A SwitchDin droplet can interact with many different types and models of DER and devices, but most typically inverters, batteries, meters, some loads and controllers.
 
A SwitchDin droplet can retrieve telemetry and push controls to a device as long as it can communicate with the right protocol and holds a driver for it.

If a device is already connected to a local network, the SwitchDin droplet can communicate to the device using WiFi (Droplet ONE only) or through an Ethernet connection to a local LAN router (ETH to ETH). In this later, it is critical for the device and the SwitchDin droplet to be hosted on the same Subnet. For some specific devices, like Tesla batteries, the droplet can also access data through an API connection. 

Some LAN connections are secured and will need specific configuration to allow traffic from and to our SwitchDin droplet. Refer to this article if need be. 

If this option is not available or not recommended because you do not want to rely on the local network, or have access to it,  you can establish a direct connection by wiring the device into the droplet. Depending on the brand, model, type of device, the following options are available:
- TCP connection through an Ethernet connection (CAT 6 cable) into one of the ETH Droplet ports
- Serial connection through an RS485 connection and the use of an RS485/USB adapter to link to one of the USB ports available on the droplet.

If you expect the Droplet to also provide internet to the device, you will need to contact our support team if you use a serial connection.

For more details on your wiring options depending on the device you use, please refer to this article.