EnerSolar Expo

Our third visit was to an alternative energy conference named EnerSolar. At this expo, various companies came to display there products as well as to push for solar technology here in Brazil. Here I learned about various types of solar/pv technologies.The conference had participants from all over the world including, Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, China, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the U.S. Exhibitor companies included AC Project, Axitec, Brandoni Solare, Energy Team Brasil and many more. This year the conference also expanded to include the small wind energy industry.  The goal of the conference was to assist Brazil in expanding its solar energies.




Many of the products at the conference were different types of solar panels. At the booth for Energy Team Brasil, my team and I were informed about there panels. We were informed about mono crystalline and polycrystalline panels.

The picture above is an example of a mono crystalline panel. Mono crystalline cells have higher efficiency than polycrystalline cells due to the structure being made from one large crystal as opposed to many small ones. I also learned that mono crystalline panels can perform up to 10% better than the polycrystalline ones in high ambient temperatures.

The picture above is an example of a polycrystalline panel. Many companies told us that these models have a better temperature performance coefficient. After visiting many booths, I found out that these means that the cells heat up more slowly than the mono crystalline ones. This allows the models to perform better under higher temperatures. These model panels are recommended in middle and southern parts of Europe and in areas with high temperatures.

After learning about many various photovoltaic products, my team and I headed to Vigest Solar, a company that is currently also working on wind generators. They have created a small wind turbine for people to generate electricity at home. There DS series micro-turbines are rated from 300W up to 3000W. This allows you to use wind energy from both on and off grid installations. The wind turbines begin capturing wind at 3 m/s and continue at high wind speeds of 60 m/s. This to me, was a great idea because it lowers your energy bill with the lowest maintenance. I believe Vigest should promote their product in the U.S., as wind energy is becoming very popular and is more environmentally friendly than solar energy. Here is a photo of a small wind turbine!