Ecobuild...What did you learn?

[finchy]

I went today too ...I was looking at other renewable technologies. I know what I need to know about solar for now, some marketing advice would have been good, people are talking it up but its easy for me to talk solar to our suppliers just wouldn't mind talking to new customers..........

Spoke to sanyo/panasonic bird I said her prices need to drop, I sense prices may come down in April.

Saw the Romag roof integrated systems, very impressive !

REAL audit tomorrow !

 

[SRE]

REAL audit tomorrow !

Good luck.

 

[Manny]

I had a chance of speaking with schletter guys about the end spacers and the nuts that are not secure and require 2 hands to assemble. I had a German solar roofer working with us and he said that schletter was awkward, he said big companies in Germany are working with smarter locking systems without lose nuts.


So I was pleased to see K2, with springs and looking system, self-treaded parts. I thought it was much easier to work with. I am still waiting for prices to compare cost benefit. I want to test it in a 45[FONT=&quot]º[/FONT] install soon and see how it goes…


I saw an unusual Solar panel that you can plug strait to the grid, has a normal plug in the end. There was also a company that made a solar thermal unit with solar PV in one, so they claim is the ideal as the PV gets hotter and start losing efficiency, the water circulating from the thermal system would control its temperature… Interesting concept however I think it’s far away from being adopt by big manufacturers.


I spoke with a Chinese Inverter manufacturer, and I found very attractive prices, some ½ of SMAs, and 20 YEARS WARRANTY. The truth is the Chinese have the money today, and they will be paying to get their products on top, 20 years warranty is a very good appeal.

Overall the show was fantastic, really worth to visit!

 

[TedM]

I saw an unusual Solar panel that you can plug strait to the grid, has a normal plug in the end.

If you mean a 13A plug then these would not conform to current UK regs as this type of connection is not allowed for microgeneration.

 

[Somecamel]

I saw this as well, the lady that was manning the stand didn't seem interested in explaining how it worked though.

It had a box with space for 4 panels connecting directly into it. Appeared to not need an inverter

 

[tlsambo]

I've been told those PV / Thermal panels rear their ugly head every now and again in the industry then everyone realises they're a crap idea. If you think about it, air cooled by the wind is better as there is no restriction on the heat being dispersed from the PV. To use the water to heat more water is daft as it would only be around 5 degrees hotter than when it went in.

I have had chance to run some of the Solar PV panel manufacturers I discovered at the show through PV Sol. Sovello came out quite good as did Jinko. Jetion PV is a bit below Suntech, however they've worked out well on some installs if there's a bit of shading.

Still got REC and Winaico topping the pile. If anyone else finds some high performers please can you share?

 

[Noshocks]

I just got back from there, the promo girls are the only thing that sticks in the mind for me, I must have got bored looking at module after module, nothing much new, apart from Mr Ploughcofts muscles bigger every time i go to an exhibition, perhaps Deborah Meeden likes her men Big!

 

[JulianC]

Just remembered spotting these on my wanders: Solar Limpets - Home Page

Spent the following hour trying to locate a barge pole to not touch them with.

 

[SolarCity]

I remember seeing those. I thought the plain tile ones were a good idea. The slate ones are a bit baffling though.

 

[Noshocks]

Just remembered spotting these on my wanders: Solar Limpets - Home Page

Spent the following hour trying to locate a barge pole to not touch them with.

When i walked passed this guy he was having to justify them costing £5.50 each to a punter, when lead probably costs less to use.

I just had another look, ythose werent the ones I saw, they were vacuum formed bits of plastic, these ones actually look better!

 

[JulianC]

Yeah, the ones I saw didn't look terribly tough and some on the stand were bolted through the tiles. They also had a 'mounting solution' that was simply a hanger bolt, again drilled through a tile, and fitted with a not terribly well fitting rubber skirt that was cable tied on. Wonder if they're aware of MCS012?

At the opposite end of the spectrum was the Redland roof hook - hewn from kryptonite in the devil's own smithy in the fires of hell (well, Swindon). OK, not quite but they are incredibly heavy, bulky and dare I say it, a wee bit OTT.

Think I'll stick with K2 for now...

 

[SolarCity]

Wonder if they're aware of MCS012?...

Funny you should say that. I heard a guy ask one of their guys something along those lines. The answer wasn't exactly convincing.

The plain tile replacement looks a good idea to me - do you think it'd be a tad flimsy?

 

[JulianC]

Dunno. My initial thoughts were that they might be susceptible to damage from over-tightening the fixings or standing on them. How would they react to repeated thermal expansion or contraction? UV resistant but for 25 years? Might well be fine but a plastic roof hook just seems wrong!!

 

[SibertSolar]

Just back now, completely exhausted and feet are killing me! However, we had a great few days and it was really good to meet a few of you guys on here - my thanks to everyone who took the time to come and say hi, really enjoyed chatting to you all. Lots of work to do now but really pleased with all the activity. We had some new products on display which raised a lot of interest, which I'll be releasing info about on our website and elsewhere soon. Keep an eye out for the new AC/DC switch enclosure from Santon, the new PV150 MCS Test Kit from Seaward Solar and possibly/hopefully some updates soon about inverters and mounting systems!

 

[Eco Deal]

so no new tech that will impress our customers and get them to say wow wee