Solar power from the roof of the rental house

The energy transition on film sets is picking up pace. Hybrid solutions are gaining ground with generators, where practicability and price play an important role. The most reasonable and eco-friendly energy is the one not used at all. Energy-efficient lighting concepts carry a huge potential along with self-generated solar power. An increasing number of studios and film equipment rental houses turning to photovoltaic systems, which also benefit their customers.

 

“We invested in a photovoltaic system with battery storage so that we can provide our entire company with self-generated solar power”, says Oliver Graff, who operates the camera, lighting, and grip rental house Camcar in Cologne and Düsseldorf. During the day, hybrid vehicles, among others, are charged with solar power. Thanks to its in-house electricity storage, which has a capacity of 12,6 kWh, batteries can also be charged overnight by eco-friendly electricity from its photovoltaic roof. The advantage: customers receive batteries charged by real renewables instead of a grey electricity mix from the grid.

 

The energy-saving solutions that Camcar offers for lighting include a broad range of LED lights that have both low energy consumption and low heat emission rates in relation to their brightness. When it comes to reflectors, Oliver Graff offers an eco-friendly solution. „We’ve been purchasing our cardboard reflectors from the Kohlschein Company for a long time.“ The top layer of these lightweight, stable display boards is made of cardboard and a honeycomb core of kraft paper, so that they are one-hundred percent recyclable.

 

The huge 182-square-meter area of solar panels on the roof of the camera, lighting, and grip rental house, has a system performance of 29,8 kWp. The potential for solar power production will be further exploited in the future. “We’re planning another photovoltaic system of the same size, so that we can charge hybrid vehicles for our employees and have charging stations with solar power.”

 

Photos: © Oliver Graff/Camcar

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