#SolarTechTalk is back! Once again, our hosts Aaron Bingham and Kate Collardson — who spend their days as Product Managers at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems — are here to bring you timely technology overviews and forecasts of the residential and commercial solar products market. And in this episode, they’re are talking batteries and storage for a full hour!
Launched this January, Solar Tech Talk joins other great professional development and industry education content you already enjoy from BayWa r.e. Solar Systems — from our Solar Town Hall expert roundtable series to our DEI Diaries and Culture Chronicles blog posts, plus The Current commercial market brief, and other great podcasts and articles in our Solar r.e.view Magazine.
Be sure to watch or stream Kate and Aaron’s debut episode here, catch Episode 2 below, or view the full list of Solar Tech Talk archives.
And remember to subscribe to all our great multimedia content produced for our solar installer community!
— Tom Miller, Marketing Director
In This Episode:
- RAPID ROUNDUP (00:37): A&K talk us through recent articles in PV Magazine and Solar Builder Magazine on upstream materials (e.g. wafers); perovskite; NEC mandates on locking disconnects.
- DEEP DIVE 1 (4:30): A&K check in with Devon Wilson from BYD to discuss their growing footprint in the U.S. residential batteries market.
- Devon provides an overview of BYD’s B-Box HV, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that’s stackable and flexible to design options while boasting true high-voltage output and ease of installation.
- The gang discusses the advantages of LFP batteries over NMC batteries for residential use; excitement over BYD’s upcoming B-Box HVL line and its design story and safety advances; and the SGIP timeline updates for the new product.
- DEEP DIVE 2 (27:00): A&K visit with Matt Paiss of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to understand the certification and testing landscape for battery manufacturers. A former fire captain, Paiss was a Solar Town Hall guest speaker on our codes and compliance episode last summer. Here, he chats with A&K about
- How residential installers and system designers can anticipate inspection and testing requirements surrounding the fire code and storage systems
- UL 9540 versus UL 9540A testing methods and thermal runaway worst-case scenarios
- The chemical science nuances of thermal runaways and other battery-related hazards
- Ground-mount versus wall-mount safety testing
- And ongoing research on explosion prevention in cabinet-based systems.
- BIG IDEAS (49:30): A&K showcase their fantastic new tool for solar contractors who purchase from BayWa r.e. Solar Systems — a Storage Comparison Doc of leading energy storage products summarizing their relative performance numbers side-by-side in one single PDF.
- These comparisons tell us how much energy will be accessible to the homeowner when using a battery-inverter system for home energy storage — and of that energy, how quickly can it be discharged for use.
- Click here to download the doc and start using it to develop your designs, and boost customer and leads engagement!
BayWa r.e. Solar Distribution supplies residential and commercial solar installers in the United States with quality solar + storage components, forecasting, business planning advice, and a community of experts. Visit www.solar-distribution.com to engage with our team, read our industry insights articles, and stream our Solar Tech Talk podcasts and recorded webinars on YouTube and Spotify. Follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to stay connected. Ask us about our Financing Program and use our industry-leading Webstore to save time, get gear shipped, and get jobs done!
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