Furniture Manufacturer Builds a More Energy Efficient Future With Rooftop Solar

Innovative DC-optimized inverter solution chosen to maximize energy production and safeguard staff and the building contents which include highly-flammable raw materials

Italy, Treviso, September 26, 2023 – In a proactive move to reduce energy costs and improve its environmental sustainability, Italian furniture and home accessories manufacturer, Andrea Bizzotto SPA, has installed a 5000 sq meter solar PV (photovoltaic) system on the roof of its logistics hub in Arquà Polesine, Rovigo. The SolarEdge DC-optimized inverter system is expected to 506.53MWh of clean, renewable energy each year, helping Bizzotto to significantly reduce its energy bill, while also cutting the site’s carbon emissions by more than 129 tons each year.

Munari Group, the company chosen to design and install the solar plant, recommended the SolarEdge solution to overcome challenging aspects of the project. As the factory’s roof is shaded by nearby electrical wires, it required a PV solution that could mitigate shading and generate the maximum energy possible. It was also critical to select a solution that could also provide long-term PV safety as the system would be installed on a manufacturing facility housing over 100 employees, complex machinery, and flammable raw materials.

Using SolarEdge Designer, a software tool that allows installers to easily map out solar installations in advance and illustrate system performance, Munari was able to demonstrate to Bizzotto the results the solar installation would achieve. This gave the manufacturer the confidence it needed to move forward with the project.

The SolarEdge solution overcomes the limitations of traditional string inverter systems by using Power Optimizers attached to the underside of each pair of solar modules to enable them to operate independently from others on the same string. This ensures that any drop in production, for example due to shading, debris or module mismatch, will not reduce the performance of connected modules, significantly increasing energy production over the lifetime of the installation. Additionally, the Power Optimizers also monitor the performance of each pair of modules in real time and communicate performance data to the SolarEdge monitoring platform, enabling remote troubleshooting. This will mean Bizzotto enjoys maximum system uptime, further ensuring a high annual yield and a faster return on investment (ROI).

Meeting the highest industry safety standards was another critical consideration for Bizzotto.  SolarEdge’s proprietary SafeDCTM feature automatically brings the solar array to touch-safe levels

whenever the grid or inverter is shut down, protecting Bizzotto’s people, property and equipment, in the event of an emergency. This important feature, in addition to embedded arc fault detection, helped further convince Bizzotto that its investment in solar was in safe hands.

Agostino Bizzotto, Legal representative for Andrea Bizzotto SPA: “Our choice of SolarEdge has empowered us to adapt our business to the modern energy challenges we face. With this one decision, we have freed ourselves from unpredictable energy costs and significantly reduced our plant’s carbon footprint."