Smarter E Products: Vertical PV system for green rooftops

“Our system is specially designed for green roofs in areas where there are strict height limitations to the buildings or where there are limitations to the visual appearance on the roof structure,” CEO  Trygve Mongstad told pv magazine.

The system is based on heterojunction solar cell technology with an efficiency of 22% and a bifaciality of up to 90%. Its temperature coefficient is -0.26 C.

“The mini modules are from our suppliers, we cannot disclose details at the moment, but we are working with suppliers both in Europe and Asia,” said Mongstad. “Currently, we are doing assembly at locations in Norway and Spain, and the units for our pilot installations so far are 100% manufactured in Europe, including the solar panels.” 

Called HM–1 QUATTRO–220S, the system creates a 10 cm distance from the rooftop to the lower edge of the solar panels, which will be suitable for the bulk of green roofs with sedum plants.

“The product is also easy to retrofit on existing green roofs, where there is a total of tens of millions of square meters available, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but also in Scandinavia and other European countries,” said Mongstad.

The units consist of a mounting system and solar panels in a single pre-assembled piece, which the manufacturer said makes them very fast to mount. The geometry with low-building vertical panels has no or very low need for fastening or ballast, which further simplifies the mounting job. Each unit measures 1,600 mm x 1,510 mm x 350 mm and weighs 24.5 kg. It also features an IP68 enclosure rating and 3.2 mm double-tempered glass.

“The mounting systems are made of aluminum and provide support for each panel, while also tying together the installation as a whole for better wind load performance,” Mongstad said. 

The system is sold with a 12-year product warranty and a 25-year performance warranty.

“The great benefit for the customer will be that our warranty also includes the mounting system, not only the solar panel,” said Mongstad. “The building owners and building planners we talk to especially appreciate the accessibility to the rooftop for maintenance after mounting, as it is easy to walk around in the installation and move single or multiple units if local maintenance of the roofing membrane below is needed. This comes in addition to the valuable energy production profile, as well as other benefits such as a low roof load of 10 kg/m2.”

The company wants to sell its systems in Europe in 2022 and 2023, with a focus on Scandinavia and northern Europe.

The new product will be on display at booth A4.254 at the Smarter E trade show.