Although it has not fully returned to the "before COVID" era, the past year feels like normal solar installation activities have resumed. The project is still in progress, and now more attention is paid to product improvements to achieve more remote accessibility and less downtime. Energy-independent energy storage has also received more attention, accelerating markets that are already on the verge of mainstream acceptance.

Many new products were quietly released in 2021 because of the lack of fanfare related to launching new products at trade shows and conferences. The editors of Solar Power World track everything and pick out our favorite new products for the US market from the past year. We are very happy and eager to see the products in person at the 2022 trade show, here are a series of products that we will look at soon.

These are just some of our favorites, so be sure to visit our online database for a broader list of top products for 2021.

As shown by Aerocompact's CompactGround

Ground-mounted solar arrays traditionally use rack structures to raise solar modules several feet or higher from the ground. This is a tried and tested method of solar installation, but for many reasons—such as zoning regulations, material costs, and even neighbors who don’t approve of seeing solar—customers may decide that they prefer low shelves. If a roof is not possible, there are options for smaller solar racks on the ground, similar to the options on a flat roof system.

Aerocompact, an Austrian manufacturer of solar structures, has developed CompactGround, a thin shelf solution. When CompactGround is at the highest point, there is a 40 cm gap between the panel and the ground. The compact footprint and lower profile also bring the benefits of reduced wind exposure. In the industry’s supply chain issues, Aerocompact provides shelf solutions with lower transportation and material costs. The company claims that one truck can hold CompactGround shelves up to 1 MW.

The system can be installed facing south or east-west. It is fixed on the ground using ballast blocks or grounding screws, and does not require heavy machinery for installation. The flexible foundation of CompactGround allows it to adapt to uneven ground. The CompactGround designed by Aerocompact can be deployed quickly and uses only three main components, making it ideal for temporary installation scenarios. It is suitable for kilowatt-level and larger-scale expansions, and is expected to achieve higher output in the same footprint as traditional solar ground installation projects.

As shown in Enphase's IQ8

Solar customers generally believe that if the grid fails, a roof system alone is sufficient to provide backup power. Usually, if there is no battery paired with the system, the situation is different. But due to the breakthrough of micro-inverters, if the grid fails, solar projects without batteries can actually provide backup power—at least during the day.

"This is the first time you can use all the solar energy you are manufacturing, and frankly, most people think solar energy has done it," said Robert Pierce, Enphase's senior director of product communications and content.

Enphase's highly anticipated IQ8 microinverter will begin shipping in December 2020. The inverters use chip technology to isolate the home during daytime power outages, but they must be paired with the Enphase system controller to perform this function.

Customers can choose to add storage devices later to maintain the power supply in their homes even in the absence of sunlight. The Enphase energy system with IQ8 has four different configurations-solar only, solar backup without battery, Home Essentials backup with small battery, and Full Energy Independence with large battery. Pierce said that regardless of the backup power requirements and budget, this kind of building blocks will help make storage available to more people.

“Before IQ8, it was challenging to properly manage customer expectations for battery design and size constraints and explain the different options,” said Aimee Carpenter, CEO of installation companies Solterra Solar and Good Energy Solar, in a press release. "Let customers start using Enphase batteries of any size and grow over time, which will make it possible for more of our customers to use solar energy as a backup battery."

As seen in Fimer's PVS-260/PVS-300

In the past, utility-scale solar installers had to choose between two very different inverter architectures—monolithic central inverters or decentralized string inverters. Now they have the best of both worlds with a centralized string inverter skid.

Fimer concentrates all its utility-scale resources on the upcoming modular PVS-260/PVS-300 inverter skids for centralized projects. These units are composed of many string inverters, but they are pre-assembled and tested in the factory, and then hoisted to the site like a central inverter. The company says these flexible units also make storage integration simple.

"As the utility sector is expected to grow significantly in the next few years, we want to provide a solution to maximize the return on investment of traditional system architecture and all other emerging system arrangements (including storage) while maintaining modularity The basic value of the company,” said Maren Schmidt, managing director of the Fimer utility line in a press release.

Due to its modular nature and maintainability, string inverters are generally more popular than central inverters. In the event of a failure, the project will only lose a small portion of its electricity production, not a large chunk. In addition, it is much easier to repair or replace small string inverters than large central inverters that require well-trained engineers to perform repairs.

Marco Trova, Fimer's senior global product manager, said that this focus on string inverters will also make Fimer more flexible in adapting to new project voltages and technologies. Manufacturers no longer need to keep outdated parts to repair large central units—instead, they can update string inverters as needed and send out the entire unit relatively easily when technology changes.

The company expects its first installation in the United States to take place in the third quarter of 2022.

As shown by Siemens' FDA241 lithium ion exhaust gas detector

The possibility of thermal runaway (short circuit and fire caused by rising operating temperature) of lithium batteries is very small, especially when the rating and installation of the energy storage system comply with UL and NFPA standards. But accidents happen occasionally, and the best way to prevent battery-related fires is to detect thermal runaway before things get out of control.

The hard part is actually identifying the thermal runaway before it happens. Traditional fire detection and fire suppression systems (smoke detectors, sprinklers) need smoke to function, but the smoke in the lithium battery device means that thermal runaway has begun. However, just before smoking, lithium batteries will begin to release gas as they age. Detecting exhaust gas and distinguishing it from dust, smoke, and other airborne particles is essential for battery safety devices, especially when large energy storage sites are trying to avoid false alarms and downtime.

The Siemens FDA241 aspirating smoke detector can handle all of these and more by using blue and red wavelengths to detect exhaust particles generated in the early stages of battery failure and overheating. The dual wavelength enables the device to distinguish dust, steam, smoke, and exhaust particles, thereby instructing the device to respond accordingly to the problem. For places with high dust concentration in the air, FDA241 uses air filters and "purge function" to blow back dust particles and keep the equipment clean and focus on exhaust gas detection. Thermal runaway may be rare, but it is better to be safe than regret.

As shown by Solaria's PowerXT 430R-PL

Due to technological progress and manufacturing improvements, the rated power of solar panels is rising rapidly. For some time, in utility-scale applications, the power of the module has exceeded 400 W, mainly due to larger wafers, larger panel sizes and additional double-sided gain. Unfortunately, if the market wants to insist on products that one person can install on steep roofs, the modules used in residential roof projects cannot take advantage of these three advancements.

But some module manufacturers are looking for a different way to increase power. Solaria has not yet switched to larger wafers for its new PowerXT 430R-PL module series. On the contrary, Solaria continues to improve the shingling method of module production, superimposing the fifth cut of the battery into a horizontal strip to obtain the maximum power output. The shingled battery and conductive adhesive that replace the bus bar allow the PowerXT module to install more unimpeded silicon within its frame, thereby increasing power and efficiency. PowerXT 430R-PL has a power of 430 W and an efficiency of 20.4%, which is slightly larger than the traditional 60-cell panel size.

Other companies have recently released more than 400 W modules for the DG market through a similar process called shingling or tiling, including JinkoSolar (415 W), LG (405 W) and REC (405 W). More powerful modules can still be carried on the ladder by one person and installed on the roof, which is a victory for the installation company and the customer. The company completed higher-rated projects with fewer roof installers, and customers received more returns.

As seen in SunBrush Mobil Lift in SunBrush

If the solar panel is installed outdoors (when not to install it), it will undoubtedly accumulate debris. Everything from dust to bird droppings will cover the solar modules, resulting in reduced output and dissatisfaction with the system owner. The task of cleaning solar modules is easy to complete on the ground, but cleaning the dust on the roof or carport is a completely different challenge.

When hoses or rain are not enough to keep solar panels clean in hard-to-reach places, you can use SunBrush's Mobil Lift. This German solar photovoltaic cleaning system supplier entered the US market in early 2021 and brought a series of rotating brush accessories specially designed for solar panel cleaning. These brushes are installed on common machinery on construction sites.

The Lift model is installed on the bottom of the platform on a hydraulic bucket truck or a crane with an artificial platform. The person operating the platform can also control the rotating brush of the Lift. With just a joystick, the cleaner can be telescopically guided along the row of panels installed at a high place. The brush has a built-in sprinkler that can remove dust, pollution buildup, snow, moss and algae from the surface of the solar panel. They come standard with the company's patented "WashTronic" floating system, which is used in conjunction with a warning system to ensure proper pressure is applied to the panel. With Lift, the brush is 14 inches. The diameter and length are from 6 to 10 feet.

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