??? for solor geeks

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:42 pm

scratches have appeared after cleaning the solor panel

if i put a single ply pane of glass over the panel.. will i lose any effect??..

the glass is for easy cleaning.. i could remove and clean the glass, without disturbing the lens.. this could be installed a few inches above..

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:14 pm

Is this a photovoltaic panel or a solar water heater?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:07 pm

Ugly Dougly wrote:Is this a photovoltaic panel or a solar water heater?

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Valkyrie · Post by **Valkyrie** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 7:54 pm

It should only cause a nominal reduction in effect.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:10 am

Probably installing the glass flush with the surface of the panel would be best...creating a Very Hot Area above the surface of the PV panel might accelerate its eventual breakdown. A good seal is important too, to reduce (or hopefully eliminate) condensation...otherwise it'll kill the panel quickly. The poorly sealed plastic domes on some of the earlier pathway solars (and unfortunately, some of the current ones) made for lots of dead ones which I spot at yard sales and get all excited about until I get close enough to see the devastation.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 6:37 pm

robotland wrote:Probably installing the glass flush with the surface of the panel would be best...creating a Very Hot Area above the surface of the PV panel might accelerate its eventual breakdown. A good seal is important too, to reduce (or hopefully eliminate) condensation...otherwise it'll kill the panel quickly.

I wonder if a vacuum seal using thicker mil clear plastic would do the trick.

Unjon.. you asking about your panels on your bike? From what I recall they weren't really big so you should be able to do that if it will work.

Also.. what about a spray? Complete seal and you can wipe easily. Clearcoat spray for plastics possibly?

They say you should try to avoid using glass on the playa.. but what about plexi or similar non shattering plastic/polymer etc?

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:42 pm

This is a very good question to ask. I'm looking at a solar installation that would need some additional protection from potentially up to 5/8 sized hailstones. I was thinking about using plexiglass to cover the panel but that raises the question of how much if any it would impact the amount of power the panels can make.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:45 am

AFAIK:

Plastic may block the UV spectrum, but ordinary glass will not.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:36 pm

Ordinary glass blocks some of the higher energy UV rays (UV b). Unfortunately I don't know how much that effects a solar cell. It's something I should have tested but never have.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:44 pm

what rays do the photocells need from the sun??

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:12 pm

I am not so sure adding a layer of glass to your PV cells is a good idea. PV cells lose efficiency very quickly as they heat up. Since they are dark, and the glass makes a good thermal barrier, they could heat up pretty quickly. If they have a protective layer (often a thin resin layer is added for this purpose) that is getting scratched, I would not worry about it, the scratchs should not really matter. If the cells are unprotected, just the silicon wafer, you could protect them with a sheet of glass or plexiglass, but then you need to also put something behind them to help disipate any collected heat.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:17 am

ok, no glass.. i ll put the cells on a some tracks so i can get then on and off the roof.. grow some grape vines on the system so it wont stick out like a sore thmub..

NEXT ??? in the next post

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:21 am

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anyone think i can make a dehumitifier out of the 12v themoe exchanger from the car cooler??¿¿