»The Smarter E Europe«: »Solar railing« from 3S Swiss Solar Solutions

3S Swiss Solar Solutions AG is presenting its »MegaSlate Solargeländer« (solar railing) at the Intersolar trade fair. The railing is available in different colours and designs, the metal construction was developed together with Swiss company Anytech Solar AG.
Thanks to the two module sizes available, any railing size can be realised with standard components, according to 3S. Modules with 1,385 or 1,050 millimetres in width can be combined; the height of 930 millimetres is identical for both types. The rated power of the wider module is 195 watts, that of the smaller version 145 watts. Another way to adapt the solar railing to the size of the balcony is to use design and blind elements that are installed between the modules. The system has no visible connection components or cables. These are integrated in the lower rail.
3S manufactures the modules in its own factory in Thun, Switzerland, with carbon free electricity. Monocrystalline bifacial PERC cells are employed so that the light hitting the back of the railing can also be used. Due to the bifaciality, a slightly higher output than the nominal output of the front side can thus be achieved, depending on the incidence of light. The modules are designed with fall-proof glazing in accordance with DIN 18008-4:2013 and are approved for railings and balustrades, the weight of 25.2 kilograms for the larger and 20.1 kilograms for the smaller module is therefore not comparable with standard modules.
3S Swiss Solar gives a product guarantee of ten years and a 15 year performance guarantee of 80 percent of the minimum output – the tolerance is stated as plus/minus five percent. The end customer price is between € 600 and € 700 ($ ###) per running metre. Without the inactive decorative elements, this results in an output of about 140 watts per metre and a price of € 4,300 to € 5,000 euros per kilowatt. Naturally, this can be offset by the cost of a normal railing without solar cells (booth No. A3.651).
© PHOTON