TAMING THE SUN

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Several photovoltaic panels on Pixel's roof track the sun Commsolar provided the expertise and product required

View of photovoltaic solar system on roof of apartment, condominium, home, mixed use, property, real estate, roof, sky, water, teal — View of photovoltaic solar system on roof of the Pixel Building.

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View of photovoltaic solar system on roof of energy, sky, solar energy, solar panel, solar power, technology, teal, blue

View of hydraulic package for the Pixel Building. bathroom, bathroom sink, interior design, plumbing fixture, product design, room, sink, tap, white

View of hydraulic package for the Pixel Building. industry, machine, gray, white

View of hydraulic package for the Pixel Building. machine, gray, white

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Many technologies were used for the first time in Australia on Pixel, including the latest wave of solar-capturing energy systems.

Commsolar was commissioned to design, supply and install the photovoltaic solar system on the roof. A 6.3kW system was required spread across the roof garden. Director Frank Teofilo says to increase the output given the limited space, three arrays of panels were mounted on dual axis solar trackers with two fixed arrays mounted on a lightweight tilt frame and the stairwell roof space.

"One of the challenges was positioning the trackers to minimise shading impacts from each other, as well as from the wind turbines. Several simulations were conducted to optimise layouts and in the end, the trackers were staggered in height north to south and spaced across the roof between the turbines on the west side.

Products used included Suntech PLUTO215W PV Panels, SMA SB4000TL Inverters, and Kalang Harvester-DA Solar Trackers.

Commsolar is the commercial arm of Solar Shop Australia, which supplies grid-connect solar power systems nationwide. Completed projects range from this 6.3kW system for the Pixel building up to the 1000kW rooftop system at the Adelaide Showgrounds.

Commsolar worked with Suntech to reclaim excess panels from other projects assisting Pixel with its Green Star rating.