The Future of the

Inverter Industry

Michael Middlemast

UK Sales Manager

Who are Zeversolar?

2

01

China:

① Gansu,

② Beijing,

③ Suzhou/Shanghai

Australia

United Kingdom

Germany

Partners in Africa & India

Zeversolar Energy for Everybody

Company Information3

More than 450 employees

94 employees in R&D

33 M€ revenue in 2012

390 MW sold in 2012 worldwide

As part of the SMA Group, Zeversolar offers a unique blend of European standards

and Chinese manufacturing. Making our units efficient, reliable and affordable.

Global presence Regional presence

Zeversolar combines the best of two worlds

Company Information4

Chinese skills:

Highly efficient production

Technical, high-tech

manufacturing,

Flexible, able to quickly bring

products to the market

Willingness to work

hard

German quality standards:

German engineering,

Market leader,

Structured, efficient,

innovative, standards

and norms implemented

Excellent service and

benchmark setting products

Zeversolar:

Energy for

Everybody

No other Chinese manufacturer can offer this level quality control at this price level

What can we learn from the

module industry?

5

02

What module type do you use now?

Limits in Commercial PV Design6

What module type did you start with?

Can you guess how much was actually installed

globally in 2012?

Limits in Commercial PV Design7

28.4GW! Meaning module manufacturers over produced by nearly

10GW

Limits in Commercial PV Design8

Time

N

um

ber

of

mo

du

le m

an

ufa

ctu

rers

Massive expansion

Massive contraction

Eventual stability

We will see the same in the inverter industry…

How will this effect you?

9

03

Limits in Commercial PV Design10

My predictions for 2015/2016

Unsustainable price decreases as companies dump

stock and fire sale excess goods

Aggressively targeting boom markets – such as the UK

Lower quality in order to reduce production costs

Long warranty terms and extensions

Eventually inverter manufactures will leave the market

Who will honour your warranty claims?

Protect yourself and your

clients investment

11

04

Limits in Commercial PV Design12

Are extended warranties worth it?

Most electrical goods get cheaper over time, inverters are no

different. As a technology gets more popular and as

manufacturing costs decrease, the overall cost of an

electrical item will also decrease.

A prime example is the DVD player, a piece of electrical

equipment that is now ubiquitous in our lives. 15 years ago

these units were expensive and extended warranties were

often pushed onto the consumer. Now you can pick up a

reputable brand DVD player for £30, far less than the

average price of an extended warranty back in 1999.

Limits in Commercial PV Design13

Minimising your risk…

Deal only with financially strong manufacturers

As about their quality procedures

Check the fine print of the warranty!

Don’t be fooled by extended warranties

If you can, visit the factory

Find a manufacturer that can offer reliability, quality and

affordability.

Limits in Commercial PV Design14

Thank you.

Energy for everybody.

Kaiserswerther Str. 115 | 40880 Ratingen Deutschland

Tel.: +49 2102 420 000 | Fax.: +49 2102 420 001

www.zeversolar.com