Solimpeks hybrid PV-T technology
Now that solar has been well and truly established in Australia, clean energy installers would be wise to expand their skills and product offering to remain competitive. Dimi Kyriakou reports on a new hybrid technology that combines PV and solar thermal into one simple solution.
For those electricians who may be finding it difficult to convince their clients to install photovoltaic (PV) panels in such a turbulent market, we have come across a new type of clean energy technology that has been installed successfully throughout Australia.
Essentially, it combines both PV and solar thermal into one simple product.
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The hybrid PV-T solution consists of PV panels to generate electricity and solar thermal technology for water heating in one sleek unit that fits neatly onto a roof. It can be used in residential, commercial and light industrial applications.
The product is the brainchild of Solimpeks, a global leader within the solar thermal market with over 40 years’ experience in developing, manufacturing and distributing European-made solar collectors and accessories.
According to Solimpeks Australasia co-director Toby Greenane, the hybrid PV-T technology has been sold in Australia over the last two years.
“About 10 years ago we started looking at the influence that heat has on PV. One of the common misconceptions with PV is that the hotter it is, the better it will perform. In actual fact, for every degree rise in ambient temperature above 25°C, you get 0.4% degradation in a PV panel’s efficiency,” Toby explains.
“We started to look into how to take that heat away from the PV cells to maintain the PV efficiency while creating useable solar thermal energy, which is the really difficult part of PV-T technology.”
The hybrid PV-T solution from Solimpeks is the product of five years of research and development and subsequent testing and accreditation in Europe and the United Kingdom. Since breaking into the Australian market, the PV-T hybrid system has achieved Clean Energy Council accreditation along with WaterMark accreditation.
This was a particularly difficult feat considering that, previously, no standard for hybrid collectors existed in Australia.
“We had to work closely with the regulator to manage that process effectively and get to market,” Toby explains.
“There are a number of benefits to PV-T technology. You’ve got one system, one install, and they’re pretty good looking panels. You’re getting about 15% more PV output in a year just by keeping the panels cool, particularly in summer.”
Currently, Solimpeks dealers have installed systems in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. While there are some commercial jobs in the pipeline in Australia, it is currently used in many residential heating applications as well as swimming pool heating which, according to Toby, takes up a sizeable chunk of the market.
“There are over one million swimming pools in Australia and about 15,000 new builds every year. Swimming pool owners are the least represented in the PV market – now there is a solution where they can have pool heating using far less roof space than they would if they had traditional pool heating with the added benefit of PV.”
How it works
Considering it’s a new technology, the hybrid PV-T system manages to work in a simple way. Solimpeks re-engineered its existing copper, flat plate solar thermal technology to create a system that could produce maximum thermal energy and sufficient heat dissipation.
“Cold water goes through the back of the collector through a series of copper risers, sitting behind a copper absorber plate, so it’s taking the heat away from the PV and maintaining the panel’s PV efficiency. As a result, that water can then be used to heat either a swimming pool or heat your domestic hot water, for instance.”
The good news for electricians is that the installation process is fairly straightforward.
You can install the panels in the same way as a standard PV installation; the only difference being that the panels in a hybrid PV-T system sit in landscape rather than portrait to accommodate their solar thermal function.
From there, a plumber is called to connect the system to the hot water outlets in the home and/or pool.
Even though no specialist training is required for the installation, Toby explains that Solimpeks does conduct a briefing for dealers when they sign up.
“We take a hands-on approach to training. There are some small nuances to the installation, but certainly nothing difficult. We do take control of that to help our dealers so their first install is easier,” he says.
As part of this process, dealers are often taken to a residential installation in Killara, New South Wales, to demonstrate how the technology is installed. This 2kW system was the first accredited hybrid PV-T solar install in Australia and the site is often used as a test and reference point for the company.
“For us, it’s about taking some of the mystique away from the panels and their installation. More often than not, people approach it as a new technology and think it is going to be incredibly complex, when in actual fact it’s not,” Toby explains.
The technology can also be tailored to suit a particular solution by manipulating flow rates.
“The panels are quite valuable in that sense. For swimming pool heating, we can manipulate flow rates through the panels to make sure that in summer the flow rate is higher so we’re not overheating the pool.
Conversely in the cooler months, the flow rate is lower to ensure the water is spending more time in the panels and picking up more energy so we’re heating the pool,” he says.
“In those types of scenarios, the hottest panel in the array won’t be over 45-50°C, particularly on a hot summer’s day, which is unique given that most PV operates at 20-30°C above the ambient temperature, hitting temperatures of up to 75°C.”
At the moment, Solimpeks has dealers in about 30 locations across Australia and financing options are available. Toby says the company is always on the lookout for dealers.
“We’re very interested in speaking to people and partnering with the right organisations.
“We don’t want to create a situation similar to the one that the PV market went through recently where it was a race to the bottom through an oversupply of dealers. You couldn’t compete on the cost of hardware so people had to compete on the cost of the install and corners were cut.
We’re quite particular in protecting our brand and the quality of installations being done through having the right partnerships,” he says.
“Hybrid PV-T technology provides the benefits of both PV and solar thermal. It is a little bit more expensive than standard PV but you’re getting a lot from it as well. I’m in no doubt that we’ll see more people entering into the marketplace with this type of technology.
“We’re not here to take over the PV or solar thermal market. We’re creating a new market space. We are the third option.”
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