Neuzeug, Austria, 12.10.2016. As part of a reference project in Borken, Germany, my-PV GmbH has integrated their electric hot water preparation system into an existing photovoltaic battery system created by SMA Solar Technology AG. Installing the AC ELWA-E system resulted in a system with a hybrid storage that can increase self-consumption of self-generated electricity by up to 100 %. AC ELWA-E is the newest member of my-PV’s ELWA product line and is available with immediate effect.
Greater flexibility
Austria-based my-PV has developed the alternating current model AC ELWA-E specially for smart home systems with integrated battery storage. The heating element is infinitely variable from 0 to 3,000 watts, adjusts its output to the power surplus once a second, and thus reacts very quickly. AC ELWA-E is integrated into the facility management system via Ethernet and has a standby consumption of less than 1.5 watts.
SMA-employee Manuel März was the beta-tester for this particularly flexible energy supply for one-family homes. A grid-connected photovoltaic unit with connected battery storage has been supplying his house in Borken with power since 2014. The building is heated using an air-to-water heat pump. In spring 2016 März upgraded the system to include an AC ELWA-E developed by my-PV.
Hybrid storage maximises self-consumption
The complex system is controlled by an SMA Sunny Home Manager. The photovoltaic plant first covers the current own power requirement and then charges the battery. The rest of the solar power then heats water for the heating system via the AC ELWA-E. Now that the photovoltaic unit not only supplies the house with electricity but also with heat, the heat pump is only used to generate energy as a last resort.
“Thanks to the AC ELWA-E I was able to deactivate my heat pump completely during the summer months. That means a longer service life for such sensitive technology”, is how März describes the advantages of the new system. Dr Gerhard Rimpler, CEO of my-PV GmbH, sees the advantage of AC ELWA-E over an auxiliary battery storage especially in terms of price. “The cost of AC ELWA-E as additional storage capacity is nothing compared to the present cost of batteries”, he says. On top of that, an existing system can be expanded with little extra effort.
About my-PV
Manufacturer my-PV GmbH is based in Neuzeug, Austria, and was founded in 2011 by former managers of a solar inverter manufacturer. The founders have worked in solar electronics and solar heating for over 20 years. This experience led them to invent the DC ELWA (ELWA stands for ELectric WAter heating) for heating water using photovoltaics, and was successfully positioned on the market in 2014.
2015 saw the launch of the AC model AC ELWA, which converts excess electricity from grid-connected photovoltaic units into heat. AC ELWA-E is also available with immediate effect, and in combination with battery systems, commercially available inverters and energy management systems it enables perfect management of excess energy.
