German solar panel manufacturer AE Solar will showcase what it claims is the world’s first “smart hot-spot-free” solar module at Intersolar North America next month.
The hot-spot-free solar module developed by the company uses bypass diodes between each cell to avoid shading consequences. Available between 260 W and 385 W, the company claims the AE Smart Hot-Spot-Free module provides 30% more power output compared to standard PV modules.
AE Solar GmbH was founded by Dr. Alexander Maier and his brothers Waldemar Maier and Victor Maier in Konigsbrunn, Germany, in 2003. AE Solar focuses on the manufacturing of PV modules with the highest quality materials and components. This, together with automated manufacturing lines, enables AE Solar to offer a high-quality product at competitive price. The company has a 1-GW annual manufacturing capacity with plants in the countries of Georgia and China.
AE Solar will be at Booth 1311 at Intersolar North America in San Diego.
News item from AE Solar
Ibrahim Mohammed Aisami says
I thank God, that I bought 4pcs of 330w of AE SOLAR Model in my country and will feedback after installation.
Marc Stewart says
I don’t think they ever did ship any of these, because the architecture is inherently flawed.
They put tiny diode chips between cells in the array. Covering a cell would cause all of the string current to flow through the adjacent diode, causing it to overheat very rapidly. If the string current is 8A and the diode’s forward drop is a relatively low 0.6V, that’s still nearly 5W over an area that looks (from the pictures) to be about 3mm on a side. Power diodes rely on large leads to carry heat away from the part; these bare chips only have thin ribbons, and they’re sandwiched between thermal barriers. They’ll melt right through the plastic.
I question the designers’ thought process in coming up with this so-called solution.
Kevin Holden says
Love them! Independent bypass diodes are pretty much mandatory on a cruising sailboat. But I cannot find where to buy them.