Ikea sells its own balcony power plant for self-assembly.
From this week on, Ikea stores will offer a DIY balcony solar power kit for a small price. It comes with a portable battery included.
Researchers have found a solution to shading of photovoltaic systems by buildings, trees, or silos, which will soon be available: special solar modules that reliably work even with partial shading and enable higher yields.
Photovoltaic systems offer many agricultural businesses a valuable opportunity to generate renewable energy in addition to food production. However, especially with roof systems on barns, machine halls, or near trees and other buildings, partial shading often occurs. This can significantly reduce the performance of the modules and in the worst case lead to the complete failure of individual modules - even if only a small area is shaded.
The research project "SegmentPV" addresses this issue. The Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP and the module manufacturer AESOLAR are jointly developing a new, particularly robust and reliable PV module, specifically optimized for systems with regular shading - such as from trees, antennas, or buildings in the vicinity.
The so-called Hot-Spot-Free (HSF) module uses a segmented design with integrated bypass diodes. This allows individual module areas to work independently. If one segment is shaded, the others continue to work at full power. This protects the system from overheating and increases energy yield - even under suboptimal conditions, as found on many agricultural buildings. For agricultural businesses, this means:
- More yield with the same module area
- Lower risk of failures and repairs
- Longer system lifespan
- Less yield loss due to seasonal or time-dependent shading
Intensive technical optimization work is being carried out at Fraunhofer CSP. Various cell types are being tested, as well as the temperature resistance and efficiency of the integrated bypass diodes. Based on these findings, AESOLAR has developed several new module designs, which are now being tested as prototypes in laboratory and field trials. Quality assurance includes durability tests simulating extreme temperature and shading conditions. A specially developed Hot-Spot test identifies potential weaknesses early on. Initial results show that the new modules can withstand much more than conventional solutions. The development is expected to be completed by autumn 2025, with the aim of offering a market-ready solution that is attractive for locations with less than ideal conditions.
Source: Fraunhofer CSP