Less maintenance and improved processes with an aluminium connection socket
Connection Socket: Thinking outside the box
A connection socket made of aluminium not only offers easier access from the front of the module, but also facilitates improvements in production processes and reduces maintenance costs.
Fig. 1: The new junction box shortens maintenance times and reduces service costs. It is upgradeable with future electronics and offers significantly optimised automated assembly to modules; Pictures: Lapp Kabel
The market for solar energy is developing at a tremendous pace, yet industry experts still criticise companies’ lack of investment in the area of research and development. According to a spokesman from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment at one of the recent photovoltaics symposia in Bad Staffelstein, German companies invest an average of just 1.8 percent of their turnover in research and development. A small number of international suppliers buck this trend with their large research and development departments. One reason for the rather modest efforts in this industry definitely lies in the market situation over the past year: the high demand and lack of available solar modules persuaded many suppliers to invest, particularly in rapid expansion of production capacities, and to neglect research and development.
A buyer’s market
This year, however, the market situation is completely different: demand for modules is covered and attention is instead focussed on overcapacity and a surfeit of modules. Now that buyers once again have a free choice, they are able to make a precise comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of individual alternatives and opt for particularly advanced, efficient, and reliable modules. When it comes to price/performance ratio, the costs of assembly and maintenance work are taking on increasing significance. In this market environment, it is worthwhile for manufacturers to focus increasingly on the development and optimisation possibilities of their modules in order to remain competitive in the consolidating market for photovoltaic modules and to distinguish themselves as a supplier of high-quality modules with intelligent features. System components such as connectors can make all the difference here.
First, the service life of all components plays an important role in determining the reliability of the module as a whole. If one component fails, the overall functionality is jeopardised. Replacing or checking individual components can often eliminate the need for complex and costly maintenance work. Secondly, components offer module manufacturers an option besides cell efficiency with which to distinguish themselves from other manufacturers by means of intelligent features and to streamline their production processes as well as the overall costs of their systems through reduced maintenance costs.
The critical difference
A good example of such an intelligent component is the Epic Solar Razor aluminium connection socket, which was developed by the Lapp Group in collaboration with FPE Fischer. The very robust material aluminium reduces thermal load and considerably increases the service life compared to standard plastic connection sockets.
Due to the increasing use of electronics in photovoltaic modules and the associated demanding service concepts, easier access to connection sockets is also becoming an ever more important criterion.
The Epic Solar Razor is the first connection socket to offer easy access to all the functional components from the front of the module while safely protecting them from environmental influences. This ready access reduces maintenance times and costs because conventional connection models always require removal of the module in order to access the socket from the back.
Increasing electronic sophistication of photovoltaic modules
Solar modules will increasingly be fitted with electronic components such as performance analytics or a switch-off function in the event of fire. It is therefore a great advantage for module manufacturers to use a safe and long-lasting box that grows in step with the latest developments and relevant customer requirements and can be flexibly modified and upgraded.
Access from the front makes it considerably easier to reach and replace the functional components that are already included in some connection sockets, such as electronic switching-off of individual modules, performance monitoring, and performance optimisers during servicing. This not only saves time, but also reduces maintenance costs.
Future technologies such as MPP tracking can be installed at a later point in time. An additional advantage is that the photovoltaic modules can be individually assembled and upgraded ex works, by the dealer, or even by the installer.
At the same time, the risk of fire is drastically reduced thanks to the material. The connection sockets are watertight in compliance with IP 67 protection rating. This prevents corrosion on the contacts, meaning that performance remains at a high level over a prolonged period of time and the risk of hotspots and arcs is minimised. The sockets are pre-assembled with Epic Solar 4 Thin solar connectors. Thanks to the welded contacts of this plug, the contact resistance of the connector is extremely low.
Production process optimisation
Fig. 2: Siegbert Lapp, member of the board of Lapp Group, and Thomas Hoffmeister, Managing Director of FPE Fischer signed an agreement at Intersolar Europe to cooperate on connection systems for the photovoltaic industry
The material and the design of the connection socket also offer further crucial advantages for production. The flat socket permits significant optimisation of several production steps. The contact process has been simplified by automatic welding. The delay due to the curing time of the adhesive elements is also eliminated. As the upper and lower elements are mechanically joined to one another, the module can continue to be processed during curing.
The modular design of the aluminium connection socket also increases the flexibility of product variants. This enables module manufacturers to position their products in a way that is even more target-group specific. There are also advantages for product marketing and branding of solar modules. A logo of the module manufacturer, for example, can be applied to the aluminium cover of the socket, on the front of the module. This and other branding options increase the recognition of the modules in a market in which there was previously hardly any possibility for the consumer to identify the manufacturer by looking at a solar module.
Connection with a competitive edge
Growing profitability, usage diversity, and flexibility are becoming increasingly important for manufacturers of photovoltaic modules. In addition to in-house development, incorporating intelligent components, such as the new junction box, presents an exciting opportunity for manufacturers to improve their products and processes and secure a competitive advantage. n
EU PVSEC 2011 B7 — B24