How does the new K2 Buddy for tiled roofs get planned?

Nadine Wade: The Buddy is integrated into our K2 Base planning tool. Once the single-rail system has been designed and the K2 Buddy has been added, all the additional parts required are automatically listed in the parts list – ready for the ordering process.

Where should the Buddy be integrated?

K2 Base shows the recommended position for installing the Buddy. The metering module must always be placed at the edge of the installation. Ideally, it should be positioned beneath a module in the bottom row of the solar field, since most of the snow slides down there and thus poses the highest risk of exceeding the load limit. The sensors are attached to this measuring module on the side facing the edge of the roof directly in the mounting rail.

Register now!: Webinar with K2 Systems on 14 April 2025: Simple solutions for complex PV projects

How many Buddys are needed?

For the typical pitched roof of single and two-family houses, one K2 Buddy is completely sufficient. A second Buddy should be added just in case of larger roofs.

Miguel Giménez from K2 Systems: “Significant growth opportunities”

What components are required for installation on the tiled roof?

Beneath the measuring module, two stiffening rails with EPDM protective pads are fastened. These are required to support the weight of the combined rail and module on the measuring points. This is why it makes sense to consider the K2 Buddy when installing a new system. It is possible to retrofit the system with the Buddy. But usually this requires the erection of a scaffold as modules have to be removed and additional rails as well as the measuring sensors and other hardware must be installed. The K2 Buddy consists of the two measuring sensors, whose raw data is stored in the top box. The top box can also be snapped into the mounting rail and is connected to the base box inside the building by a cable. This base box retrieves the data from the roof at regular intervals and sends it to the cloud using the house’s internet connection. This data are processed in the cloud and the user can watch these data in the K2 Buddy app on hin mobile or tablet computer.

Living quarter in Malmö: High quality and service as deciding factors

And what does the installer additionally need to consider?

The base box is the communication interface to the cloud. This is linked using a wired LAN connection. A wireless internet connection by WLAN or LTE is not possible. Thanks to its top-hat rail housing, the base box can be installed in the switch cabinet alongside the power supply unit. This power supply unit is connected to the building power supply and provides both the base box and the top box with 24 volts and a maximum of 90 milliamperes. It is important that the base box is connected to the building connection by a qualified professional electrician. Using the LAN connection socket on the base box, the system is then connected to the in-house router.

The questions were asked by Nina Oral.

Find out here what the Buddy is and how does it work!





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How does sales in the Polish PV market differ from other markets?

Sales thrive on relationships; people buy from people. This is true in the Polish PV market as in any other market. In Poland in particular, however, price plays a very important role in purchasing decisions. Quality is often forgotten when comparing offers. But photovoltaics in particular are investments in energy systems that are intended to function reliably for decades. If you skimp on quality, you are cutting corners. This is especially true for the substructure, which is ultimately the foundation of every PV system -the secure connection between the roof or building façade and the PV system.

Also interesting: Poland: RWE aims to increase biodiversity at its PV parks

Who are your target groups in the Polish market?

Our target groups are PV wholesalers, installation companies, architects and commercial design offices so-called EPC companies (engineering, procurement, and construction) that build turnkey photovoltaic power plants.

How would you describe your personal role in the market?

As an Area Sales Manager for Poland I’m responsible for the development and better recognition of our company in the subordinate territory. I am in intensive contact with our target groups together with my colleague Bartosz Mosinski from technical sales. Customers tell us time and again that they are happy to always have a direct contact person at K2. Every year we exhibit at three trade fairs for renewable energies in Poland to maximize visibility. The most important trade fair for us is the one for the energy industry and renewable energies “ENEX” in Kielce. It takes place every year in February and marks the start of the annual photovoltaic season. We also regularly hold webinars for the Polish PV market and conduct on-site training courses for customers.

What are the particular challenges in the Polish PV market?

As already mentioned, the communication of quality. By this I don’t just mean the hardware quality, but the understanding of a complete package of coordinated planning software and substructure hardware and the resulting advantages for the user. We present our substructure as a particularly easy-to-install system with which all areas of PV installation can be covered, both during installation and during online-based planning.

What solutions do you offer on the Polish market?

We offer solutions for all types of flat and pitched roofs as well as for open-space systems. We also have car port and facade systems in our range. The only thing we do not have in our portfolio is Agri-PV. For all of our systems we have competitors in the market, including Polish manufacturers who offer PV mounting systems cheaply. We score points with our twenty years of experience, our promise of quality and the combination of sophisticated technology and a high level of planning depth. This brings our customers measurable advantages. Just one example is the significantly lower ballast for flat roof PV systems EAST-WEST when they are implemented with K2 software and our components.

Which tools do your customers in Poland use to plan

With our free B2B planning software “K2-Base”, we have created a low-threshold entry point for interested companies. Anyone can create an account, try it out and convince themselves of the very precise planning. The advantages of our offer are a combination of many components, including sustainable production. It brings customers and users a lot of benefit in the long term but may not be apparent at first glance. It is our job to communicate these connections in a market that is strongly driven by the lowest price.

Where do you see the Polish PV market in 12 months?

This will depend very much on political decisions. In the area of ​​single-family homes, a funding program called “My-Current” has just been adopted. The target group are homeowners who want to supply their buildings with solar power as much as possible. The government recently more than tripled the funding amount from 90 to 290 million euros. However, this amount is available for the period from 2024 to 2027. The application is bureaucratically complex. Whoever submits first is very likely to receive funding. Those who wait will probably miss out. Once the funding has been used up, demand in the residential sector will decline.

What about commercial installations?

This is not the case with commercial and industrial photovoltaic systems in Poland, as these are economical without state funding. Investors and companies also do not like to wait for state funding.The outdated Polish power grid, which is currently slowing down the expansion of economical open-space and commercial systems, is a problem with the expansion. The Polish government has recognized the problem and wants to push ahead with grid expansion. However, this takes time. A quick solution could be the strategic expansion of grid-friendly electricity storage facilities with large capacities to relieve the strain on the grid.

 Interview by Manfred Gorgus





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How does sales in the Polish PV market differ from other markets?

Dariusz Borowiec: Sales thrive on relationships; people buy from people. This is true in the Polish PV market as in any other market. In Poland in particular, however, price plays a very important role in purchasing decisions. Quality is often forgotten when comparing offers. But photovoltaics in particular are investments in energy systems that are intended to function reliably for decades. If you skimp on quality, you are cutting corners. This is especially true for the substructure, which is ultimately the foundation of every PV system -the secure connection between the roof or building façade and the PV system.

Also interesting: Poland: RWE aims to increase biodiversity at its PV parks

Who are your target groups in the Polish market?

Dariusz Borowiec: Our target groups are PV wholesalers, installation companies, architects and commercial design offices so-called EPC companies (engineering, procurement, and construction) that build turnkey photovoltaic power plants.

How would you describe your personal role in the market?

Dariusz Borowiec: As an Area Sales Manager for Poland I’m responsible for the development and better recognition of our company in the subordinate territory. I am in intensive contact with our target groups together with my colleague Bartosz Mosinski from technical sales. Customers tell us time and again that they are happy to always have a direct contact person at K2. Every year we exhibit at three trade fairs for renewable energies in Poland to maximize visibility. The most important trade fair for us is the one for the energy industry and renewable energies “ENEX” in Kielce. It takes place every year in February and marks the start of the annual photovoltaic season. We also regularly hold webinars for the Polish PV market and conduct on-site training courses for customers.

What are the particular challenges in the Polish PV market?

Dariusz Borowiec: As already mentioned, the communication of quality. By this I don’t just mean the hardware quality, but the understanding of a complete package of coordinated planning software and substructure hardware and the resulting advantages for the user. We present our substructure as a particularly easy-to-install system with which all areas of PV installation can be covered, both during installation and during online-based planning.

What solutions do you offer on the Polish market?

We offer solutions for all types of flat and pitched roofs as well as for open-space systems. We also have car port and facade systems in our range. The only thing we do not have in our portfolio is Agri-PV. For all of our systems we have competitors in the market, including Polish manufacturers who offer PV mounting systems cheaply. We score points with our twenty years of experience, our promise of quality and the combination of sophisticated technology and a high level of planning depth. This brings our customers measurable advantages. Just one example is the significantly lower ballast for flat roof PV systems EAST-WEST when they are implemented with K2 software and our components.

Which tools do your customers in Poland use to plan

With our free B2B planning software “K2-Base”, we have created a low-threshold entry point for interested companies. Anyone can create an account, try it out and convince themselves of the very precise planning. The advantages of our offer are a combination of many components, including sustainable production. It brings customers and users a lot of benefit in the long term but may not be apparent at first glance. It is our job to communicate these connections in a market that is strongly driven by the lowest price.

Where do you see the Polish PV market in 12 months?

Dariusz Borowiec: This will depend very much on political decisions. In the area of ​​single-family homes, a funding program called “My-Current” has just been adopted. The target group are homeowners who want to supply their buildings with solar power as much as possible. The government recently more than tripled the funding amount from 90 to 290 million euros. However, this amount is available for the period from 2024 to 2027. The application is bureaucratically complex. Whoever submits first is very likely to receive funding. Those who wait will probably miss out. Once the funding has been used up, demand in the residential sector will decline. This is not the case with commercial and industrial photovoltaic systems in Poland, as these are economical without state funding. Investors and companies also do not like to wait for state funding.The outdated Polish power grid, which is currently slowing down the expansion of economical open-space and commercial systems, is a problem with the expansion. The Polish government has recognized the problem and wants to push ahead with grid expansion. However, this takes time. A quick solution could be the strategic expansion of grid-friendly electricity storage facilities with large capacities to relieve the strain on the grid.

 Manfred Gorgus





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How long have you been in the solar business?

Katharina David: For 20 years K2 Systems builds up a close partnership with the installers. 20 years of connecting strength. 20 years that our customers are quite satisfied with the products we deliver. We call ist connecting strength, this connection between the ones who are using our products, the installers, and us learning from them to bring them new products for their needs.

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K2 Systems are one of the pioneers in digitalization of all the processes. What can you offer to save money, time, and hands?

We try to look at all the steps around installation that we help them to really gain some time, because gaining time is gaining money as well, and being able to scale up more. On the product side we really try to make it as simple as possible because the ease of installation helps as well on site. On the other hand, we have with K2 Base a super product to plan not only the mounting system, but the Inverters, too.

Watch the full interview on YouTube

Is it possible to order with the help of the K2 Base?

It is connected with our web shop and with the web shops of our PV distribution partners or electrical wholesalers. There they can really transfer what they are doing directly to the web shop. That helps tremendously. We get really good feedback. And that’s also part of connecting strength, working in these networks. When we try to avoid in between steps, that makes life far easier.

More about new mounting systems

A new field are solar facades. Wat do you think about this part of the market?

The optical challenges are much more more complex than on the rooftop. I am sure that facades coming up to become a new business. That‘s why we offer special mounting systems for vertical installations. Of course, the rooftop market is at least four, five times bigger. It’s still dominating. But the solar facades will come.

More innovation on video – watch PV Guided Tours!

What is your strategy in this new field?

Our approach is to standardize as much as possible. If we deliver a standardized solution the installer is able to do it on a regular basis. Every day again. We are more on the standardized way so that we really can use not only the rooftop, but also the façade of C&I buildings to generate energy.

How do you help your customers to apply the systems? How do you get in contact to make them ready for digital processes, make them ready for visualization?

We have something like an academy. We start with our resource center on the website. There you get all information you need. Then on the other hand, we have the frequently webinairs every week. In these webinairs we have frequency rate as well. And there we try to cover the needs of the installer, to teach them our products and to teach them, how they can make their life easier.

To complicate matters you need to do it for international customers. Which are the most important markets?

At the moment we are in an on-off situation in Europe. The Nordics are in a transition phase, a little bit fade down, but not totally. Then we have on-off situation in some Eastern countries or Middle Eastern countries. Italy will come up, will go back to a boom, I assume for C&I. Spain isn’t really good. France is still a really interesting market for us. The conditions in Germany are good but the market slows down compared to last two years. Let’s move and let’s generate to get the energy transition.

Interview by Heiko Schwarzburger

If you want to learn more about K2 Systems, look here.





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