PES had a great interview with Oliver Strecke, CEO and Marco Thesing, CSO and business development manager at viamon. They have amazing security solutions, where trace and catch are strong deterrents. TRAPS came on to the market last year and is proving very successful. They have a bright outlook on the future, with many orders on their books. Are your solar installations secure? Read on to find out what‘s on offer.

PES: Welcome back to PES Solar/PV magazine. We have been following viamon for quite a few years now, so it’s good to have the opportunity to talk with you. Would you like to begin with a company overview?

Oliver Strecke: viamon has been working on the question of how to develop intelligent systems to secure PV systems since 2009. The basis is a vibration sensor that we developed especially for the needs of the PV industry. It can be used to secure solar modules and additionally, determine their position worldwide via GPS if they are stolen. That was the beginning.

On this we systematically expanded our portfolio of sensors, e.g. with PIR sensors (passive infrared). On the one hand, we have always analysed the experience we have gained in the course of our projects and on the other hand, we have included the special knowledge of our security experts, who we now have on our team, in the development planning.

It soon became clear to us: we not only need powerful special sensors, but we also have to analyze the specific situation of the customer: What is the topography of the plant? What does the development with roads or paths look like? What are the climatic conditions? etc. Depending on this data, a tailor-made safety concept is then created, in which various sensors and technologies interact specifically, in such a way that maximum safety for the PV plants can be achieved, with a minimum of technical effort.