Download - The Future of the PV Inverter Market
The Future of the
Inverter Industry
Michael Middlemast
UK Sales Manager
Who are Zeversolar?
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01
China:
① Gansu,
② Beijing,
③ Suzhou/Shanghai
Australia
United Kingdom
Germany
Partners in Africa & India
Zeversolar Energy for Everybody
Company Information3
More than 450 employees
94 employees in R&D
33 M€ revenue in 2012
390 MW sold in 2012 worldwide
As part of the SMA Group, Zeversolar offers a unique blend of European standards
and Chinese manufacturing. Making our units efficient, reliable and affordable.
Global presence Regional presence
Zeversolar combines the best of two worlds
Company Information4
Chinese skills:
Highly efficient production
Technical, high-tech
manufacturing,
Flexible, able to quickly bring
products to the market
Willingness to work
hard
German quality standards:
German engineering,
Market leader,
Structured, efficient,
innovative, standards
and norms implemented
Excellent service and
benchmark setting products
Zeversolar:
Energy for
Everybody
No other Chinese manufacturer can offer this level quality control at this price level
What can we learn from the
module industry?
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02
What module type do you use now?
Limits in Commercial PV Design6
What module type did you start with?
Can you guess how much was actually installed
globally in 2012?
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28.4GW! Meaning module manufacturers over produced by nearly
10GW
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Time
N
um
ber
of
mo
du
le m
an
ufa
ctu
rers
Massive expansion
Massive contraction
Eventual stability
We will see the same in the inverter industry…
How will this effect you?
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03
Limits in Commercial PV Design10
My predictions for 2015/2016
Unsustainable price decreases as companies dump
stock and fire sale excess goods
Aggressively targeting boom markets – such as the UK
Lower quality in order to reduce production costs
Long warranty terms and extensions
Eventually inverter manufactures will leave the market
Who will honour your warranty claims?
Protect yourself and your
clients investment
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04
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Are extended warranties worth it?
Most electrical goods get cheaper over time, inverters are no
different. As a technology gets more popular and as
manufacturing costs decrease, the overall cost of an
electrical item will also decrease.
A prime example is the DVD player, a piece of electrical
equipment that is now ubiquitous in our lives. 15 years ago
these units were expensive and extended warranties were
often pushed onto the consumer. Now you can pick up a
reputable brand DVD player for £30, far less than the
average price of an extended warranty back in 1999.
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Minimising your risk…
Deal only with financially strong manufacturers
As about their quality procedures
Check the fine print of the warranty!
Don’t be fooled by extended warranties
If you can, visit the factory
Find a manufacturer that can offer reliability, quality and
affordability.
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Thank you.
Energy for everybody.
Kaiserswerther Str. 115 | 40880 Ratingen Deutschland
Tel.: +49 2102 420 000 | Fax.: +49 2102 420 001
www.zeversolar.com