Solar 67
There won’t be many readers of REI that haven’t cast their eyes over the recent Which? report which highlighted certain aspects of the way solar PV is sold. But how did the industry view the magazine’s findings? By Lu Rahman
As part of a major £61m investment, including a new 18,000 sq m educational building for its students, East Surrey College has installed 1050 Kingspan Renewables Thermomax solar thermal vacuum tubes to service its annual hot water needs, which significantly cut carbon emissions and lower energy costs.
A model of sustainability, the new landmark building in Redhill has been awarded a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good,’ with the large-scale solar thermal installation complemented by rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, a wood chip fuelled biomass boiler and translucent cladding panels for thermal insulation and high levels of natural daylight.
Enecsys has teamed with Ember to bring wireless ZigBee communications to roof-top solar PV systems so that households and businesses can better monitor and optimize their systems’ performance.
Enecsys has integrated Ember’s ZigBee system-on-chip (SoC) and ZigBee PRO software into its SMI series of micro inverters, which convert the DC output of solar panels into AC for connection to the electricity grid. Unlike traditional centralized string inverters, Enecsys’ micro inverters connect to each module of a solar PV system, or each pair of modules in the case of the “Duo” product. They deliver better energy harvest, higher reliability, longer life expectancy, and greater solar PV design flexibility.
According to Siliken, using the SLK72M6L or the SLK72P6L means installing 20 per cent fewer modules to obtain the same power
The company claims to have carried out another step forward in terms of research and development with these 280Wp modules. Efficiency is up to 15.7 per cent for the polycrystallines and up to 16 per cent for the monocrystallines. This high quality and reliability of the modules guarantees a quick return on the investment in any photovoltaic installation, either residential, industrial or on a solar farm, says the company.
According to Schueco UK, the Schueco PowerHouse is a complete PV solar energy system in a box.
PTS has launched a comprehensive Renewables Brochure to help installers make the right choices when it comes to specifying energy efficient products.
Carlo Gavazzi has extended its solar energy portfolio with new surge protection devices that provide backup protection without internal fuses. The innovative DSF surge arrestors embody a special internal backup that ensures they remain safe at the end of varistor life, ensuring safe transient overvoltage protection for combiner boxes in photovoltaic systems.
Enecsys is offering a cost-saving 480W duo micro inverter for solar PV modules
The duo concept connects two solar PV modules with power point tracking for maximised energy harvest at no cost premium over string inverters.
Dimplex is extending choices in solar thermal water heating, with the launch of the SOLC201 flat plate collector, which it says provides a cost-effective way to start enjoying low cost, low carbon hot water.
The SOLC201 is solar keymark approved, meaning that it will be eligible for the financial incentives available under the Renewable Heat Incentive.
Daikin UK is continuing to work with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme by achieving accreditation for its Low Temperature Integrated Split System.
The newly accredited Daikin Altherma Low Temperature Split System – which has been designed to provide an all-in-one, renewable solution – is already proven to reduce carbon emissions from heating and hot water provision when compared with other traditional systems. In this solution, the floor standing indoor hydrobox and stainless steel unvented cylinder are integrated into one neat package.
Cyntech Components, electro-mechanical components supplier, has launched a universal junction box for silicon-wafer solar PV modules that can be quickly customised to suit each application. It comes with three surface-mounted bypass diodes as standard but up to six can be installed. There is a choice of soldered or crimpled contacts, and the boxes can accommodate standard ribbon cables or non-ribbon crossing cables. This easy customisation means that only one type of box has to be stocked to meet the requirements of a variety of applications.