Residential PV

China’s solar industry rebounded in 2023 after years of pandemic-related sluggishness. As the year draws to a close, pv magazine looks back at key highlights of 2023 and considers the prospects for 2024.

French wood specialist Azelán claims using Douglas wood has the advantage of being naturally rot-proof, so it does not require any treatment product and can resist for decades.

European heat pumps sales were strong in the first quarter of 2023, but this was short-lived as sales figures slid by 14% in the third quarter – a worrying reflection of 2022 figures and what could come, warns the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).

Belgian network operator Elia says its new grid map shows available capacity, in addition to existing and already reserved capacity. The map, which considers growth in residential load and generation, shows that there might still be enough free capacity for 3.3 GW of solar and 2.8 GW of storage.

A group of researchers in Belgium studied the effect of circular business models on residential solar adoption and found a link between Netflix users and consumers open to certain business models.

Polish manufacturer Corab has developed a new ground-source heat pump with several components supplied by Denmark’s Danfoss. It offers 8 kW to 16 kW of rated thermal power.

Greece aims to support the development of new, locally operated renewable energy communities with about €42 million ($45.7 million) of new funds.

Chinese manufacturer DMEGC says its rectangular wafers provide greater compatibility than traditional versions and can be easily adapted to a range of application scenarios. The biggest of the two new module product lines, designed for large-scale applications, has a power conversion efficiency of up to 22.9%.

Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) has launched a smartphone app to help consumers use more electricity at times of high renewable energy availability.

In its latest monthly column for pv magazine, the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) presents its levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) calculations for several European locations in period between 2023 and 2050. The organization forecasts that solar LCOE in Europe may fall by up to 50% by 2050.