PV Floor, Ankara Solar Energy

Turkey-based Ankara Solar Energy launched its own brand of walkable PV flooring for residential and commercial projects. Its 30 W and 120 W square panels with anti-slip glass front covers are sold with a supportive pedestal system, and are now available for the European and U.S. markets.

Ankara Solar Energy, a Turkish module manufacturer, has launched PV Floor, a line of solar panel products that double as anti-slip glass flooring. It is targeted at residential projects and commercial applications, such as shopping centers, driveways, parking areas, terraces, decks, and pedestrian zones.

The PV Floor brand was launched in Turkey and Greece in 2022, with European and USA markets now following.

“The return on investment (ROI) for a 1 kW system in Spain or Greece is typically 4 to 5 years,” an Ankara Solar spokesperson told pv magazine. “To complete the PV floor system, adjustable pedestals are required, and we provide these along with the products. There is no need for a steel or aluminum structure.”

The PV Floor pedestal components are polypropylene with a central load strength of 1000 kg, with support pedestals with settings that range from 50 mm to 260 mm. Their base diameter is 200 mm with a peak diameter of 120 mm.

The PV Floor solar panel models, PVF-08-30W and PVF-08-120W, have an 8-year warranty with a 10-year linear performance warranty, standard IP65 junction boxes, and operating temperature of -40 C to 85 C. The backsheet is the same type for both, either white, black, or transparent. Both models have a maximum system voltage of 1,000 V.

PVF-08-30W is a 30 W module with 17% efficiency, an open-circuit voltage of 6.49 V, and a short-circuit current of 5.54 A, built with eight monocrystalline 10 busbar half-cut cells. The front glass is 10 mm anti-slip flooring glass. The frameless panel measures 450 mm x 450 mm x 10.5 mm and weighs in at 5.2 kg.

PVF-32-120W is a 120 W panel with an efficiency of 17.84 %. It is built with thirty-two monocrystalline 10-busbar half-cut cells. It has an open-circuit voltage of 26.19 V and a short-circuit current of 5.62 A. The front glass is 8 mm anti-slip flooring glass. The panel measures 820 mm x 820 mm x 10.5 mm and weighs in at 15 kg.

“Additionally, for grid-tied systems, you will need microinverters or on-grid inverters; for storage systems, off-grid or hybrid inverters and storage systems are required,” said the spokesperson, adding that the products can be integrated with energy storage providers, such as Zendure, Anker, and Ecoflow.

“The lead time for volume orders typically ranges from 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the order quantity,” said the spokesperson.

Ankara Solar Energy produces crystalline silicon solar panels since 2013 with an annual production capacity of 750 MW. It reportedly exports to 40 countries.

Source: pv-magazine.com