Exclusive: Eltek Valere introduces solar-optimized power rectifier for telecoms networks

Power systems specialist, Eltek Valere, is expected to announce a solar-optimized version of its Flatpack 2 HE (high efficiency) Rectifier for telecoms networks this week.

According to Kenneth Bodahl, Eltek Valere’s managing director of Asia Pacific, the new Flatpack 2 HE Solar rectifier was specially developed for the operating conditions of sites that utilize some form of solar power, including remote and off-grid locations currently relying heavily on diesel generators.

Three distinct features make the Flatpack 2 HE Solar ideal for supporting solar powered sites, Bodahl told Green Telecom Live.

Among the three features is galvanic isolation that acts like a separator between the solar panels and telecoms equipment, improving immunity to lightning strikes that can potentially impact the network. The new system also sports something called, Maximum Power Point Tracking, or MPPT, which uses close to 100% of the available power being served up by the solar power system.

“Solar panels only achieve 13% to18% efficiency in terms of turning sunlight into power, so it is very important that the Flatpack HE Solar uses as much of that power as possible,” Bodahl said.

Lastly, the solar-optimized solution continues the performance first introduced by the company’s HE Rectifiers, which offer DC power efficiency levels of up 95%-96%, compared to 85% or lower for legacy power rectifiers.
According to Bodahl, the new design is also modular and features remote monitoring and management features to make it easier for operators to take care of sites that are typically located in more remote regions.

“If you look at the biggest growth markets, it is in emerging markets where up to 70% of the countries don’t have grid power, or have unreliable grids,” he said. “Most of the new deployments in these markets now use diesel today, which is extremely expensive. Solar power enables operators to dramatically reduce their reliance on diesel.”

In one deployment of solar power sites by an Asian mobile operator, the monthly diesel consumption of 1,500 litres per site was reduced by as much as 90%, he added.

More importantly, Bodahl said that the new Flatpack HE Solar will work with any type of telecoms equipment, which includes fixed and broadband systems. “One of the key benefits of solar power is that it enables telecoms operators to grow their business in areas where they could not before.”

Tags: eltek valere, green telecoms, Mobile networks, power rectifier, solar power

Category: Mobile, Networks, Renewables