ONYX Plug-n-Play Solar Panel Schematic
Onyx Service & Solutions has been developing a “plug-n-play” all-in-one solar panel this year that you may be able to buy from your local Home Depot, Lowe’s, or other such store soon. It will include a 280-watt, high-efficiency solar panel and a built-in microinverter. The panel and microinverter were sourced in Asia, but it’s intended that the source of the battery, future development, and manufacturing be in the U.S.
The battery is supposed to provide at least 5 hours of peak power. The panels are being designed to “fit together in series for virtually unlimited power configurations,” Onyx president Malcolm Burleson says. (Sounds useful and fun!)
Burleson apparently feels strongly about making a “Made in the USA” product and helping the struggling economy. “As an American company, we feel it is our duty to manufacture this technology in the U.S. and use it to create as many American jobs that economic prudence allows,” Burleson says. “We want our revolutionary product to carry the Made in USA label.”
This isn’t the only company looking to develop a mainstream plug-n-play solar panel. A rooftop plug-n-play solar power system called AC Unison was released at the Intersolar North America conference this summer, for example. I also wrote about Clarian’s plug-in solar panels last year. And we covered some plug-and-play solar panels from Veranda Solar two and a half years ago. Nothing has blown up and taken the market by storm yet. Will the panels from Onyx or the AC Unison do so?
You can download a schematic and more information about the product on Onyx’s “investor relations” page under the “Featured Product” section on the right.
I'm the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular clean energy website in the world, and Planetsave, a leading green and science news site. I've been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and I've been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, bicycling, and wind energy for the past few years. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Think Progress, GE's ecomagination site, several sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. To connect on some of your favorite social networks, go to zacharyshahan.com or click on some of the links below.
