The team behind the popular Solmetric PV instruments will be fully integrated into a new research and development team for Vivint Solar, Solmetric’s parent company.
The American solar installer’s new research and development team will be known as Vivint Solar Labs and will focus on PV installation instruments and software.
As part of the move Vivint Solar has confirmed that it will discontinue the SunEye 201, claiming all remaining inventory. In addition, its accompanying line of products will also be discontinued including: PV Designer, Solmetric Shade Training and the SunEye Extension Platform. The company explained that it took the decision because the “SunEye 201 had reached the end of its product lifecycle”.
Commenting on the move, Greg Butterfield, CEO of Vivint Solar said: “We look forward to further development of advanced photovoltaic installation technology that will significantly reduce our cost per watt and expedite solar installations for our customers.”
Griff Thomas, managing director of GTEC Solutions – an importer of Solmetric products into the UK – expressed his disappointment at the loss of the SunEye range. He told Solar Power Portal: “The news that the Suneye range of products are being discontinued will be a real blow to the solar industry.
“Solmetric tools have been a significant player in determining potential shading and system performance for many years and this decision will be a great loss to the solar industry worldwide. Solmetric were particularly supportive of the UK market and GTEC worked extensively with them to develop a function that allowed the MCS shade path diagram to be created using the Suneye 210, this support showed how keen Solmetric were to develop products that were fit for the market they served.”
Thomas continued: “There are no other products that will immediately fill the gap left by this news but we hope that someone will step up-to the plate and develop the next generation of surveying equipment for the industry. GTEC will be actively looking to work with those suppliers to meet the needs of our existing customer base.”