Japanese cable manufacturer GBP says that its new aluminium-cored cables for use in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will soon become the standard. “There are performance benefits to using aluminium over the traditional copper core, but the real benefit is the anti-theft potential of our new range,” says the company.
Aluminium costs significantly less than copper. South Africa has long been plagued with copper thieves destroying infrastructure such as traffic lights and telephone lines, all in the name of stealing the metal cable in the centre.
“The conductivity of aluminium cables is around 60% that of copper but it is almost 60% lighter in weight when compared to copper. By selecting an appropriate size cable, you can achieve the exact same performance as with copper conductors,” says the technology supplier. “Our new aluminium cables are also far more flexible than the traditional copper-cored cables, so this makes installation easier and quicker, so you will save on installation costs too.”
There is another benefit to using cables with aluminium cores than copper, says the Japanese company. “Our cables will allow you to reduce the cost of a PV project by up to 10% in some cases. We are looking at making the cables smaller for home PV systems, but right now they are best used in medium-to-larger systems.”
To date, the cables have been given approval for use in more than 15 European countries including Germany, Italy and Spain.
Source: www.gbp-global.com
