Partner Article

Intersolar 2014: Shaping the solar market of the future

The leading international exhibition for the solar industry, Intersolar Europe, took place this month and LG Solar pulled out all the stops to showcase its latest products and innovations.

More than a 1,000 exhibitors from countries all over the world presented state-of-the-art industry solutions, ranging from photovoltaics (PV) technology to energy storage. The exhibition not only gave an insight into upcoming market trends in the European solar market, such as solar thermal technologies and renewable heating systems, but also gave an overview of political developments.

Visitors to the LG Solar booth got a glimpse of the new MonoX ACe solar modules and the innovative energy storage system ESS. In combination with heating pumps and LED lighting solutions from LG Electronics, the company turned up well prepared for the next big thing in the industry: the smart home.

With the growth of the Internet of Things, consumers are growing accostumed to operating everything from their mobile devices, including controlling energy consumption in their homes. From automatically closing the blinds to adjusting the heating, homes are becoming more and more automated. And now, the solar industry is looking to combine environmentally-friendly solar solutions with home automation. LG Solar’s R&D department is working on identifying ways to combine domestic technologies in the most efficient way to provide the most beneficial outcomes for customers.

Apart from the smart home there are more trends in the solar industry to watch out for as Sven Armbrecht, Area Sales Manager at LG Solar, points out: “There is a clear shift towards higher quality and module performance in the industry. Both installers and end users are looking for a higher return on investment in solar modules.”

Armbrecht mentioned that despite the UK becoming an increasingly important market in Europe for solar photovoltaics, many installers still stick with less efficient alternatives. “Even though we had a large numbers of British visitors at our booth, we discovered that the UK still seems to be reluctant to adopt high performance modules. This is despite the fact that the UK has very comprehensive guidelines and attractive feed-in tariffs on offer.”

LG Solar demonstrated what UK installers and end users are missing out on with the new MonoX NeON series. The MonoX NeON modules offer a higher performance with 300 Watt compared to the average 250 Watt - without requiring larger modules. Higher yield on the same surface area could be of interest especially in densly populated areas such as London. In addition, the new module MonoX ACe combines peak performance with maximum flexibility for the user. An integrated LG micro-inverter can be fitted on the backside of the MonoX NeON and gets the maximum performance out of each individual module. Not only does the solar panel directly provide users with alternating current, the design also facilitates installation.

With higher performance and higher quality being the prominent trends in the market, energy storage solutions are the logical next step in the industry. Research suggests that the global industry for energy storage could grow to be worth almost £600 million over the next few years. In addition to that, energy storage solutions are estimated to generate, by 2050, savings of up to £10bn a year for UK users.

“This year’s Intersolar Europe was the perfect platform to show industry experts and users that the smart home is no longer just a vision. Additionally, high performance and quality in solar modules remains a focus point in the industry. LG is not only a one stop shop for all the necessary technologies for an energy efficient home but also provides reliable and efficient products that promise high return on investment,” says Michael Harre, Vice President of the European Solar Business Group at LG Electronics.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sven Armbrecht .