Burn Some Daylight

Was at Intersolar--the single largest B2B solar event in the world.  I am currently negotiating on module and BOS supply for the jobs we have in the pipeline, and figured Intersolar would be where I could see everyone I needed to see as well as understand firsthand industry trends.

Germany installs 12x the amount of PV that we do, their industry and their technology are years ahead of us, and at this point, they are the global leader. 

Most of the module manufacturers look to sell their product in Germany or Spain first, California is a third or fourth choice.  And the fact that one € is $1.37 at current rates reminds me that I am competing for resources in a global market.

The supply constraints of the last eighteen months are easing. I was able to get some great pricing and look forward to passing this along to our clientele.

...on my next project.  I met with Ertex Solar when I was in Freiburg in June about their building integrated photovoltaic product.  Glass--glass modules with architectural grade solar cells from Sunways--they call it PV Glass.  The interstitial LED's were a little over the top, but the modules were beautiful. 

Only problem is that the modules are not UL 1703 listed, and Ertex is not planning to do so because of the custom nature of their fabrications.  We would need a UL Field Evaluation if we were using these modules to generate power.

PV is the sizzle that sells green architecture.  I am thinking about a new way of signifying how a building wants to meet its triple bottom line responsibilities.  Visual cues and feedback through the property's information system is a key element of showing how we meet this responsibility.

...was a module junction box that significantly improves module safety by using a high frequency signal from the inverter to say when to provide power to the inverter.  Called the Coolbox, I can't wait for it to be available here.  RES is developing this needed system component. 

A potential problem here in California is that fire departments do not like power sources that they cannot disconnect in case of fire. Unless it is dark out, it is really difficult to bring one of my systems to a zero voltage state.  Unlike grid power that the fire department can disconnect with one arm while holding a firehose with the other [the "five finger" rule], my systems are energized as long as the sun is up.

The Coolbox short circuits a module's positive and negative poles using a transistor.  This continues until the inverter tells it to send power by a separate high-frequency signal, forcing the transistor to switch to a non-conducting state, thereby applying module voltage across the poles.

Sometimes it is the little things that make a big difference.