With Solar PV installations increasing in many countries and the realisation that the old myths around the technology as expensive and uncompetitive are being disproved, attention for many now has turned to the on-going efficiencies of modules and if they are delivering what they set out to.
Until recently solar installations primarily involved a site survey which took into consideration irradiation at the site; now consumers are asking about on-going efficiencies of the modules based on irritation and power generation over time; how much energy is the site consuming and when is it exporting to the grid, this is of particular interest to many industrial and domestic consumers, particularly as part of on-going energy audits and responsibilities around carbon reduction.
The new Electrocorder Products for Renewables include the PV-3 for measuring Solar Irradiance and Solar Panel output energy will record minimum, average and maximum irradiance 0-1500m-2; the RE-2VAD will additionally measure the directional flow of energy generated, whether it is being imported or exported to the grid.
The SR-1R is a solar irradiation logger for use in proposed installation sites and the DC-3VA is perfect for measuring the energy output of a solar panel, this product is also often used in the measurement of charging battery cells. The Electrocorder product range is renowned for its simplicity and accuracy in recording data over set periods of time alongside top quality Electrosoft software for data analysis. The memory capacity of the data loggers is 32,000 TRMS voltage values per channel (10 bit) which can give up to 300 days of continuous recording (depending on set up criteria).
The advantage of Electrocorder products over most others is that the Loggers constantly sample information recording the minimum, maximum and average over the set period; many other products available on the market only take snap shots of what is going on and can miss 99.9% of the data that is critical to analysis. The company ethos is to provide easy to use electrical measurement equipment with excellent software analysis at a conservative cost; all products are backed up with a 12 month back to base warranty and on-going software support with free licencing for multiple users.
Consumers around the world become more aware of the economic benefits of Solar PV as a solid renewable energy source, the level of electricity being generated is constantly on the rise Record amounts of electricity are being fed into the grid from photovoltaics, supplying 10% of Germanys electricity required in May alone said Martin Green in an exclusive interview for PV Magazine June 2012.
The International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme have reported of the 22 participating countries Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, there has been an average 77% increase on cumulative installed capacity since 2010, this represented some 61311 MW cumulatively in 2011.
The UK saw the largest percentage increase (1168%) on 2010 having PV installations of 899MW in 2011 giving a cumulative installed capacity of 976MW. Given this dramatic increase in the local market, Acksen have experienced a driving need from customers who have turned to the company looking for solutions based on their extensive reputation and experience in producing tools for the measurement of Voltage and Current, particularly in the Voltage Optimisation Sector.
Speaking at the launch of the product suite, Managing Director Keith Stafford said This is a natural progression for our product development, we were confident from the outset that we could deliver what the market needed. We worked with a number of external agencies to determine specific requirements ensuring that we could add value to the process of monitoring and recording Photovoltaic installations; specifically providing accurate and factual data around efficiencies over time. This area of efficiency is definitely an issue which will become prominent in consumers conscience as time progresses, questions will be asked in time regarding returns on investment and meeting obligations around reducing C02 emissions; now Electrocorder can offer the answers to questions about efficiency.
