CREATON’s in-roof PV system outperforms rooftop installations

CREATON, a company specialising in clay and concrete tiling for high-pitched roofs, presented its latest system solution for photovoltaic installations for in-roof mounting at this year’s DACH+HOLZ exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany from 28 to 31 January 2020. The innovative system combines the flexibility of a rooftop installation with the attractive appearance of an in-roof system. Thanks to a special rail system, the innovative in-roof PV system is just as flexible to set up as a rooftop installa-tion using standard modules. The in-roof PV modules come with an elegant black finish and can be embedded into the roof made of high-quality CREATON roofing materials. The electrical connections do not require extensive planning and the modules can be mounted by the roofer, while integrated low-voltage inverters make complex cabling a thing of the past, and allow the system to be scaled to any size. In new builds, the CREATON system can be installed in one step during roofing, while retro-fitting existing roof area is also very easy.

The defined modular system using pre-assembled sets ready for delivery makes unpleasant surprises during the project a thing of the past. This reduces planning times, makes the system easier to de-sign and improves safety. All the parts required for installation are delivered in one package. Even the cable connections are pre-assembled, meaning they simply have to be connected on the roof. The system also provides plant operators with a web portal and apps for comprehensive energy man-agement, and it comes with a detailed structural analysis.

CREATON’s in-roof PV system offers a perfectly coordinated, ideal solution for single-family and two-family homes as well as installations of up to 10 kWp. Larger systems can also be implemented. To top it all off, all of CREATON’s solutions come at extremely competitive prices with a 25-year product and performance guarantee – including on the inverters.

CREATON developed its optimised solution in collaboration with Sonnenstromfabrik, the high-quality manufacturer of durable PV panels, Renusol Europe, the leading manufacturer of cost-efficient PV mounting solutions, and Enphase Energy, the global market leader in the area of micro inverter tech-nology.

Matthias Meir, Head of the PV Division at CREATON: “CREATON’s new in-roof PV system is an optimised solution providing a simple and efficient way for roofers to mount a PV installation onto a roof while it is still under construction. Mounting is quick and easy and requires only a few compo-nents. Unlike for rooftop installations, there are no passages for roof hooks or complicated special frames. The need for ventilation has, of course, been taken into consideration. The system is suitable for new builds, existing buildings undergoing renovation works as well as roof areas being retrofitted with a PV system.”

Dr Bernhard Weilharter, Managing Director of Sonnenstromfabrik: “Sonnenstromfabrik is one of the most cutting-edge, high-quality manufacturers of solar modules in Europe, boasting the lowest complaint rates across the industry and a 25-year product warranty. At our sustainable factory in the northern German city of Wismar, we produce durable, high-performance PV module series that look great and can be very quickly and flexibly adapted to CREATON’s needs. For CREATON’s in-roof system, we used our full black modules with black cells, backing sheets and frames, as well as blackened module connections. From the second half of 2020 onwards, the modules will be delivered as intelligent AC modules with integrated inverters, making installation even easier.”

Dr Alexander Kirsch, Managing Director of Renusol Europe GmbH: “Renusol’s in-roof system ISSE has proven itself to be reliable, waterproof and successful for almost 20 years. With this solution, Renusol has brought a well-planned mounting concept with durable materials and a high degree of flexibility to the table. This is demonstrated in particular by the fact that the same mounting system components can be used for standard modules in both Landscape and Portrait orientation. The sys-tem is also very flexible in terms of module dimensions and thicknesses, making it future-proof at a time when module formats are ever changing.”
Renusol also boasts comprehensive in-house expertise in structural calculations and plant design, and its user training and logistics services are second to none.

Jarno Wagner, Managing Director (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) of Enphase Energy: The ad-vantages of Enphase’s products for installation partners lie in the fact that the systems are easy to plan, quick to install and cost-effective to monitor. The IQ7 and IQ7+ series used in CREATON’s PV solution have an extremely low failure rate and have been tested for over one million operating hours. That’s why Enphase offers an industry-leading warranty of 25 years. A decisive advantage for plant operators is that there is no single point of failure, as each micro inverter functions separately. If one inverter were to fail, the overall system would continue to work. Enlighten, a cloud-based energy man-agement system, is used to monitor power generation and consumption. System updates and trou-bleshooting can be carried out remotely, eliminating the need for costly service work.

Following its successful launch in the south of Germany at the end of 2019, the product will start to be sold across Germany in January 2020, with DACH+HOLZ being its first port of call. CREATON also offers specific training sessions for processors.