When it comes to thinking ahead about new residential and commercial solar technologies, SolarEdge is clear in its focus on innovation for the industry and ease for the consumer.
Jason Kirrage, senior technical marketing manager at SolarEdge, sat down with Current± to speak about how the firm approaches commercial and residential needs within the UK market, the role AI can play in optimising energy use, and meeting the specific needs of AgriPV.
What are some of the opportunities for SolarEdge’s commercial and residential technologies in the UK market? What have been some of the challenges with this?
As a company, SolarEdge is focussed on helping installers to meet the changing needs of its customers in the evolving energy market. Throughout Europe, including the UK, we are seeing the introduction of dynamic rates and changing utility structures. Innovative solutions are therefore needed to enable end users to not only maximise energy production, but also to optimise how it is used. This is very much the inspiration behind the SolarEdge ONE energy optimisation system, which is available for both residential and C&I customers.
Of course to accurately control PV systems, you need to be able to monitor them efficiently. Having PV and different electrical devices is all well and good, but unless you control them, faults in the system can impede efficiency. To have control, you need visibility, so you need to see exactly what each device is doing. With SolarEdge, you have panel level monitoring, which allows you to see each module and, therefore, identify and quickly remedy any modules that are underperforming.
It is about innovation, information and controlling exactly what you’ve got.
How can data be used to support decarbonisation in the UK?
Algorithms in SolarEdge ONE make calculations for homeowners based on a variety of data sources, including changing electricity prices, to create a personalised 24-hour optimised energy plan for the home that automatically adapts to individual energy needs using predictive AI algorithms.
We can see this working in a similar way in C&I. Let’s consider a supermarket as an example. During the day, the chiller cabinets always constantly opened and closed. They have to work quite hard but come six or eight o’clock, these appliances aren’t used anymore, so they don’t need to use as much energy. AI is able to ramp down all these devices.
The other thing about data is that we have to be very careful about cybersecurity. Most of the information gathered will come from a cloud or a server, which you then link to your device app. So, cybersecurity is really important. SolarEdge is fully compliant with all cybersecurity regulations. This includes the UK’s Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) regulation, which is due to come into effect on April 29, 2024.
Do you believe your technologies could help educate and engage households more with the energy system in the UK?
Home energy management is becoming more complex, and it will continue to do so as the UK continues to introduce dynamic rates. While the homeowner does need to have an understanding of what the various components of a home energy management system do, AI enhanced energy optimisation systems such as SolarEdge ONE are designed to do the hard work for them.
This includes deciding when to charge and discharge the battery based on Time of Use rates and other considerations. It will look over a period of seven days at the customer’s usage, battery health, PV performance, the weather the next day, and whether or not you need to charge your battery, and make smart decisions based on that information.
All of this is set up to aid the homeowner in saving money as well.
However, the homeowner retains an element of control as they are able to override the program if needed.
The beauty is that one app controls your battery, your EV charger, your PV, and your smart devices; it’s simplicity.
You mention that your tech can be used for Agri-PV. What are the perks of this specific technology, and how does your technology help optimise this?
One of the first things people said when SolarEdge came to the UK is that it is great for shading.
Shading can be created by many different things, including clouds, soiling and moving obstacles. That is the beauty of having power optimisers; it means you can use different brands of modules, as well as modules facing in different directions, and at different angles and tilts. Power optimisers also make it possible to install solar arrays on uneven ground – that is particularly important in agri-PV installations.
Module mismatch is another reason for adopting this technology. Even modules made on the same day by the same person can have a difference of plus or minus 3%. With traditional string inverters, that means that even if you have a perfect system, it is still going to work to the lowest common denominator, which may be minus 3%. With SolarEdge, because each module works at its own maximum power point, you are not held back by lower producing modules, because all the others will work at their optimum level regardless.
Switching the inverter off is great for maintenance; you can work on that safely with SolarEdge. During installation and maintenance, installers will have a maximum of 50 volts per string for commercial and a maximum of 25 volts for residential, which means it is very, very safe for them to work with.
