Panasonic to demonstrate solar module and battery storage innovations at Intersolar
Panasonic Eco Solutions will be demonstrating two new products at Intersolar Europe, which takes place between 10th and 12th June 2015 in Munich: the N285 solar module from the highly efficient HIT® Series and a lithium-ion battery domestic storage system. In addition, the Japanese company this year celebrates 40 years of developing photovoltaic cells. Decades of experience in cell and module research and PV manufacturing have resulted in extremely high-quality modules with very high efficiency. Panasonic is one of the few module manufacturers that are already producing photovoltaic modules based on pioneering heterojunction technology. In doing so, the advantages of crystalline and thin film technology are incorporated to achieve peak module efficiency.
Improved performance using a more compact module
Panasonic developed the N285 solar module, which has nominal power of 285 watts, specifically for installations on residential and commercial buildings. One of the most important developments compared with the Panasonic N240 and N245 products, on which the N285 module is based, is the inclusion of highly efficient heterojunction cells in a more compact format. With dimensions of 1463 x 1053 mm the new module is particularly suitable for portrait roof installations. This means that there is room for more solar modules on a domestic roof, while on flat roofs of commercial buildings less room is needed between module rows. Private operators and traders will benefit from increased solar performance. Furthermore, the module has four shading zones instead of three reducing the risk of performance losses resulting from shading.
Battery storage for homes and energy suppliers
The PV-battery storage system from Panasonic is the perfect complement to existing and new solar systems on residential buildings. The AC-coupled, single-phase system contains long-established, high-performance lithium-ion batteries from Panasonic and has a storage capacity of 6.8 kWh. By means of the it´s compact design (dimensions: 1380 x 966 x 278 mm), the storage unit can be readily installed in small spaces. By making use of intermediate storage the user can increase their self-sufficiency using the solar power they have themselves produced and so reduce their energy costs. Furthermore, thanks to its emergency power function, users are protected from the consequences of power outages on the public network.
During development Panasonic has also taken into account the interests of energy suppliers that are developing ever-increasing decentralised energy supply solutions using third party regenerative systems. By interconnecting and benefiting from private storage systems energy suppliers can increase the flexibility of their energy supply. Storage units contribute to network stability and allow load management, so that investment in the development of local networks can be reduced.
40 years of research into cells
Following its acquisition of Sanyo's solar business in 2012 Panasonic looks back this year on 40 years of cell development and manufacturing experience. Sanyo began developing amorphous silicon solar cells as early as 1975. In 1997 the Japanese company introduced the first modules of HIT to the market. The technology combines the properties of crystalline and thin-film cells with the goal of increasing solar performance. In Panasonic's products HIT thin monocrystalline wafers are surrounded by an ultra-thin amorphous silicon layer. As a result, the modules have excellent temperature characteristics, optimal low-light performance and maximum efficiency. According to the field tests carried out, the performance of Panasonic PV modules is 8 percent higher than that of conventional mono-crystalline (c-Si) solar modules. Due to high-quality production standards, the warranty claim rate is also extremely low. Since they were first placed on the European market more than ten years ago, the number of warranty claims up to January 2015 was only 0.0038 percent of the number of modules sold.