With all the benefits of its power optimization and smart monitoring system, SolarEdge’s new Smart Panels allows for quick installation, with the array’s key components all covered “under the same umbrella.” For installer Joe Harvey from SEA Solutions on the NSW Central Coast, the new integrated module offering has reduced costs for both him and his customers: “We’ve found that everyone wins.”

There’s nothing high tech about resistance heating in the form of an immersion hot water element. But when added to rooftop solar PV, it can be a powerful way to maximise self consumption – when coupled with a smart control system. 

High levels of rooftop PV penetration, an informed public, small seasonal irradiance variation, and market structures that favour maximising solar self consumption: Australia is ideally situated to see the adoption of the smart home. So says SolarEdge founder Lior Handelsman who spells out how the company is expanding its Aussie operations and offering a growing range of solutions to put rooftop PV to its best use.

In August 2017, Solar Hybrids completed a 226 kW array at the UQ’s Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence (PACE) in Brisbane. The system, across two rooftops presented a significant challenge in that both roofs were partially shaded. By utilizing SolarEdge, an additional 60 kW could be added to the array.

Gavin Merchant from SolarEdge Australia and New Zealand speaks to pv magazine Australia about the growing acceptance of module-level power electronics across all solar market segments. The rise of storage is also bringing new opportunities.