Water drainage device for photovoltaics
water drainage device, Solarud, photovoltaics, new technology
Portuguese startup Solarud has introduced the next generation of water drainage device for photovoltaics panels with low slopes. The new design avoids clogs caused by sand and dust, with customized versions to suit different sized installations and units.
Portuguese startup Solarud has released a new version of its water drainage device. The new model can be connected to solar panels to solve dust and pollution problems.
After launching the original device in May, the company listened to customer feedback to develop anti-clogging technology.
"In extreme environments such as deserts or arid environments with low humidity, as soon as the first rains fell or during early morning condensation, the device would clog," said António Neves, the co-founder of Solarud.
Accumulated pollution can lead to clogging in household installations, with appliances requiring cleaning after a few months.
The company's Solarud Nextgen solution features the company's patented anti-clogging design to address this issue. It claims 3,5% energy gains on average with the original device and expects even better results with the Nextgen, although it hasn't started testing the design yet.
The product is also more adaptable to different unit sizes than its predecessor. The original device worked with frame heights of 30mm, 35mm and 40mm.
“The new device can be adjusted to any measurement between 30 mm and 40 mm. The tabs are no longer broken [to fit the intended measure] but folded. This gives them a spring effect, thus adjusting it to different heights," said Neves.
The new device can thus be adapted to frame heights of 32 mm and 38 mm, which are standard in the industry. The company has switched from industrial 20D printing to using injection molding for Nextgen. The switch has "increased the production factor by almost XNUMX times and also allowed the creation of more robust devices," Neves said.
It offers a six-year warranty on the Nextgen, a four-year improvement over its predecessor. The new device is also cheaper and available for bulk purchases, starting at 50 units for €99,50 ($96,61), or €1,99 per piece, plus VAT and shipping. The original device is no longer manufactured or available for purchase.
The company has also released nano and custom-made versions of the device, both of which feature an antilog design. Solarud Nano, with a base of less than 10 mm, compared to Nextgen's 22 mm, is designed for installations with very small gaps between modules, up to 10 mm.
The Nextgen and Nano devices can only fit frames between 8mm and 11mm thick, but the Solarud Custom can be custom made.
"We've been asked for 13mm and 15mm devices, especially from customers in Australia, so we decided to create a custom device service," Neves explained. "Customers send us the datasheet of the units, we design the device to match the specifications, we send the customers some samples, and if they're satisfied, they can then order the devices on our website."
Both the nano and custom devices are 3D printed and available for bulk purchases starting at €2,49 per unit, plus VAT and shipping. The company develops and produces all devices in Portugal and has an international customer base focused on Europe and Germany in particular.
