On the trail of 24 hours of sun

“Intersolar was once again a total success for Fronius. Our new products and solutions attracted a great deal of interest and we also received positive feedback concerning our existing ones. I’m particularly gratified that our customers and partners are able to identify so strongly with the Fronius vision of 24 hours of sun, an energy future consisting entirely of renewables. Our stand gave visitors the opportunity to take a step on the trail of 24 hours of sun and to see for themselves how our solutions and products are enabling us to take further strides towards achieving this goal,” said Martin Hackl, Head of the Solar Energy Division, Fronius International GmbH.

“The crowds were at their densest around the Fronius storage solutions,” noted Product Manager Thomas Hüttner. The Tesla Powerwall attracted much attention, as did the new single-phase storage solution with the Fronius Primo Hybrid inverter and the proven Fronius Energy Package.

New single-phase storage solution from Fronius

Fronius Primo Hybrid is the name of the new single-phase inverter for the Fronius Energy Package storage solution. The device is available in power categories ranging from 3.6 to 11.4 kW. Its integrated Multi Flow Technology provides intelligent energy flow management, which in turn facilitates both the AC and DC coupling of the storage system. Two MPP trackers ensure maximum flexibility in system design. The Fronius Primo Hybrid will be available from mid-2017 in European markets, such as the UK and Italy, as well as in Australia and North America.

Fronius Energy Package comes out top in survey

The Fronius Energy Package has been available since the middle of 2015. A recent macRom study1 of the German market for battery bank systems reinforced the positive feedback from Fronius customers and partners, with Fronius coming out top in the important fields of Technical Support and Price-Performance Ratio. The surveyed installers also put Fronius, together with another manufacturer, well ahead in the Technical Solution category. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed installed a Fronius Energy Package in 2015, putting it in 3rd place out of 22.

Secure power supply through integrated emergency power function

Power outages are infuriating. The new, integrated emergency power function in the Fronius Energy Package provides the home with power in the event of an outage. The power required is drawn from the PV system and the battery, while the Fronius Symo Hybrid inverter supplies the building with up to 5 kW of power.

Zero feed-in meets all grid operators’ requirements

Zero feed-in is now also possible with Fronius inverters – and with immediate effect. Activating this function prevents any PV electricity from being fed into the grid. All that grid operators have to do to meet their requirements is to enter a simple setting on the web interface of the inverter. This function is supported by all Fronius SnapINverters² with an integrated Fronius Datamanager 2.0 or Fronius Datamanager Box 2.0.

Ohmpilot optimises self-consumption

The Fronius Ohmpilot is a consumption regulator that plays a significant role in optimising self-consumption levels. It is an outstanding example of how the available PV electricity can be used to heat hot water most efficiently. Whether an electric heating element or an infrared panel, any surplus energy is not fed into the grid but diverted directly into the Fronius Ohmpilot, which activates and regulates the application in question. “The advantage of the Fronius Ohmpilot solution is its stepless control, which means that all the surplus PV energy can be used. For a single-family home with average levels of hot water consumption, the upshot is that from April to October most of the hot water can be heated using PV energy,” explains Hüttner. The Fronius Ohmpilot is compatible with every SnapINverter and communicates with the inverter via WLAN, LAN or Modbus. The first release phase of the Fronius Ohmpilot will take place in the first half of 2017 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

1 Source: Der deutsche Markt für PV-Batteriespeicher-Systeme 2016 [The German market for PV battery bank systems 2016], macRom Marketingresearch & Consult

2 Fronius Galvo, Fronius Symo, Fronius Primo, Fronius Eco. The Fronius Symo Hybrid currently supports a minimum power limit of 10%.