Seraphim offers all-black ‘S2’ solar panel without performance sacrifice for residential rooftops

The rooftop PV market is rapidly transitioning to higher-performance modules to reduce installation costs, while owners are becoming increasingly knowledgeable and discerning regarding the overall PV system aesthetics with preference for greater visual integration into the roof. However, all-black modules have previously sacrificed yield for greater aesthetics, either raising installations costs as more modules are required for a given system size or sacrifice total system yield due to limited rooftop space. Such limitations can be increased when rooftop shading issues may be present that could lead to higher system design and installation costs, due to the need for microinverters or power optimizers to limit the performance impact of shading. 

Solution

Seraphim’s S2 full-black half-cell module series has been specifically designed to meet the need for superior aesthetics without sacrificing power output for residential and commercial rooftop installations. The full-black module utilizes a range of large-area wafers, as well as half-cut cells, offering a power output of up to 330Wp with a module conversion efficiency rate of 19.5%. Half-cut monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology reduces current and sheet resistance when deploying large-area wafers and minimizes mismatch losses and reduces cell to module losses, boosting output. The S2 series module comprises two separated and identical solar cell arrays, which means the ordinary strings of cells are cut into halves, and these shorter strings compose of arrays which has separated current paths. When a module is partially shaded, only one side shaded array's current will be impacted, while the other array will still be functionally producing power. Under this circumstance, when a module is shaded, the affected working areas will be less than 50%. This can avoid the need for microinverters or power optimizers, lowering the BOS (Balance of System) costs and reducing system design and installation complexity. The high-performance modules can also reduce BOS costs simply due to fewer modules required to achieve maximum rooftop utilization and customer system output requirements. The superior aesthetic appearance of the all-black module is achieved with the use of tightly packed cells using advanced interconnect technology and specially designed black ribbon (busbars) a black backsheet with a black anodized aluminum frame.

Applications

A wide range of rooftop installations requiring superior aesthetics and improved shading performance.  

Platform

Seraphim’s S2 full-black half-cell module series is available in three different formats to meet the specific needs of the wide range of residential and commercial rooftop requirements. The smallest module is a 60-cell half-cut (120-cell) format using 158.75mm x 158.75mm large-area wafers with dimensions of 1,690mm x 1,002mm, weighing 19KG. The medium sized module uses 166mm x 166mm large-area wafers in a 60-cell half-cut (120-cell) format with module dimensions of 1,776mm x 1,052mm, weighing 20KG. The largest sized module in the S2 full-black series has a 66-half-cut (132-cell) format with 158.75mm x 158.75mm large-area wafers and dimensions of 1,852mm x 1,002mm, weighing 20KG. All modules have a 35mm thick all-black anodized aluminum frame. Instead of the standard 10-year product warranty, this series product provides 15-year product warranty and 25-year linear output power warranty. The first year power warranty is within 2.5%, and linear annual attenuation is within 0.6%.

Availability

July 2020, onwards. (Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia, etc.)