Mercedes-Benz is introducing two smart home-charging services in Germany for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles: MB-Charge Home Dynamic and MB-Charge Home Intelligent. Both automatically schedule charging for times when electricity is especially cheap and a high share of renewable energy is expected on the grid.
A single-family house with a hipped roof has been fitted with an 8.7 kW solar installation built around Kostal’s Plenticore G3 M hybrid inverter. Nineteen modules rated at 460 W each are distributed across two roof surfaces, covering around 38 square metres. The array is forecast to generate 9,184 kWh a year.
Researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have developed a prototype app that allows plumbing, heating and air-conditioning businesses to plan heat pump installations virtually, whichever manufacturer’s equipment they use. Heat Pump PlanAR combines several stages of the planning and installation process in a single tool.
Soprema has added two rainwater retention elements to its energy roof range, so that photovoltaics, green roofing, fall protection and water management can be combined in one coordinated design. (nhp)
More product developments
Fluke has launched the TMPV2 Module Lift, a portable lifting system for carrying modules onto rooftops.
GridX’s new white-label product lets operators market unused EV charging capacity as flexibility.
Winaico’s WST-500BKX54-B2 Ultra Black module delivers 245 W per square metre.
