SolarEdge has around 500 employees worldwide. 380 of them work in the new HQ near Tel Aviv where the company moved last summer. Seven floors are packed with offices, conference rooms and technical labs. SolarEdge drives the solar energy technology by special DC-DC-power optimizers that increase the energy yield of the solar modules. SolarEdge combines these power optimizers with very efficient inverters. They offer an interesting storage system for PV home installations that is compatible with the Tesla home battery, Powerwall.
The man who knows almost everything
The man who knows almost everything on SolarEdges technology is Yaron Binder, the frank Vice President of Product Management. “Our new headquarters building was specifically designed for our business needs that are focused on innovation and customer needs. From the office layout to the lab infrastructure, the building is designed to streamline communication and cooperation between our R&D, operations, marketing, and pre and post-sales departments,” he explains. “In the after sales we operate here as a central point, but worldwide our teams follow the sun.”
Following the sun, this is the SolarEdge story. The company was founded in 2006 by a handful of enthusiasts with the idea of optimizing the solar energy yield with module-level PPT including monitoring and safety functions. In September 2007 the first money came in for the tiny start-up, R&D activities started. During the Intersolar in Munich in June 2008 SolarEdge presented its first prototype for demonstration. The following year they finished the certification process and the preparations for the production of the DC-optimizers and the inverters. Then, in 2010, they started to sell the components. In 2012 they got the Intersolar Award for their revolutionary ideas.
Everyday business in mind
When Yaron Binder talks about “following the sun” he has the everyday business in mind. Up to this day SolarEdge has sold more than ten million power optimizers worldwide. The monitoring platform is cloud based, the sales & support teams are spread around the globe. So is the production of the small devices is with contract manufacturers in China and Europe. In Europe the factory is situated in Zalaegerszeg, a small Hungarian town near Lake Balaton. “Quality and reliability are the main focus of our business”, says Yaron Binder, “Quality in R&D, quality in production, and quality in after sales services.” This includes the testing and certification process for all materials and components used in the power optimizers: circuit boards, electronic elements, cables and housing. (Heiko Schwarzburger)
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Part Two: SolarEdge Plans Further Steps In Technology Of Module Level DC Optimizers
