Example Installation
Supporting Energy Independence on a Complex Roof with Tigo Flex MLPE and 18% Average Reclaimed Energy
11.48 kW PV system with 28 Tigo TS4-A-O optimizers and 19.5 kWh energy storage
11.48 kW PV system with 28 Tigo TS4-A-O optimizers and 19.5 kWh energy storage
In Oranienburg, near Berlin, a privately owned property was equipped with an 11.48 kWdc solar system designed to supply electricity for the building and several energy-intensive loads.
Commissioned in May 2023, the installation consists of 28 Trina Vertex S 410 Wp modules, paired with Tigo TS4-A-O optimizers and SMA STP inverter. A 19.5 kWh lithium-ion energy storage system complements the PV array, helping the customer increase the use of locally generated solar energy.
The property currently serves as an office building, with a future conversion to residential use planned. Solar production supports the building’s electricity demand as well as an air-conditioning system, an electric vehicle, and even the pump for a landscaped stream in front of the property.
For the owner, the goal was straightforward: maximize the use of self-generated solar energy across a wide range of household and building loads.
The roof presented several design challenges.
The 28 PV modules had to be distributed across three different orientations (south, west, and north) rather than on a single uniformly oriented roof surface. The east-facing roof section was not used for PV because a tall row of nearby trees creates significant shading on that side of the property.
Trees and dormers also introduced varying shading conditions across the remaining usable roof areas, meaning that individual modules could experience significantly different operating conditions throughout the day.
Working around these constraints, Tigo Certified Installer Elektro Rümpel & Sohn GmbH designed the array to take advantage of the usable roof areas while addressing the mismatch created by different orientations and shading conditions.
Based on the installer’s recommendation, the customer selected Tigo TS4-A-O optimization for the project, installing one optimizer on each of the 28 PV modules. The module-level approach helped accommodate the different orientations and shading conditions present across the usable roof surfaces while giving the customer visibility into the performance of each individual module through the Tigo Energy Intelligence monitoring platform.
This visibility quickly proved useful, when a faulty PV module could be identified at module-level instead of being hidden within the overall production of the array.
Energy Intelligence also provides visibility into Reclaimed Energy, showing the energy recovered by Tigo optimization when module mismatch would otherwise limit production. In this installation, Tigo Flex MLPE delivered an average of 18% Reclaimed Energy, with peaks up to 28% repeatedly recorded in September across multiple years, as seasonal shading became more pronounced.
Together, optimization and monitoring give the owner both a way to address the roof’s varying conditions and a clearer view of how the system is performing over time.
The system owner reports strong solar production and periods of near energy self-sufficiency when irradiation is high, despite a roof layout that combines three orientations and significant site-specific shading. Rather than forcing the installation into the constraints of a uniform roof design, the system uses the available surfaces and manages their differences at module level.
For system owner Dipl. Ing. Frank Dölle, that combination of energy production and visibility is central to the experience:
“During periods of strong sunshine, we are almost self-sufficient. The three different roof orientations are handled very well, and best of all, with the Tigo EI app we can keep an eye on every module.”
The Oranienburg installation shows how module-level optimization and monitoring can turn a challenging roof layout into a manageable solar system, giving the owner and the installer greater visibility while making productive use of roof surfaces with very different operating conditions.
Founded in 1990, Elektro Rümpel & Sohn GmbH provides residential and commercial customers across Brandenburg and Berlin with a broad range of electrical engineering services, from traditional electrical installations to smart building technology, lighting, and network solutions. The company also combines expertise in energy generation and storage, supporting customers from system planning through installation, and is a Tigo Certified Installer.
For more information, visit elektro-ruempel.de
