Solar Power World, the premier media outlet for the U.S. solar market and publisher of the annual Top Solar Contractors List, is proud to unveil a new awards program for the U.S. solar and storage industry: Top Products presented by Solar Power World.
The inaugural Top Products presented by Solar Power World contest will celebrate the most innovative and significant products available to the U.S. solar and storage industry in 2024. This competition will be judged by industry professionals with experience in all markets, representing the research, product development and installation sectors. Awarded products will be assessed on their originality, market promise and benefits to installers and developers.
Submissions for the 2024 Top Products program are now being accepted here.
The 2024 Top Products program will follow two tracks: residential and large-scale. The categories are:
- Solar Panels
- Inverters + Power Electronics
- Racking + Mounting + Tracking
- Software + Apps
- Energy Storage
- Balance of System (BOS)
- Installation Equipment
- Solar-Plus (items that don’t require solar or storage to work but still benefit our industry)
Entries submitted must be new products that are commercially available in the United States and have been released since January 1, 2022. [Note: After the first awards campaign, new products will be restricted to having been released in the previous calendar year.] The entry deadline is Sept. 9, 2024, and the entry fee is $375. Late entries, with an increased fee of $475, will be accepted until Sept. 30, 2024.
Best submissions should include the following:
- A basic description of the product in fewer than 250 words.
- High-resolution (300 dpi) product photo and companion data sheet (if relevant).
- Description of the product’s purpose: What problem does it solve? How does it improve on older products? How is it different from competitive products?
- Information on the product development process: Was there any customer input? How was it tested?
- Real-life examples: How has the product already been installed or used by customers in the United States? How has it improved final projects, ROI or installation effort?
Winners of the 2024 Top Products contest will be announced online in December and in our December printed magazine.
Product Examples (not exclusive nor limited to these examples):
| Category | Residential | Large-scale |
| Solar Panels | Traditional solar panels | Large-format panels, bifacial |
| Inverters + Power Electronics | Microinverters, MLPE, string inverters, power optimizers |
String inverters, central inverters |
| Racking + Mounting + Tracking | Sloped roof mounts, racking, flashing | Ground-mounts, trackers, foundations, ground screws, flat roof mounts |
| Software + Apps | Design software, sales software, drones | O&M software, aerial analytics |
| Energy Storage | Residential ESS | Large-scale ESS |
| Balance of System (BOS) | Wire clips, conduit mounts, gateways, critter guards |
Cable management, transformer skids, combiner boxes |
| Installation Equipment | Torque tools, pile drivers, module lift devices, robots, safety harnesses, measurement devices |
|
| Solar-Plus | EV chargers, home automation devices, smart electrical panels | |
Questions? Reach out to editor Kelly Pickerel at kpickerel@wtwhmedia.com.