Solar panels on the roof of a city bus or coach can generate significant savings 'Every litre less diesel fuel benefits operations and the environment,' says Karl Andreassen, CEO and co-founder of Solarbus.pro. The solar panels are easy to install.
Every little bit helps. For instance, solar panels can produce energy that powers various drive generators such as air conditioning, ventilation, a refrigerator and automatically operated doors. All are energy guzzlers that significantly increase fuel bills.
‘1 kWh of energy produced is equivalent to 1 litre of diesel and means a CO2 reduction of 2.86 kg. These are figures that matter. Our solar cells can produce up to 1,000 kWh, which is good for 1,000 litres of saved diesel fuel per year,' Karl Andreassen emphasises.
'Sustainability is the watchword of Solarbus.pro. We use only three per cent of rare materials compared to mainstream solar panel producers.'
Solarbus.pro, part of the Green Energy group, has been manufacturing and applying solar panels for 11 years. The company produces in Denmark and has developed a ready-to-use application of solar panels for city buses and coaches.
Installing the flexible solar panels is a simple job, according to the manufacturer. The solar cells rest on a self-adhesive carrier, a high-quality laminate that can withstand freezing cold and high desert temperatures. 'We subjected the solar panels to the most demanding tests such as the torsional forces of a long body. The roof of a bus can move several centimetres along its entire length. However, our panels are sufficiently flexible to absorb this,' says Andreassen.
The company prides itself on the fact that the solar panels remain operative for a virtually unlimited age. 'They are 97.8 per cent recyclable but we also support a NGO in Uganda where the reusable solar panels are placed on the roof of mud houses and provide electricity to the residents with a battery, ' says the CEO.
The manufacturer does everything, from development and production to preparing instructions for installing the solar panels. Cleaning the panels turns out to be unnecessary. 'And even under a layer of dust or dense snow, the cells continue to produce energy. The top layer of the solar panels is so smooth that no deposits can stick,' Karl Andreassen concludes.
According to the CEO, the investment in the solar panels pays for itself in two years. Solarbus.pro is present in 27 countries.
