Putting efficiency first Savo-Solar

PuTTInG EFFICIEnCy FIRsT

Savo-Solar is a market leader in the development and manufacture of solar thermal energy technology. The company has seen dramatic growth thanks to its unique and revolutionary vacuum coating technologies. Recently the company was granted a coveted award for its exceptionally efficient ‘Direct Flow Absorbers’, as Philip Yorke reports.

Savo-Solar was founded in Finland in 2009 by a group of coating experts who decided to use their combined expertise to make a difference, and contribute to making the world a better place by providing cleaner, more efficient energy. Today Savo-Solar, with its highly efficient collectors and large scale solar thermal systems, has taken solar thermal technology to the next level. The company’s unique collectors are equipped with its patented nano-coated directflow absorbers and with this leading technology Savo-Solar has helped its customers to produce highly competitive clean energy. The company’s vision is to be the first choice supplier of high-performance solar installations on a global scale.

Today’s focus is on large-scale applications such as those for district heating, industrial process heating and real-estate systems. These are market segments with a big potential for rapid growth. Savo-Solar primarily delivers complete systems from design to installation, using the best, most qualified local partners.

Savo-Solar is acknowledged as the most innovative company in the industry and it aims to stay at the forefront of solar technology. The company has sold and delivered its products to 17 countries across four continents, and Savo-Solar’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq First North Sweden stockmarket, with the ticker SAVOS, as well as on the Nasdaq North Finland stockmarket, with the ticker SAVOH.

Record-breaking performance

The Savo-Solar thermal collectors installed recently at the Jelling Varmevbaerk site in Denmark have shown a record-breaking performance of 5kW h/m2. In mid-June 2016 the first portion of the collector field began its energy production and within its first weekend of production produced more than 34 MWh in just one day. This first instalment of the vast Jelling field contains 461 of the total of 1031 collectors planned and offers a total area of over 6836 square metres. Accordingly, the measured efficiency is a record-breaking 4.97 kWh/m2, according to the independent information available, which established a new Danish record, exceeding the next best field by more than six per cent.

Bjarne Nielsen, plant manager at Jelling Varmevarerk, said, “We are very pleased to have received a collector field which has become a record-breaking installation in its first few weeks of operation. It will be exciting to follow the collector’s performance during the rest of the year.”

Jari Varjotie, managing director of Savo-Solar added, “We are happy to see that our collectors are delivering clean energy according to promise, and to the full satisfaction of our customers. Our unique technology means minimised heat loss and maximised energy yield. These remark-

able results are best seen in practice. The more data we receive from the actual use of our collectors, the better we can encourage our potential new customers to rely on our advanced thermal systems.”

In another location in Denmark, the Danish District Heating Association (Dansk Fjernvarme), Savo-Solar has installed a new thermal solar station with 431 solar thermal collectors and covering an area of over 4700m2. The target is to reach the best production efficiency in Northern Europe, a goal which is almost certain to be achieved.

optimising output

Another feature of Savo-Solar’s patented technologies means that the high heat transfer capability and even temperature distribution of its absorbers, also makes them ideal for use with PVT (photo-voltaic thermal) panels. PVT panels use solar cells and produce electricity just as PV panels do, however PVT panels also produce heat energy which can also be used for hot water or space-heating applications.

Savo-Solar supplies uncoated absorbers to selected PVT partners who then apply their solar cells on the absorbers. This is done to cool the solar cells on hot days so they can maintain their optimal temperature for the production of clean electricity. Otherwise, on sunny days when PV panels should produce the most electricity, the electrical components would become overheated and lose a significant amount of their efficiency.

Cooling the PV cells with MPE absorbers will ensure that they maintain their optimal operational temperature at all times and produce as much electrical power as possible.

Dedicated flexibility

With its dedicated customer services and production flexibility, Savo-Solar is able to meet the wide range of diverse demands for cleaner more efficient energy with its tailor-made solutions and built-n management and manufacturing flexibility. In addition to supplying its full range of A1 products, Savo-Solar can coat a wide variety of absorber materials from A1, Cu, stainless steel, polymers and even concrete, thanks to its special in-line coating production procedures.

Absorbers may also be produced in different colours according to the individual customer’s requirements. Varjotie commented, “We have developed a new type of solar absorber that is unique in many ways and offers the most efficient route to transfer solar energy to a liquid, which can then be used for heating water, space heating, industrial processes and even for cooling.”

For further details of Sova-Solar’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.savo-solar.com