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SunPower Debuts Equinox Integrated Solar Power Solution

SunPower has introduced a residential solar solution called Equinox - a platform “in which every major component has been designed and engineered by one company to work seamlessly together.”

“This powerfully elegant solution produces 70 percent more energy with 70 percent fewer visible parts compared to conventional solar, and we’re backing it by the best combined power and product warranty in the industry,” says SunPower’s Howard Wenger.

Each Equinox system features SunPower’s solar panels, micro-inverters and InvisiMount mounting system. SunPower’s EnergyLink ecosystem is also included, enabling the tracking of energy production and consumption in real time. Moreover, Equinox installations feature a 25-year product and power warranty for the entire solar array.

“Conventional home solar design and systems can be complicated and not harmonious, with companies assembling disparate parts - each built in isolation by different manufacturers,” Wenger adds. “For homeowners, this piecemeal approach can result in decreased performance, substandard reliability, low-quality aesthetics and longer installation times. SunPower is uniquely positioned to offer a holistic solution like the SunPower Equinox system.”

SunPower also offers its Oasis Power Plant - an integrated utility solar platform - and the SunPower Helix system for commercial rooftops.

 

AlsoEnergy Offers PowerPortal For Community Solar Projects

AlsoEnergy, a Colorado-based solar monitoring solutions provider, has announced its new PowerPortal displays for community solar projects.

The company says it designed PowerPortal to provide flexible display options for today’s community solar projects. As AlsoEnergy explains, these projects, sometimes called solar gardens, are commercial-sized arrays that provide shared access to solar power for multiple electricity customers. In this way, commercial and residential end users who are not able to install a rooftop array can benefit from solar power resources.

Solar monitoring technology has been challenged to create displays and reports reflecting the complex mix of users and financial contracts in community solar projects. Generally speaking, AlsoEnergy adds, monitoring applications are built to give customers access to data from a full site, not fractional allocations within a site. The problem is further complicated when one end user may be receiving power from several allocations or when a single power purchase agreement (PPA) reseller must manage multiple customer allocations.

AlsoEnergy says its Web-based end-user display gives access to real-time production data and financial calculations for allocations within community solar projects. End users see data for their own allocations only; they cannot access data for other allocations associated with the garden.

For end users and PPAs with multiple allocations, PowerPortal makes it possible to group designated allocations into single overview displays (rather than looking at each allocation individually). The company says the PowerPortal displays can also show complete balance sheets for grouped allocations with varying time-of-use rate sheet calculations, as well as keep track of different contract start and end dates.

For those companies developing or managing community solar projects, PowerPortal offers the opportunity to customize displays with their own branding. PowerPortal displays may be paired with either of the base monitoring platforms from AlsoEnergy: PowerTrack or DECK Monitoring.

 

Eaton Unveils Aluminum DC Collection System

Eaton has added to its Crouse-Hinds series with the new Sunnector aluminum direct-current (DC) collection system, which is designed for use with 5 MW and larger-scale, grid-tied solar PV projects that incorporate fixed-tilt, ground-mount racking.

The power management company says the new system includes wire harnesses and combiner boxes meant to support DC strings made with aluminum wire, which help reduce labor and material costs by 15%, on average.

According to Eaton, the system allows installers to take advantage of lower-cost and lighter-weight aluminum wire while providing equivalent performance to copper wire. Cost savings correlate to string length, and the system is designed for applications where string run lengths are longer.

While taking advantage of the cost savings associated with aluminum harnesses, contractors have the flexibility of using standard copper-based tools for any field terminations, Eaton adds. The Sunnector aluminum DC collection system uses aluminum wires on the longest runs and copper branch terminations, which are factory assembled.

The DC collection system includes combiner box configurations up to 24 strings at 30 A and 12 strings at 60 A, with operating voltages of 1,000 V. Combiner boxes include National Electrical Manufacturers Association 4X, 4 or 3R enclosures with or without disconnects, surge protection, knockouts, and pre-installed glands.

Combiners are designed, tested and listed to the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 1741 standard for connection to the utility grid. Harnesses are listed to UL9703 and 6703. The solution also meets the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) c22.2 standard.

 

Sunrun Introduces Residential Solar Storage Product

Sunrun, a San Francisco-based residential solar installer, says it has launched its first solar energy storage offering for homeowners, Sunrun BrightBox.

According to the company, Sunrun BrightBox combines Sunrun solar power generation with smart inverter technology and home battery storage in a customized solution that provides homeowners with clean, affordable energy both day and night. Sunrun asserts that the product, which is now available to Hawaii homeowners, will help solar continue to grow nationwide and allow more consumers to save on their electric bills.

Sunrun says that Hawaii homeowners who choose Sunrun BrightBox will be prioritized for installation by their local utilities under the state’s Self-Supply Program, and the product will be offered to new solar customers through a monthly or prepaid lease for little to no money down. For homeowners who prefer to own their systems, Sunrun adds that it has cash and customized financing options, as well.

Sunrun is currently working to install Sunrun BrightBox at the home of its first customer in Honolulu, and the company expects to offer the product to homeowners in other U.S. regions later this year.

 

Meteodyn, Steadysun Partner On Production Forecasting

Meteodyn, a wind resource assessment and energy production forecast company, and Steadysun, a solar production forecast company, say they have signed a commercial and technological cooperation agreement to offer a comprehensive solution for renewable energy operators and network managers.

The partners say that for the wind and solar sectors, the issues are similar: The aim is to most closely assess production in order to efficiently use the energy produced in electrical systems. Meteodyn and Steadysun add that their software and tools have the same goal: anticipate production ups and downs to reduce uncertainty for managers and operators.

Thanks to Steadysun, Meteodyn says it will be able to complete its range of forecast services, especially in China and India, where wind forecasting is already well established.

“With this partnership, we can now provide a complete solar solution to our customers,” says Jean-Claude Houbart, CEO of Meteodyn. “Indeed, based on our experience in the development of wind energy software, we also offer a service for estimating solar resources. Steadysun allows us to complete our offer, thanks to high-quality technologies: weather forecasting models, satellite imagery, video camera and image processing on-site.”