GEHRLICHER TO INTRODUCE AN INNOVATIVE BIPV FAÇADE AT INTERSOLAR 2010

Dornach b. München – 17 May 2010 –
At Intersolar this year, Gehrlicher Solar AG is presenting its newly designed façade system gehrtec Front with a power harvesting system from SolarEdge.

This highly innovative and aesthetic façade system fulfils numerous functional and design demands: It is a quality product that makes use of high-performance modules and lightweight materials and ensures system stability. It exhibits high partial-shading immunity, hence increased energy yield. Mounting time is short thanks to a unique mounting system. These benefits allow for the installation of PV systems in a variety of sites that prior to this were not suitable for a solar installation, without compromising on the building’s look.

The installation is based on the gehrtec Backrail system, which Gehrlicher has used up until now for ground-mounted systems. The advantage is that the modules are ventilated from behind due to the vertical carrier rails: the façade fixation element Sto Verotec is screwed into the supporting wall, onto which the likewise vertically running gehrtec Carrierrails are attached. With Sto Verotec and the gehrtec rail system, façade unevenness can be compensated during installation. The technician then mounts the photovoltaic modules with the Backrails glued onto the backside.

In the current design phase, product developers at Gehrlicher are testing the required anti-fall guards. At the moment, quarter-size modules from Amat-Sunfab can be mounted with the façade system – the use of crystalline modules of similar size is being examined.

The SolarEdge solar power harvesting system, balances shading or mirroring from neighboring buildings by regulating the performance of each individual module. This method maximizes the energy output of each module.  Additional benefits of the SolarEdge system are a PV monitoring portal that provides module-level monitoring for accurate remote maintenance, and safety features that eliminate fire and electrocution risks and enable the safe work of technical teams.

The façade system is expected to be available at the earliest by the fourth quarter of this year, and will be demonstrated at Intersolar Europe, June 9-11, Munich, at the Gehrlicher booth: hall A5, stand  271, and at the SolarEdge booth: hall B4, stand 322.

About Gehrlicher Solar AG

Gehrlicher Solar AG is a photovoltaic company founded in 1994 by Chairman of the Board, Klaus Gehrlicher. As a system integrator, Gehrlicher Solar AG plans, constructs, finances and maintains photovoltaic systems. As a wholesaler, it also offers solar modules, as well as its own components (from cables to subconstructions). The company also founds and administrates photovoltaic funds or private placements for investors. As a European company, Gehrlicher Solar AG currently counts with 250 employees in two locations in Germany (Neustadt and Dornach) and has subsidiaries in Italy, Spain, Greece, France and USA.

About SolarEdge

SolarEdge provides the world's first end-to-end Distributed Solar Power Harvesting and PV Monitoring solution, allowing maximum energy production at a lower cost. The SolarEdge power optimizers are DC-DC power optimizers that perform MPPT per individual panel while monitoring performance of each panel and communicating across existing power lines. Moreover, power optimizers always maintain a fixed DC string voltage, allowing optimal efficiency of the SolarEdge PV inverter, which is tailor made to work with power optimizers. As a result, the SolarEdge system provides more power from any given PV system installation, eliminates design constraints, provides complete panel-level and whole-system visibility for monitoring and maintenance alerts, solves all safety hazards and provides anti-theft mechanisms, all while reducing the cost of energy. The company works with industry-leading partners to embed its active electronics directly into PV panels. SolarEdge is online at www.solaredge.com

Press Contact :

Gehrlicher Solar AG • Ursula Frings-Braun • Press Officer • Büro München/Munich Office
Max-Planck Str. 3 • 85609 Dornach b. München (Germany)
Phone: +49 89 420792-0 • Fax: +49 89 420792-8170
E-Mail: ursula.frings-braun@gehrlicher.com • Internet: www.gehrlicher.com  

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