Systems Integration Lab

Solar power, or photovoltaic (PV) components are manufactured and built all over the world, which means they vary in quality, price and performance. At Ingenero we believe that a PV system's most important quality is its Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE). Essentially this is the lifetime cost of the system divided by the lifetime power output from the system. The lifetime cost includes the initial capital cost plus the ongoing costs, which is where quality and reliability come into the equation and are so important to maximise your investment.

The output depends on what sort of components make up the whole solar power system. And it's these components that must also be integrated properly to achieve maximum power output. For example, solar panels are a critical component to a solar power system but there are many PV panel manufacturers worldwide that use differing technologies and manufacturing methods. There are also many differing claims as to which manufacturer's panels perform best under what conditions.

So who do we believe?

To answer this, Ingenero built its own research and testing lab or Systems Integration Lab (SIL) in Queensland.

This means we can test potential solar power system components before we build any solar power systems for sale. We thoroughly test potential components to see:

• How they work under Australian conditions
• How strong and robust they are
• How we can maximise their power production capabilities
• How best to integrate them with other components for maximum power output

We believe that testing all of our components is crucial to providing the best possible solar systems. This means peace of mind for our customers because all of our solar power systems and their components have undergone stringent and exhaustive tests for quality and performance.

Our labs are unique in Australia, and so we also use them to partner with other organisations on solar projects. One such partnership is with the University of Queensland where we are looking at optimal integration of large renewable energy sources within off-grid (for example diesel generator), stand-alone networks and existing standard grid infrastructure. For more information on this partnership, read the press release here.