An exciting competition in which the best solar installers compete against each other, the championships are primarily intended to raise awareness of safe and high-quality installation.
For the three days of Solar & Storage Live, installers will battle for the Golden Roof Hook. But how exactly does this battle work? What are the teams judged on, and why is this competition so important for the solar sector?
Anne Brandt, Training & Exhibition Manager Europe at Esdec, is one of the people closely involved in organising the European Solar Games and tells us all about this spectacular event.
Showcasing solar installations
The UK is the fourth country to be introduced to the European Solar Games. The event’s origin lies in the Netherlands, where it has enjoyed great popularity for several years, exactly what Esdec, supplier of innovative PV mounting systems, hoped for when they came up with the concept in 2019. Esdec was looking for an appealing way to showcase solar mounting installations at trade events and to enable distribution partners to involve their customers – the installers – and this competition format achieved both. In 2023, we expanded to Belgium and Germany, now we are in the UK for the first time, and next year we plan to add France to the list.
Spotlight on the installer
The event itself is great fun, but the underlying ambition of the games has a more serious angle too, with a strong focus on the quality and safety of the installation – both aspects which Esdec attaches great importance to. It offers solar professionals a unique opportunity to show their skills under the supervision of the jury and an excited audience. Usually on their own when installing panels, now all the spotlights are on them. This creates a level of nervousness but, despite this, participants are, without exception, highly enthusiastic about the competition.
Entertainment value
Hosting the European Solar Games during an exhibition has proved extremely popular. As visitors walk around the exhibition, interacting with the stands and their peers, the event offers a little extra. You will find installers enjoying watching their peers with a critical eye, commenting on what they would do differently, and it is also a great opportunity for sales staff and other office colleagues to see how things really work on the roof.
Huge business boost
For all those involved with the European Solar Games, it is a great opportunity to showcase their company and boost awareness and engagement. One of the previous winners worked at a small installation company with very little marketing activity, and the publicity they received before, during and after the European Solar Games resulted in a significant growth in orders.
The sponsors enjoy the same boost for their brand: their company and products are constantly showcased to the entire sector and, by aligning their brand with the competition’s focus on quality and safety, it enhances industry regard for their company.
Rules and criteria
To ensure the required standards of quality and safety are upheld throughout the competition, the participating teams are judged by experienced solar experts. The judges are, literally, on top of things and award points based on various criteria. Although teams are given a maximum of one hour to install six solar panels – including inverters and cabling – the finishing time is only crucial when there’s a tie in points. Most points are awarded to installers working professionally and safely on the roofs with the result evaluated qualitatively. Broadly speaking, the rules and criteria are the same for each country, but always with consideration for adjustments needed on a country-specific level.
Master of Ceremony
For installers in the audience, it is undoubtedly clear what they are looking at, but it may not be so to others. To involve everyone in what is happening, and add insight into the profession of an installer, a master of ceremony is always present. The explanations are, of course, always accompanied with great entertainment value to encourage the audience to be even more fanatical in cheering on their favourite team.
The mutual sportsmanship is great, but in the end, of course, every duo wants to win the Golden Roof Hook and become Champion of the European Solar Games.
Future ambitions
As already briefly mentioned, we are already looking at expansion into France and, ideally, more countries in Europe will follow. In the future, the big dream is to bring together winners from all the different countries to compete together for the major European title.
As was our hope when we launched the event in 2019, the European Solar Games make a great contribution to a positive image of the solar sector. Esdec – an Enstall company – is very happy to have Solar & Storage Live as organising partner and are grateful to all other stakeholders who are contributing to this very first edition in the UK.
Our special thanks go to the sponsors of the inaugural UK event: Solar & Storage Birmingham (Terrapinn), Segen, CableWorld, OpusFlow and Solaredge.
You can learn more: https://europeansolargames.com/en/edition-united-kingdom/
Image credit: Esdec
