Xizi Instruments Spurs the Post-Solar Energy Competition Era
Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're going to get. When the entire solar energy industry is troubled by how to compete, it's ironically the so-called supporting enterprises that have taken center stage and become the new driving force behind the development of solar energy.
The Inevitable Post-Solar Energy Era
No one knows exactly when it started, but the term "post-era" has left an indelible mark on every industry. The post-crisis era, the post-Olympic era, the post-PC era – each emergence of a "post-era" has marked a turning point in an industry, transitioning from prosperity to decline or moving toward even greater brilliance.
The development of the solar energy industry up until today has successively experienced two eras: the heat absorption era represented by Himin Solar and the heat preservation era represented by SunRain.
The heat absorption era was characterized by advancements in heat absorption technology, with efficient heat collection being key. Since Himin introduced its "three-tube" concept, competition within the industry has concentrated on heat collection. Breakthroughs made by leading companies in the area of heat collection tubes further improved the absorption rate of vacuum tubes. However, these improvements came at the cost of increased expenses without significantly impacting the final water temperature or performance.
The heat preservation era followed the heat absorption era, both aiming for more hot water. SunRain took a unique approach by launching the "heat preservation wall" technology. With the introduction of "heat preservation walls," market promotion themes shifted to "heat absorption as the foundation, insulation as the key," transforming corporate competition into a contest over "insulation."
Currently, competition among solar energy companies has become increasingly intense, with many firms relying solely on their instincts to continuously introduce various concepts. Additionally, some smaller enterprises have resorted to imitating well-known brands, producing low-cost and substandard products that disrupt market rules, damaging the image of solar water heaters in consumers' minds. How can this excess "creativity" be absorbed to make the competition in the solar energy industry more standardized and orderly? The solar energy industry urgently needs a landmark event to guide these companies into the competitive era following the solar water heater age.
An Instrument Opens a New Blue Ocean for Solar Energy Competition
The arrival of the post-competitive era of solar energy caught whole machine enterprises off guard. What they couldn't have anticipated is that early solar instruments, which were once overlooked, would end up altering today's competitive landscape in the solar energy field.
Around 2000, the first automatic water-filling instrument in the industry was born at Xizi. Although this innovation could be considered revolutionary, at the time, solar instruments had not yet garnered significant attention within the industry. For solar water heaters, control instruments were seen as optional. As time progressed, when Xizi Instruments proposed the concept of a fully intelligent controller, the significance of solar instruments for solar water heaters underwent a revolutionary change. This was particularly impactful for whole machine solar enterprises, as competition between solar water heaters was no longer limited to basic needs such as heat absorption and preservation. Instead, it extended into more convenient and humanized areas—something tangible that users could see and feel.
Today’s solar water heaters, despite achieving good energy-saving effects, are far from user-friendly, causing unnecessary trouble for users. Manual controls cannot account for variations in sunlight intensity, time, and water temperature changes, thus failing to fully utilize solar energy. Fluctuating manual water temperatures also diminish the joy of bathing. Xizi's artificial intelligence controller, however, enables intelligent fuzzy control of solar instruments. Based on weather conditions, sunlight intensity, water volume, and water temperature, the instrument automatically fills water at appropriate times. If the instrument includes electric heating functionality and the water temperature does not meet the required standard, it will automatically activate the electric heating system after sunset. This is just part of Xizi Instrument's capabilities.
The route towards intelligent solar water heaters is not only due to the need for differentiated products by whole machine solar enterprises but also because product design must consider user needs. Currently, multiple leading solar water heater manufacturers use "intelligence" as a promotional slogan. Compared to specialized manufacturers of intelligent controllers, these slogans lack innovation and often result in collaborations with solar controller manufacturers through OEM arrangements.
User Experience: The Sole Criterion in the Post-Competitive Era
Bathing is a process of enjoying life. Solar water heaters should sell not just hot water but a lifestyle. In the competition of the post-competitive era, user experience will become the sole standard in the solar energy industry. Eras such as the intelligent era, the building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) era, and the water quality era are all proposed based on the principle of user experience.
User experience is a purely subjective feeling established during the process of using a product. With the development of computers and the internet, the form of technological innovation has begun to shift, with a growing emphasis on user-centered and human-centric approaches. User experience, however, applies not only to the computer field. On solar water heater design, the concept of user experience as a standard has also become a source of innovation.
The original intention behind TMC Xizi Instruments was to thoughtfully address practical problems encountered by users during the bathing process. Due to the creative thinking of the Xizi Instruments team, Xizi Instruments has been imitated but never surpassed. In 2010, Xizi Instruments proposed collaborating with whole machine solar water heater enterprises to develop the solar market through resource integration. By integrating Xizi Instruments' user experience philosophy with whole machine enterprises, advantages can complement each other, making solar water heaters more attentive to the needs of every user.