A pre-assembled conduit manufactured in Australian by Victoria-based balance-of-system supplier PV Connections has purportedly reduced installation time of rooftop solar systems by up to 20%.
Melbourne-headquartered PV Connections says its pre-assembled Solarflex conduit can slash rooftop solar system installation times by up to 20%.
Designed to minimize the time required to wire up conduit on site, the Solarflex is available in drums of 60 m of 2 mm x 4 mm, 50 m of 2 mm x 6mm, and 30 m of 4.4 mm. All include an earth cable, inside a UV-resistant, corrugated, self-extinguishing conduit.
PV Connections Director Rick Arkcoll told pv magazine the Solarflex dramatically reduces the time needed to feed multiple cables through a site during installation.
“With this product, you have one, pre-wired conduit that you feed from the roof, which is the best way because of the weight, down through the roof cavity to the inverter in one run and then it’s all done,” he said.
“It makes it a lot easier on site, which saves time and money, because it’s easier, safer and faster, minimizing time needed to be inside a roof. It’s also pre-branded ‘solar’.”
Arkcoll said the products are manufactured in Melbourne and most of the components are also Australian-made.
“The conduit and the earth cable are made in Australia and assembly is done at our facility in Boronia, west of the Melbourne CBD,” he said.
The product emerged in 2014, following a standards change requiring the use of conduit inside a roof space and in the past 12 months has also been rated for underground use, including if submerged in temporary or permanent groundwater, allowing for standalone buildings to separately host a solar installation, such as on a garage, and inverter on a house.