number of string inputs, protection components, monitoring and communication for each project. The most important components at a glance:
DC combiner box: The DC combiner box combines PV strings at 1500 V DC, with up to 32 inputs per MPPT (monitoring) or 16 for high current. Standard currents are up to 20 A per string; high-current variants range from 35 to 80 A. Switch-disconnectors and SPD type 2 or type 1+2 protect the setup.
AC combiner box: The AC combiner box combines the AC outputs of several string inverters. It is designed for up to 1000 V AC and up to 160 A per input and has protection rating IP65.
String monitoring: String monitoring continuously measures the currents of all strings so that anomalies are detected early and can be located.
HIS Insulation Monitoring: The module detects insulation degradation at string and combiner box level and locates faults precisely without shutting down the plant.
Arc Fault Detection (AFCI): 1500 V DC – this function detects arc faults during operation and is integrated directly into the combiner box.
Gateway boxes: Gateway boxes forward data, wired or wirelessly, between the combiner level and the higher-level control system.
ALVC – Auxiliary Low Voltage Combiner: The ALVC supplies auxiliary power to monitoring and control components in the solar park.
With central inverters converting up to 4–5 MW, every failure at DC level directly affects the plant's total yield. In the right combination, protection, monitoring and communication ensure plant availability over the entire service life of the plant.
HISbox® and HISkon+ – a coordinated DC system solution
HISkon+ supplies pre-assembled DC cable harnesses from the PV module to the combiner box – factory-assembled, clearly marked and ready to plug in. Together, HISbox® and HISkon+ reduce interfaces on the construction site, installation effort and potential connection errors. This lowers O&M costs and improves profitability over the entire service life of the plant.
"Pre-assembled cable harnesses are our promise to make projects more efficient. We think from the installation perspective and eliminate sources of error – this creates measurable benefits on the construction site."
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You know what plant size you are planning – we will find the right configuration
Experience that counts.
Customers in more than 60 countries rely on our solutions. Every year we deliver more than 6.5 GW of components, and our multilingual engineering and sales team incorporates country-specific standards from the outset. This makes HIS Technology a reliable partner for utility-scale projects of any size.
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Smart monitoring in combiner boxes
Detect problems at an early stage, optimize yields and reduce maintenance costs - intelligent combiner boxes (GAKs) are evolving from simple protection devices to the digital control center of modern PV systems. A development that is fundamentally changing the monitoring of solar parks.
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Witznitz energy park
With nearly 3,000 kilometers of pre-assembled solar cables—equivalent to the distance from Leipzig to Cairo—the Energiepark Witznitz sets new standards in the execution of large-scale PV projects. The successful collaboration between MOVEON Energy and HIS demonstrates how proven technology and a partnership-driven approach enable efficient realization of projects of this scale.
Frequently asked questions
In central inverter topologies, the DC combiner box combines several PV strings at DC level upstream of the inverter. In string inverter topologies, the DC combiner is not needed; here an AC combiner box combines the AC outputs of several inverters. Both topologies are common in the utility-scale market. HIS Technology offers both variants and advises you during the engineering process.
The HISbox® Utility Scale Combiner is available for 1500 V DC in two versions: as a standard variant with up to 32 string inputs per MPPT and as a high-current variant with up to 16 inputs for higher string currents. Fusing is provided by gPV fuses.
HIS Insulation Monitoring is designed for floating DC systems with an IT earthing concept, the standard for utility-scale ground-mounted plants with central inverters. The solution is not suitable for earthed systems (TN systems). Operation continues during measurement without any intervention in the plant.
The monitoring variants of the HISbox® communicate via wired RS485 or wirelessly via LoRa. Gateway boxes forward the data to the higher-level control system; we agree the interfaces with you for each project during the engineering process.
We define the voltage level, number of string inputs, current rating, protection components, monitoring, communication, protection rating, enclosure material and cable entry for each project. The process leads from the enquiry through engineering support and digital order management to production and tested delivery ex works.
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