On-Site Visit! The "LV" Of Photovoltaic Roof Industry!

The following article comes from the Wechat Channel of Photovoltaic Box, Author Beiyi

This year's distributed market will undoubtedly be the highlight of photovoltaics.

The National Energy Administration recently released the installed capacity data for the first quarter of this year. In the first quarter, a total of 45.74GW of new grid-connected capacity was added, with 21.93GW of new centralized power stations and 23.81GW of new distributed photovoltaic power stations.

From the perspective of the sub-board field, we can see that the newly added distributed photovoltaic installed capacity is slightly better than the centralized one, accounting for 52% of the total, among which industrial and commercial photovoltaic installed capacity occupies a dominant position, far ahead of household use.

In the first quarter installation data, Jiangsu took the lead over other provinces with its strong development of distributed power. In the first three months of this year, Jiangsu achieved synchronous growth in both industrial and commercial and household photovoltaics, ranking first in both household and industrial and commercial photovoltaic fields. Most of the provinces in the top few places have a relatively high proportion of industrial and commercial photovoltaics.

As the distributed market began to expand southward in the past two years, the household and industrial and commercial markets gradually began to undergo corresponding changes. Relying on the developed economy of the southeast coast and along the river, the potential industrial and commercial photovoltaic market began to be gradually opened up.

It is understood that the current stock industrial and commercial completed areas in China are 6.7 billion and 3.4 billion square meters respectively, and the annual increase in industrial and commercial completed areas is 500 million and 250 million square meters respectively. Taking industrial roofs as an example, assuming that half of the roofs are equipped with photovoltaics, there will be at least nearly 500GW of development market for photovoltaic industrial roofs in the future.

Compared with the frequent obstructions in the household market, the development of industrial and commercial photovoltaics has indeed been steadily advancing in the past two years. Against the background of the "dual carbon" goals, more and more industrial plants have begun to seek integration with new energy.

Strong winds, water leaks, rust...what are the difficulties in industrial and commercial photovoltaics?

Although the current distributed photovoltaic market is huge, some difficult-to-solve problems have become stumbling blocks in the process of advancement.

There are many types of roofs that can be installed with photovoltaics, such as reinforced concrete, steel structure colored steel tiles, parking sheds, etc. Some industrial and commercial roofs are basically made of steel structure colored steel plates. With rain erosion and lack of regular maintenance, they are prone to rust and aging, and it is difficult to find insurance companies to insure such roofs.

Damaged industrial factory roof

In our survey, when installing photovoltaic panels on factory roofs, the main concern of owners is whether it will leak. Normal color steel tile roofs on the market basically need to be punched for installation and fixation, and rainwater leakage will occur at the joints over time. If the later maintenance is not timely, it will only increase the potential danger of the entire roof. This is bound to be a fatal blow to industrial and commercial roofs, and it is also the most concerned issue for owners.

As we all know, most normal factory roofs are made of colored steel tiles, and the lifespan of colored steel tiles on the market is about 10 years. In some southeast coastal areas or areas with perennial rainfall, the lifespan of colored steel tile roofs is even shorter. We know that the operating time of photovoltaic power stations is mostly 25 years or even longer, so this involves a problem that the lifespan of the power station and the roof do not match.

This means that after the power station has been in operation for 10 years, the roof will have to be repaved and the power station will be dismantled and reinstalled at the same time. This will increase the cost of rebuilding the roof and reinstalling the power station.

This problem often forces owners to both waterproof the roof and build a power station, but the core point is still the roof. As long as the roof problem can be solved, the pain point of rooftop photovoltaics will naturally be solved.

"LV" in the roofing industry, 25-year full life cycle roofing steward

How can distributed photovoltaics perfectly adapt to rooftops?

Not long ago, we visited a photovoltaic company in Suzhou - Suzhou Canlon New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. with this question.

The outside world may not know much about Canlon New Energy, which is indeed a newcomer, but its parent company is a well-known domestic waterproof material giant - Jiangsu Canlon Building Materials Co., Ltd. With the dual carbon goals, Canlon Building Materials has taken advantage of cross-border integration and entered the field of distributed photovoltaics.

In the vast Suzhou Polymer Industrial Park, the roof of the factory of CANLON is particularly special. Apart from the photovoltaic modules, no other metal materials can be seen, which is in sharp contrast with the roofs of surrounding factories. Some users even admit that this is the "LV" of industrial and commercial roofs.

To this end, we climbed onto the roof to uncover the mystery of this industrial and commercial roof.

Compared with ordinary color steel tile roofs, Canlon's roof did not choose to expose the metal roof directly to the air. Instead, a polymer waterproof membrane was laid on the normal color steel tiles, which is equivalent to adding a layer of protective outer coat to the roof.

In the communication with Sun Guojun, general manager of Canlon New Energy, we learned that this polymer waterproof membrane has the characteristics of strong waterproof, compression resistance and corrosion resistance. The whole roof is welded by hot air without perforation, which can effectively extend the service life of the roof to the same life as the photovoltaic power station, greatly reducing the subsequent maintenance costs. It truly realizes the synchronization of the life of the roof and the life of the power station.

In addition, the reflectivity of white waterproof membrane is as high as 80%, forming a cool roof and reducing the roof temperature. According to actual measurements and comparisons, the average temperature of a normal metal sheet roof is about 59.2℃, and the average temperature of a metal roof covered with waterproof membrane can be reduced to 46.3℃.

In the past, we installed photovoltaics directly on the color steel tile roof. It seemed that the initial cost was saved, but the leakage risk caused by the drilling installation made the nodes become the worst leakage areas over time. As the roof carrier was gradually corroded, it also left a safety hazard for the subsequent high-altitude operation and maintenance.

Become the photovoltaic enterprise that understands waterproofing best

It is understood that Canlon New Energy has launched a "system solution for zero leakage in industrial and commercial photovoltaic buildings over the entire life cycle of 25 years" and has formulated corresponding solutions to meet different customer needs. Through on-site visits, we also saw the differences between these rooftop photovoltaics.

According to General Manager Sun Guojun, there are generally two solutions for the construction of new factories: the TMP integrated panel roof photovoltaic system and the single-ply roof photovoltaic system .

the TMP integrated panel roof photovoltaic system is mechanically fixed to the roof purlin, with excellent wind resistance, full coverage of ridge gutter waterproofing membrane, and hot air welding of overlapping edges to achieve full sealing of the roof. In severe rainstorm weather, the roof can store water and can be upgraded to a water storage roof that is easy to maintain. The photovoltaic system uses composite supports (no guide rails) to fix without perforations to eliminate the risk of water leakage. It meets the first-level waterproof requirements of GB55030-2022 Waterproof Regulations and is a new functional roof system.

This is also the industry's first physical anti-corrosion, weldable metal roofing system, which perfectly solves the problems of leakage and metal plate corrosion. For special industries, the TMP integrated panel uses weldable TPO/PVC roofing membrane on the surface, galvanized/zinc-aluminum-magnesium steel plate in the middle, and a composite anti-corrosion film on the lower surface, achieving waterproofing on the top and anti-corrosion on the bottom, effectively extending the life of the roof carrier and ensuring the continuous income of the power station.

Another single-ply roof photovoltaic system uses special fixings to fix the waterproof membrane insulation layer on the corrugated steel plate base, and the overlapping edges of the membrane are welded by hot air to form a complete waterproof layer. Photovoltaic installation uses vertical supports, rails and other methods to fix photovoltaic modules, which can appropriately increase the module inclination angle and increase power generation, providing the best solution for new and existing flexible roof photovoltaic installations. White waterproof membrane increases sunlight reflectivity by up to 80%, increasing power generation revenue by more than 10%.

In addition, for old factory buildings that have already been built and used, Canlon New Energy mainly uses transformation as a way to "stop losses in time."

For metal factory roofs, after the rust removal and cleaning of the old roof metal tiles, the waterproof membrane is laminated to the old metal plate using the full bonding process, and the roof forms a complete waterproof protective film. According to different scenarios, vertical supports, clamps or composite supports are used to install rails to fix photovoltaic modules. It does not affect the production and operation of the enterprise, but also ensures that the roof has the same lifespan as the photovoltaic, and the later operation and maintenance of the roof is simple and easy to handle.

Old factory renovation: metal roof renovation photovoltaic system

For concrete roofs, waterproofing membranes are compounded on the original roof concrete base using chemical or mechanical processes, and the membranes are welded by hot air to form a complete waterproof layer. Photovoltaic installation with counterweight brackets, white waterproofing membranes increase sunlight reflectivity by up to 80%, increasing power generation revenue by 10%. And later operation and maintenance are simple and easy to handle.

It is understood that there are relatively many users on the market who adopt the solution of renovating the roofs of old factories, and the demand accounts for a relatively high proportion. Especially in the face of the existing factories that have been built and operated, it can be foreseen that the market for industrial and commercial photovoltaics will still be very broad in the future.

After walking around the entire roof, the most direct feeling we got was that in the distributed field, Canlon New Energy is the photovoltaic company that understands waterproofing the most, and it is also the system service provider that understands photovoltaics the most in the waterproofing field.

Adhere to long-termism, good products are still the driving force

Distributed photovoltaic development has become mature in technology and product services today, and is very inward-looking, but the distributed photovoltaic market still has huge room for development. During the exchange, we also talked about some challenges facing the photovoltaic industry this year.

General Manager Sun Guojun believes that it is normal for the development of the photovoltaic industry to encounter industry cyclical problems. Any industry will have cyclicality. The future distributed photovoltaic market will definitely be vast. Technological products are improving, and customer demand is also increasing. This is complementary.

Suzhou Kunshan Culture and Art Center

Shandong MANN+HUMMEL rooftop photovoltaic

As the price of the photovoltaic industry continues to decline, more value will tend to services in the future. Take industrial and commercial photovoltaics as an example. The operation time of photovoltaic power stations is as long as several decades. The operation and maintenance as well as the subsequent costs during this period are still a considerable investment and cannot be limited to the present.

Compared with traditional distributed photovoltaic service providers, Canlon always adheres to long-termism and is committed to becoming a roof steward for industrial and commercial buildings throughout their life cycle, ensuring that the greatest value is given to customers based on the 25-year life cycle of the photovoltaic power station.

After all, in an era of low-price competition, high-quality product power is the weapon to break through.