What To See At EcoBuild

As major players in the African pico-solar market met in Dakar in November 2012 for the World Bank Lighting Africa Conference, it emerged that SunnyMoney, SolarAid's ambitious not-for-profit trading arm, has become the biggest last mile seller of solar lights in Africa ahead of oil giant, Total. This progress is the culmination of many years' work by the charity SolarAid. 

SolarAid realised early on that the only way to get rid of toxic and expensive kerosene as the main form of lighting in rural Africa was by creating a pan-African market for solar lights, similar to the explosive growth of the mobile phones market across the continent over the last decade. So, to meet their target of getting "A Clean Light in Every Home in Africa by 2020" in order to eradicate kerosene - SolarAid founded SunnyMoney to develop a unique distribution model putting top quality, reliable pico-solar lights within reach of those who need them most. The charity's strategy has been to build the solar light market, rather than restricting themselves to smaller aid programmes. This forward-thinking approach is now paying off, as SunnyMoney reports that light sales have topped 294,000 in just three years, with a 596% increase in sales between 2011 and 2012. They now have a million sales in their sights for 2013.

Distributing at such an impressive scale is something a charity alone would be unable to achieve. Whilst acknowledging that aid has its place, this commercial approach ultimately will have significantly more scope for creating wholesale social change. SunnyMoney's strategy - and challenge - has been to "˜think commercially' in order to distribute small solar lights in remote rural regions "“ beyond retail outlets and petrol stations "“ via the trusted education network, which means the solar message goes straight to the heart of the communities most dependent on kerosene. SolarAid firmly believes investing in Africa through social business is the best solution to mending market failure, and their SunnyMoney approach is delivering a solution that will change the fortunes of millions at the bottom of the fuel pyramid.

SolarAid has demonstrated the huge impact intelligent philanthropy can have in seed funding market solutions with a massive social impact, and has found that its "˜mending market failure' message has huge resonance with donors, many of whom are disillusioned with the limits of traditional aid approaches, or excited by the prospect of what such an entrepreneurial approach could achieve. 

SolarAid's approach has massively escalated end-user reach and impact, and found enormous support from forward-thinking donors - from major organisations, such as Barclays and Man Group, right down to individual donors, including schoolchildren collecting pocket money. SolarAid's strategic approach goes beyond distribution.

Most importantly, SolarAid has proven that people prefer the option to work, save and invest their way out of poverty rather than accept hand-outs. With a $10 price tag and a 5 year life span, the lights have been shown to deliver a return on investment within a month "“ but are physically and financially beyond the reach of many. 

Naturally, SolarAid is delighted its brain-child, SunnyMoney, has grown from a small trading arm to a viable operation, knocking an oil multinational into second place. We're more delighted that those impact results exceed every expectation. Together, SolarAid and SunnyMoney are proving that we don't just know how to sell lights that change lives at scale, we're also proving that well-planned, focused social enterprises can be powerful in changing the fortunes of an entire continent.

The Swiss company Sputnik Engineering will present its latest solutions for smaller PV plants of up to 8kW, such as the new SolarMax P series or the SolarMax 8MT2 inverter, part of the successful SolarMax MT series. Furthermore, a new cost-optimised solution in the product portfolio for megawatt-scale PV plants can be seen for the first time. 

The new outdoor solution facilitates ground-mounted installations and delivers highest yields through flexible tracking possibilities. 

The new SolarMax P series inverters (output power from 2 to 5kW) are designed specifically to meet the needs of roof-mounted systems on single homes or apartment buildings. Their special features include a dual tracker concept (4000P, 4600P, 5000P) whereby difficult conditions such as east-west arrangements or an odd number of modules can be mastered without any problems. Passive cooling through natural convection assures high operational availability as this system makes the devices less prone to malfunctions and failures. The P series reaches efficiencies of up to 98% and will be available as of June 2013. 

The new three-phase 8MT2 inverter, with an output power of 8kW completes the SolarMax MT series and is an ideal solution for smaller private PV plants. With this addition the SolarMax MT series now offers a comprehensive portfolio that can be used to perfectly implement both domestic plants and decentralized large-scale plants. The inverter is certified with the G83/1-1 certificate for easy and quick connection to the public grid in the UK.The Met Office, UK's national weather service in Exeter, has a system using SolarMax MT2 inverters. 

The plant is one of the largest roof-mounted solar installations in the UK. Another notable reference is the 250kW PV system on top of the Gunwharf Quays Shopping Centre in Portsmouth. 

The installation saves approximately 106 tons of CO2 each year through the use of solar energy. "The UK is a growing market for SolarMax", said Daniel Freudiger, General Manager of Sputnik Engineering International AG. "Several market research institutions recently forecast that PV will be a booming sector in the coming years. We are happy to be able to foster this growth and help the market to reach the UK government's goal of 22GW of installed capacity by 2020. Our broad product range is suited to optimize the yields of PV installations with very diverse characteristics, from small-scale home installations to megawatt solar parks.

Mastervolt will present the completely new generation of compact Soladin inverters at Ecobuild 2013. The new Soladin Web series is made in Holland and ideal for smaller PV systems. The range is designed to meet building code requirements in the UK and consists of three inverters with capacities of 700W, 1000W and 1500W. The new inverter series has integrated Wi-Fi. Using the new and free IntelliWeb Internet portal, owners can monitor their solar systems from anywhere at any time.

The Mastervolt design philosophy allows for a simple and flexible installation of the new Soladin. Thanks to their integrated HF transformer and the wide input voltage range, the inverters can be used with all PV modules and any kind of solar roof tiles. For quick and easy installation, every Soladin Web is equipped with "˜quick connect' AC terminals and safe DC connectors.

In spite of the inverters' compact size, the new Soladin series boasts all eight features of the Mastervolt IntelliConcept. These include the intelligent startup procedure IntelliStart, which extends the annual operating time by up to 200 hours. IntelliGrid reduces production losses in case of voltage dips in the grid and IntelliShade ensures high yields even in conditions of temporary shading. The performance of the smart IntelliTrack has been simulated and tested with results of 99.9% static MPPTefficiency and a 99.7% dynamic MPPT efficiency. The silent IntelliCool system ensures stable high efficiency and constant high power. Taken together, these features result in up to 5% more energy production compared with systems without the IntelliConcept.

It can be a costly ordeal when a PV plant malfunctions, especially if the problem is not noticed right away. The Solar-Log monitoring system helps reduce yield losses and offers additional functions that help increase the operating efficiency of a PV plant.

A PV plant can operate without monitoring. However, neither a total breakdown nor a gradual decline in yield would be immediately detected and reported to the operator. Without monitoring, there is also no option to keep a record of solar yields. 

These tasks are carried out by the data logger, the heart of a monitoring system. A major distinction made here is between data loggers that work only with inverters and inverter dependent modules from one particular manufacturer. 

Independent systems like Solar-Log manufactured by Solare Datensysteme  have a major advantage in monitoring plants with inverters from different manufacturers.  

Thanks to "Easy Installation," connecting the Solar-Log to the inverters is quick and easy. This provides the data logger with extensive information ranging from the status to error messages. If the Solar-Log detects errors at the plant based on performance deviations, the operator is immediately informed by text message (SMS) or e-mail. To precisely determine a malfunction, the monitoring system compares the yields between inverters or individual strings. Thanks to this detailed information that provides important indications as to the cause of the fault, plants can be quickly repaired. The losses resulting from a partial or total breakdown are kept to a minimum for the plant owner.

A wide range of high performance electrical solar power connectors and junction boxes are being highlighted by Multi-Contact at this year's Ecobuild exhibition. The company's MC3 and MC4 plug connectors for linking PV arrays snap together to form a highly reliable connection thanks to their use of Multilam technology. They are suitable for cable cross-sections up to 10 mm^2.

Also on show will be the MC4PLUS connector, which has a similar specification but is pre-assembled with cables with cross-sections of 1.5, 2.5, 4 or 6 mm2. It is rated for currents up to 30 A and voltages up to 1000 Vdc.  Designed for the automated production of thin film modules, Multi-Contact's TwinBox is a compact PV junction box. Its size is made possible by integrating the MC4 technology within the box, which also minimises the amount of potting compound required. 

Another junction box is the Westlake, now also available with a vertical connection geometry. Its low profile allows it to be installed directly under the solar module frame, saving installation time by removing the need to bend the connecting ribbons.  Additional protection is provided by the projecting cover, which prevents the cables from kinking where they exit the cable sleeves.

Avasco Solar will be exhibiting at Eco-Build 2013 for the third consecutive year. 

Part of the wider Avasco Industries company based in Belgium, they are specialists in sheet metal processing and manufacturing and have operations across Europe. As part of this, Avasco Solar manufacture and distribute a wide range of low-ballast mounting frames and other mounting kit products for large scale commercial PV projects.

90MW of PV has been installed across Europe using Avasco Solar products. Despite a challenging 2012 in the UK, they have also supplied around 5MW over the last 2 years. They are also excited about the launch of their new SolarTop bracket into the market, to complement our existing range of highly flexible low-ballast mounting frames (in terms of angles available, clamping options, landscape/portrait, etc). 

They have taken a simple but expertly engineered product and made it even simpler, easier to install and more cost-effective for PV installers and distributors.  SolarTop incorporates even less components than their standard frame, but is still incredibly robust, so integrity is not compromised. By standing on it, you will see what they mean!