Solar Investors Guide #3 - Innovations for mounting

High quality and long-lasting installations
 

The solar energy transition is gaining real momentum. International crises and rising prices for fossil and nuclear energy are making solar electricity and battery storage more attractive than ever. Large industrial roofs and available open land are being developed for module arrays, and sealed surfaces such as car parks are increasing-ly being fitted with solar carports.
The residential segment is also raising the bar. Heritage roofs, for instance, are in-creasingly being equipped with colour-matched solar elements that blend into the existing architecture. On-site solar is winning out because it makes economic sense and the technology is ready.
None of this happens by itself. Rising energy prices are also driving up the cost of metals such as copper, aluminium and steel, which puts pressure on the manufac-turers and suppliers of mounting systems. Their response is to slim down the sys-tems and push for more factory pre-assembly, which is the only way to save time, money and labour on site.
To keep installation as simple as possible, the number of individual parts is being cut. Functions such as cable management, personal protection, lightning protection and water drainage are being built into the systems rather than added on. The result is higher quality and longer-lasting installations – and for a technology that needs to last 25 years, that matters.


 In this issue:

• The open-ground segment finds its range
• “Margins are tight, and you fight for every cent”
• Retrofit solar for working car parks
• Flat roofs – less hardware, faster builds
• Metal tiles replace the angle grinder
• The colour question on heritage roofs