One thing we know about students who have gone through our training courses is that they’re always looking for the best products. At Heatspring, we want to keep you abreast of the best products in the solar and geothermal industry. Since we always strive to be 100% transparent, we assure you that we were not paid by Lumeta Solar to provide this review; it’s based on the innovation of the product, and we feel Lumeta panels can truly help you with your business.

At PV America I sat down with Nico Johnson, who is heading up Lumeta’s North American sales effort, to discuss the product.

NOTE: If you’re an experienced solar contractor and are interested in getting more information about the product or working with Lumeta, fill out the simple form below and we’ll provide you with information.
Q: What is the history of the product? How was it developed and why?
A: The product was developed by roofers for rooftops. We didn’t have a need to be innovative and on the edge of technology–we simply identified flaws in the existing mounting methodology for certain rooftop applications. There is not a lot of diversity in the building integrated solar photovoltaic (BIPV) market. The panels were developed specifically to address the needs of large customers who wanted a better solar product offering, one that is elegant, has high power density, and which does not compromise the roof integrity or structural load. In the past, there have been few choices which meet these requirements. The first, was to have hundreds of penetrations on the roof, which increases the need for maintenance. Alternatively we had contractors lugging a ton of ballasts on the roof, which most roofing manufacturers are now beginning to acknowledge raises concerns about long-term warranty coverage. This is where we saw the gap for a product that would address the need for zero roof penetrations and for light-weight roof structures.

Because they’ve come directly out of the roofing industry, the founders of Lumeta really
understand the need for and importance of simplifying integration. They wanted a product that any contractor could wrap his mind around, as well as the crew. They also wanted a product that would decrease the balance of system costs–as silicon prices have dropped, balance of system (BOS) costs have increased as a percentage of total costs.
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