Westinghouse combines brand strength with Solar
Many large names such as Bosch, Sharp and BP have been involved with solar for a while. The pioneer of alternating current electricity distribution, global conglomerate Westinghouse has been dipping their toes in solar for a short while, and recently unveiled a large area solar panel with a tiny inverter built in. Subsidiary Westinghouse Solar, a designer and manufacturer of solar power systems, wowed critics with their second-generation AC solar panel – contrasting with the DC panels on the market. Similar ideas were initially trialled in Australia as part of Pacific Solar’s Plug’n’Power offering.
The difference is that Westinghouse Solar’s new AC panel has been designed from the ground up to meet the needs of residential rooftop installers, and features racking and connectivity benefits as well as removing the need for a central inverter. Improving on the original patented design, the racking, wiring, grounding and inverter are built into a larger-format 235-watt panel, thereby delivering higher performance due to the more focused inverter tracking behaviour, and lower installed cost flowing from the simplified mounting. It will likely take regulators and the industry some time to put the panel through its paces, but it sounds very promising for shady sites.
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