Energy solutions developer PowerOptimal has partnered with the South African subsidiary of Swedish appliance giant Electrolux to help bring cost-effective and sustainable solar photovoltaic (PV) water heating solutions to the local market.
The partnership will see PowerOptimal’s Elon solar PV water heating technology sold alongside Electrolux’s leading Kwikot Superline electric water heaters or geysers.
The Elon range enables direct connection of solar PV panels to standard electric geysers.
“With the deployment of the Elon range, a customer can add solar capability to most standard electric geysers, without the need for an inverter or battery,” states PowerOptimal CEO Richard Fearon.
Without the need for an inverter or batteries, coupled with low maintenance requirements, it makes for one of the lowest cost per unit energy solutions for water heating available in the market today.
PowerOptimal’s Elon range solution can run entirely off the grid or with grid power as backup.
In addition, it can be used by property developers for conformance to the standards that requires that at least 50% of the annual water heating requirement for all new buildings shall be from a source other than grid electricity.
Electrolux South Africa sales and marketing director Mark Moyce notes that PowerOptimal’s sustainable energy solutions align well with Electrolux's global commitment to sustainability.
“By including Elon into our range of water heating solutions, we offer developers, builders and all users of geysers a means to take advantage of the abundant solar resource we have in this country at a fraction of the cost.”