Westinghouse Solar unveils integrated plug-and-play solar panels

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Westinghouse Solar unveils integrated plug-and-play solar panels

By Greentech Lead America: Westinghouse Solar,
a designer and manufacturer of solar power systems, has launched Instant
Connect, a new line of solar panels that makes rooftop installations faster and
easier than ever before.

Westinghouse Solar boasts
Instant Connect is the first plug-and-play solar panel that completely
eliminates cumbersome panel-to-panel wiring for both residential AC systems and
commercial DC systems.

Instant Connect has a set of electrical connectors that
are integrated directly into the sides of each solar panel. These connectors
will allow the solar panels to automatically plug together when they are
mounted on the roof. The frames of the solar panels — and splices used to
connect the solar panels together — provide precision alignment of the
electrical connectors, completely eliminating the need to manually wire panels
or struggle with custom cabling on the roof.

The Instant Connect solar panels’ integrated racking
allows panels could be attached directly to the rooftop without an underlying
sub structure. The solar panels would have grounding built into the frames, and
the connecting splices would provide a grounding path between panels. Finally,
the wiring necessary for the panels would be accomplished with special
connectors on the sides of the panels.  

One of the key benefits of Instant Connect panels is that
electricians, HVAC contractors and skilled Do-It-Yourselfers (DIY) can install
a system. Moreover, they can start small — with just one or two panels — and
easily add onto the system.

“Manufacturers of solar panels are bending over
backwards to squeeze an extra 0.1 percent efficiency out of their panels, or to
reduce their costs by $0.01/watt. But now that high quality solar panels are
selling for less than $1/watt, the biggest remaining cost savings opportunity
is on the installation itself. With Instant Connect, Westinghouse Solar can
reduce direct and indirect installation costs by over $0.25/watt, which has a
much greater economic impact on customers than incremental efficiency or cell
cost improvements,” said Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Westinghouse
Solar.  

Last year, Westinghouse solar released  Andalay
Groove mounting system, a  very affordable mounting components for
all solar panels with side grooves, including those from Trina, Yingli,
Canadian Solar, ET Solar, Upsolar and Sharp.

editor@greentechlead.com

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