Qcells 2024 Solar Panel Lineup

hi everyone Joe Oria here for solar Surge and today we're coming to you from the Q cells testing laboratory in Santa Clara California and this afternoon I'm joined Again by harsh Galia senior product manager at qels and we're going to be looking at the qels 2024 solar panel [Music] lineup so har it's really good to see you again thanks for having us here again likewise uh always good to talk with you welcome to Santa Clara facility thank you thank you it's my first time here and uh really appreciate this sort of behind the scenes access to see the new products the current products and some of the products that are that are under development being tested here so I guess to to start out with with the lineup for 2024 we're looking at the qel G10 solar panel this one I believe is a 45 watt all black panel probably the most popular solar panel being installed on on us homes right now I know we have it with a number of our installers so can you tell us a little bit about how does the current G10 what's the current G10 offering and then what are some of the improvements you made on the next next model yeah sure so this is the cic duo BLK mlg1 which we have been selling very widely as you have mentioned as well uh this is our high runner product from last year as well like 20202 as well uh we started it uh we started when we started this product we started with 395 wat power class uh subsequently it went till 400 wat power class and right now as our production line is getting mature and the manufacturing is getting more better and better and efficient we are able to get the 405 watt panels now uh and this product is definitely going to be there for 2024 as well and within 2024 we will we are confident that we will be able to get much more efficient product and there are chances we will get 410 wat power glass module soon great great and so I know that that the current production we're getting 405 we expect 410 and and you're committed to continue to manufacture this into the future yeah yeah yeah that's the plan so we are going to stick with this product for 2024 completely uh even first quarter of 2025 is on uh right now we are thinking about it but definitely 2024 you will see this product around in our manufacturing facility we will be producing it excellent excellent and and speaking about manufacturing facility cuz I know we're going to be doing some some coverage there as well but why why is made in USA why is having this particular product made in USA such a priority for Q sales so there are there are a few things as you know we have started our Dalton Factory in 2019 and in that factory when we first started we had our G5 lineups G5 and G7 products being made and over the years now now we have made so much improvement over there uh and the facility is just expanding and you would have no seen the uh news around by now uh we have just expanded that facility to 5.1 gaw capacity now annually uh this product is very key to us in that the entire landscape of things now because this is something which we believe is the current market demand we are able to full fulfill with this product um and uh just in general this product we we are very confident because perk technology qels has been doing it since 2012 or 20 so almost over a decade now so any development any reliability testing or we we think that we are able to be much more confident on the park Technologies just because of the amount of time it has passed and grew over the years great great great so I mean I think in many ways this is sort of the the standard you know not not to say that it's not a high quality product but I think this is the current state-of-the-art for a US residential panel I know that in the experience I've had working with it it's always available at a very competitive price point and frankly it's just always seems to be available which I know was an issue last year is just getting supply of any solar panels that we could install and so it looks like there's there's still a spot for the for the G10 going forward now can we talk a little bit about what has improved from the G10 with the perk cells to what we have now with the cutron I know we we saw the cutron panel in Las Vegas you and I were there um and and I was actually surprised to hear that some of our installers already have these in stock ready to install so it seems like you were prepared to fulfill right away when the new product was announced so if you can kind of walk the audience through what has changed what's evolved from the G10 to the new KRON I believe G2 420 430 watt class yeah so uh the notable changes definitely as you look at it the size has changed you will see uh this mlg1 product is uh 132 half cut M6 half cut cells whereas this product over here qron is M10 108 half cut cells so number of half cut cells has reduced hence the size has also reduced but uh the other key part to it is from ptype perk technology or as we call it in Q cells the quantum Duo Z technology we have moved on to the end type uh end type top Quant technology or in Q in Q cells term we we call it quantum Neo technology so the cell technology has changed uh number of cells has changed those are the notable differences now apart what that has enabled us to do is to produce a much efficient product higher efficiency product so we we are able to gain one one and a half% of module efficiency because of the cell technology changes and also this 405 panel this is the 405 panel and this one in the market right now uh you will be able to find 425 watt panel so you are seeing like a 20 25 watt uh advantage on that part as well so overall this is how the Improvement has come in and uh that is how you are able to distinguish between the two product at this moment so one of one of the trends that I saw really going back to last year a year and a half two years ago was that solar module manufacturers were achieving higher wattage by just making physically larger panels they made the panel a little bit taller a little bit wider and they got to a higher wattage this panel is nice to see it side by side here because this panel is noticeably shorter now looks like it might be maybe one or two inches wider I'm not sure but if we're just comparing Apples to Apples module efficiency we have got significantly higher module efficiency with the cutron than we had with the G10 meaning that the panel itself the cells themselves are significantly more space efficient is that correct yes that is true so this one uh this product has definitely widened because of the M10 size and uh yes as the efficiency has increased the gains will increase so the overall annual yield will be much more because now you are able to absorb and convert much more like much more of sunlight energy in general that's the principle uh that's why the efficiency number is something which is talked around most of the time uh apart from the power wattage of the module so because of this one and a half almost 1 and a half% or 1% efficiency gain from the Q Peak to the qron transition your annual yield will definitely increase and that's how it is much more uh going into the future stepping in there now yeah yeah so so you know just a quick teaching moment here folks when we when we talk about module efficiency module efficiency is the easiest way to do an Apples to Apples comparison between different solar panels and really it's just answering the question what percentage of the AR Radiance that's applied to the surface of the solar module is successfully captured and converted to usable electricity it it's really that simple so that way you don't have to worry about doing 410 20 400 40 W panel and try to figure out which one's the most efficient if you just look at the module efficiency it's an objective measure of how efficient that solar cell design is at converting sunlight into electricity and so with with this year's model and uh and by the way folks if you haven't seen it go and watch this year's top five solar panel lineup because with with this year's model now I would say with module efficiency at 22.4% if I remember correctly now that's in what what we used to consider that super premium range where Maybe maybe only sunow and LG were in there but now we're here with what I anticipate will be a high volume high production module in that super high efficiency range what what are your thoughts yeah definitely I mean uh this is the future uh we we aim for getting more higher efficiency product and one of the reasons why we had to move to this technology and start adopting it is because uh there are physical limits to any cell technology so so when we say physical limits so like you can only push your R&D or you can only work on your R&D side of things to get to a certain level and then you have to find a new technology so for us when we were doing the perk side of things we keep on evolving it but at the same time we know that the perk has pretty much closely reached to its physical limit of improvement so now that's where we have decided we will go with the top con side of things and we will start from that side so now as we go from here you will see the improvement from this 22% number to even further where you where this technology can physically reach to a higher number of 24 or 25 as well in future but we'll see how soon we can get there you can say that this perk technology took almost a decade to get to what it is right now but with the new generation technology the data analysis and everything going around the automation it will be much quicker than a decade but it will take some time for this to reach to its physical limit very interesting very interesting and of course folks that that's why we're here doing these videos is because the technology in solar it's like just like any other technology it's changing it's advancing every year and so what's the you know current state-of-the-art year two years from now I'm sure we're going to have exceeded that uh as well but it's really great to be able to take a look at this um I also noticed with the 108 cell 108 half cell form factor I I have heard from installers that a number of the installers prefer that because for many homes it allows us to get one extra row yeah one extra row of solar panels on the roof and be able to install in a in a portrait orientation which of course is more efficient in terms of your labor and your racking Hardware so I know a lot of installers are preferring this new form factor as well um is there anything else that's changed performance- Wise from the G10 to the the cutron perhaps in the area of um temperature coefficient or degradation rate yeah so degradation has definitely improved from so we are looking at uh annual degradation after from second year onwards to be around uh. 5% on the M10 whereas now in the qron uh we are looking at Point 33% per year so degradation is much improved from that standpoint so what it means is now over the period of 25 year for which the performance warranty is available for these panels uh the the cuton product at the end of 20 in the 25th year or at the end of 25th Year sorry for that uh at the end of 25th year can still operate at 90.5% uh capacity uh because it will only degrade to that level is our so that's how the future is looking like you are going to get much more efficient panels you are going to get much less degradation so that will allow you to retain the good part for a long time right right so again just more more total energy harvested over the life of the system and when you're looking at you know warranties in excess of 90% in year 25 again that that traditional what we considered a premium you know premium panel um I know we can't get into specific pricing but I suspect that it's going to be competitively priced not sold as a as a quote unquote premium option where where I think on on an Roi basis there's still going to be a strong Roi you know case to be made to use the new new qron so be interested to see how those numbers work out now now harsh I understand that there is an AC version of this module as well the qron module meaning that there's there's sort of local inversion that happens here at the solar panel I'd like to kind of take a look at that product with you next because this one I don't have as much experience with it's not something that we're installing yet today but it's certainly something that we're interested in having available in the lineup so could could you walk us through high level why why have an AC module and what does the cutron AC variant look like how does it compare to the DC variant yeah so you you perfectly described it in that first sentence itself uh basically the AC module the word AC as we all know is alternating current right so what the the idea or the thought process behind it is uh instead of getting the solar panels which are making the DC DC uh Power uh get to the get to one station where you are having let's say a string string inverter to convert it from DC to AC and then that AC can be used for home appliances the idea over here is to just have that transition happen locally uh locally meaning at the module itself so when the module is producing DC you attach a module level Power Electronics called as micro inverter to it on the rare side and just over there the conversion will happen from DC to AC and then you are just directly able to get the AC power to like you don't need to convert anything further you just have you if you want you can definitely try to use it directly for your home appliances use now the reason why we have to do it or why we feel is something we are developing this product is many times in the traditional systems you will see that there are issues from shading so what it what happens is in one string if you have let's say for example 10 modules and one of the mod module is affected due to shading the lower performance will also be like since the modules are connected in series on the roof the the lower power of one module will affect all the other nine modules as well but when you are doing the local conversion uh itself then the MLP will basically make sure that only that panel's lower production is limited to just that one instance and not reflected to the other nine modules which are connected in series so what that means is overall you are not losing out on the power which is getting or on the electricity which you are looking for right right and I know many of the viewers are going to be familiar with this this question of micro inverter versus Central inverter and I know a lot of folks have different opinions on this issue some people can get very religious on this question but I know one thing as as an installer and somebody who you know used to do installations having the the the microinverter factory integrated onto the panel has to save time I'm curious if it saves cost also versus if the installer has to purchase the microinverter separately and then of course run separate wiring separate connectors and all that that other thing so is that is that what you're hoping to achieve with this is is more cost savings for the installer uh definitely cost saving is one aspect to it but uh at the at the end of it we need to think about it this way that we are trying to make products much more easier to install so that will reduce your time you spend on the roof and it it really gets hot in the summer days most of the time and it's not I mean I know there are equipments out there harnesses and all not but it is still a safety concern when you are on the roof sometimes so I think from our side the installability and the cost both are important and not just the cost I would say to that extent okay well this this pretty much explains itself or at least for someone like me it looks like I understand here so you have your DC direct current coming off your solar module here and then feeding into the microinverter device and then I assume there's some kind of a trunk cable or connector cable that'll plug in here so you can connect the micro inverters together but I guess could you just kind of walk the audience through what what are we looking at here in terms of the different components yeah so you are looking at the micro inverter over here there is a bracket over here there is a micro inverter component which is getting inside the bracket this is this is how the factory module will look like like one coming fresh out of the factory line um yes and you are perfectly correct in understanding the trunk table trunk cable coming out of this one uh from this end uh definitely that's uh that's what this is looking like at this moment in the traditional system or in the regular system when people want to pair with the microinverters or the optimizers the module level Power Electronics you usually try to connect it it like to the rails of the module or and that does create some wiring headaches and all that what we are trying to avoid through this product is trying to avoid that headache to some extent because now it is completely attached pre-attached in the module itself so that will you don't have to figure out much like what should be the location of your micro inverter you can just use it by connecting it right right and I think the idea here I mean just from from what I what I can uh ER just looking at how it's built is all I have to do is string the microinverters together just like the old string inverters that was one advantage with the old string inverters they were fast to install yes very fast very easy to install but a lot of the performance um drawbacks that you mentioned earlier so harsh I think this kind of ties into what we're seeing big picture as well in the industry which is this trend towards getting everything on the same platform same brand same manufacturer same monitoring software so that there's a consistent installer and a consistent user experience so how does this fit fit in having Q cell's own microinverter fit in with the larger strategy yeah so as you said this is Q cell's micro inverter uh this is Q cells panel we also have uh online monitoring portal which is uh Q command or command uh this will all be tied together for the seamless user experience which we all like you can see it through our phone you can see it online you will be able to see everything what you're looking for basically uh from there like how much it is prod producing when it is producing how it is looking like everything uh yeah so the idea is the same as you said large we are also trying to come up with a or we have started to working towards that one brand one warrer kind of ideology where we are trying to give users or the home home home owners less headache of contacting multiple people for their solar system that's not what anyone one likes we don't want to get stuck at customer service for few different companies when you can just get it under one roof that's the idea yeah I think I think that makes a lot of sense because I I know as somebody used to be an installer how frustrating it was when when the system as a whole wasn't working and you have different component manufacturers blaming each other on the tech support team but but at the end of the day the homeowner is having a terrible experience oh yeah because the system's not working nobody is necessarily take stepping up to take full responsibility it becomes this kind of a blame game of you know how can we pass the responsib so that's really interesting to see so harsh I think that wraps up the residential solar panel lineup now for 2024 next I'd like to take a look at your commercial module sure uh I do have my colleague here uh Gil Jones he is our PV applications engineer he will be able to help us uh understand little more in detail about our commercial product excellent well harsh thanks again for your time always a pleasure talking to sounds good Sam here thanks for the education all right so now we're talking with Gil Jones a PB applications engineer here at qels and we are looking at the Excel g1s 590 595 watt commercial and Industrial solar module so Gil thanks for chatting with us this afternoon yeah that's right thanks so much for having me on Joe excellent now I I've got to admit I have not done a whole lot with actually Hands-On installation or sales of the commercial modules that qes offers but for those that are in the space what do they need to know about the Excel g1s sure yeah this is the uh Workhorse module that we have in the cni and Industrial as well as utility space um so it's a 156 half cell module um so we have these uh cells cut in half and there's 156 of them so you can see um these Columns of six here um it's B facial so you'll be getting 21% bifacial gain on the rear side so there's glass on the front and there's also glass on the back um so this is uh the 590 to 595 watt module that's the current power class and and we're coming up at uh 21.3% efficiency so we have pretty good efficiency there it's our uh perk module um let's see it's a pretty good size here so um there's pretty good uh density with shipping and um efficient installation um so uh yeah this is the primary module that we're selling for cni in utility space okay so couple questions come to mind here now is this a Duo module where where the top half and the bottom half are wired on Independent paths yeah that's correct so this module as well as all of our other um Duo series modules will have the top and half top half and bottom half uh wired separately so that they can be uh uh having different uh shape performance separately yeah now I know cells has made a commitment to manufacturing the majority of its residential solar modules here in the USA is this going to be a made in USA product as well it is yeah so this product um we have some lines currently in Korea but a majority are now in Dalton Georgia and I visited the lines myself and I understand you'll be visiting soon so we uh look forward to uh you checking out this module uh in process absolutely well I'm looking forward to see the whole process sort of up close and behind the scenes um but at least this is an introduction so this again this is the Excel g1s it's 590 and 595 watt variants available today yeah that's right great well um Gil is there anything else that the audience should know about the commercial or industrial offering from Key sales um so be on the lookout for our updated products coming out um we'll have some exciting news I think in 2024 and 2025 modules that'll be available um so just keep a keep a watch out on the space um always thanks absolutely and thanks again for the invitation to kind of come behind the scenes and and get handson with some of the new product offerings folks again that's why we're here at solar surge we know you can't get out here to all the different facilities and all the different trade shows so we try to be your hands and feet make sure that you stay up toate with all the latest solar technology and product information so again this has been a presentation of the qels 2024 solar panel lineup all four of these panels I believe are manufactured or will be manufactured in the USA going forward and we're going to be going actually to the facility uh to get some more behind the scenes access and information so you can just learn more about what the process is like to manufacture solar panels well folks that does it for today's video as always I'm Joe Oria here encouraging you to get prepared and be empowered thanks for watching and we'll see you again soon all right I hope you're getting some great value from today's video content now if you would like to have your product or your business or technology featured on the solar surge Channel feel free to reach out to us at the link below so you can set up a call with our media team to talk about your marketing goals and how solar surge can help you get there solar surge is the leading online community in the US residential solar and energy storage space and so if you'd like to get your product business or technology in front of our audience we can help you do that uh again feel free to reach out to our media team at the link below or email media solar surge. 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Channel: Solar Surge

Views: 4,145

Keywords: solar, surge, enphase, tesla, SolarEdge

Id: 7yZWQ0Yhvg4

Length: 25min 16sec (1516 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 11 2024