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How instagrid battery saved an installation professional 2 hours from their workday blogpost header

How instagrid battery saved an installation professional 2 hours from their workday

Portable Power Test Solmey Video

Do you work with household installations? Then you might have encountered the challenge of powering your equipment at the client’s place. You make sure that the house owner is at home, opening the door and showing you where to find the electric sockets… only to find that they are not very conveniently located. You are used to pulling extension cords and reserving time for small talk with clients and petting their dogs. Yet, you may wonder if the availability of electricity could be arranged in some other way?

Lifting solar panels onto roof

To test if there indeed is another way to access power for household installations, we asked true professionals for help. Solar power installations are becoming more popular and increasing in numbers, as many households these days are interested in having solar power for their homes. To see how the installation is done, we spent a day with Solmey GmbH. This family owned business is helping house owners in the Southern Germany to convert their electricity needs to solar power. Solmey is the expert on the latest innovative technology available such as battery storage systems, LED lighting, smart home solutions and EV charging stations.

We tested the instagrid portable power system and discussed the best working practices with Axel Noack, head of technology at Solmey.

Using instagrid to lift solar panels up to the roof

Save time and make installation work more efficient

Solmey GmbH has been installing Solar Panels since 2011, accumulating know-how in this field for years.  The company installs 2000 photovoltaic modules per year, both grid-connected PV systems as well as standalone and hybrid systems. Being in the forefront of smart grids and new technologies, Solmey jumped on our offer to test our device and shared some of their best practices with instagrid.

To lift the solar modules onto the roof, Axel uses a ladder lift, which obviously needs electricity to operate. Typically, the installation crew would have to access the electric sockets inside the house, always agreeing with the house owner on the day and time of the installation. 50-meter cable drums in the back of the car ensure, that the access to a power socket is always obtained. Typically, installation takes two entire working days, with cables being pulled in-and-out of the house.

This time, Axel did things differently and tested powering his equipment with the instagrid portable power supply. From the start it became evident: inconvenience for the house owners was minimized and some worktime was saved when puling the cables weren’t necessary.

But what about the performance?

instagrid in the front construction worker in the background

Best way of lifting solar panels onto roof

The battery system weighs only 15 kilograms, so it can be placed freely anywhere in the proximity of the appliances in use. The PHALKE ladder lift that Axel uses, drains 1000W, lifting two panels, 36 kg at a time.  In addition, the battery was tested to power a RÖDER milling machine and an industrial vacuum, when cutting roof tiles. Both these devices combined required about 3000W. The test showed that the instagrid portable battery system easily provided enough power for the entire workday.

Get more flexibility in your workday

Our test showed that with the help of instagrid, the workflow for residential installation services got much easier. Setting up of the work area became more comfortable and flexible. Instead of bothering their clients and looking for power sockets inside the house the installation crew could start working immediately.

“Using the portable power system, we could work on several parallel tasks, even when the installation phase required that the electricity is cut off from the house. Being independent from the grid adds flexibility in the workflow”, Axel says.

Instagrid impressed Axel not only during his time at work, but even during a side project on his personal off-gird property. After finishing his workday Axel continued building and created an amazing playhouse for his son in the garden.

In comparison to a traditional combustion engine generator, that runs on fuel, the instagrid portable power supply has no noise or toxic fumes and can operate indoors. It is completely sealed for any weather conditions, making it a perfect power source for any professional work off-grid.

Summary: one portable battery system was enough for the entire workday.

  • Less inconvenience for house owners

  • Time saved when setting up the workplace: looking for sockets, pulling the cables

  • Time saved – parallel tasks done simultaneously, even when the electricity is cut off in the building for electric works.

Total time saved during workday: 2 hours

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