Flexible solar panels - feed back

iana · Guru

Flexible solar panels - feed back

Brenda and Alan · Guru

Our current panels from Solar4RVs were put on in Jan. 2015 by bonding them direct to roof. Two were found to be defective at Christmas with a crack diagonally through one cell on each panel. These two were replaced under warranty. I was advised to leave the defective panels where they were and bond the replacements on top of them as the substrate would then have the same expansion rate as the panel on top. However the two bonded direct to roof continue to perform and are now 4 years old approx and the two replacements still ok at 3 years.

Alan

iana · Guru

I am looking more at using it as a portable panel, held in place with bungee cords or similar. The units I am talking about have eyelet holes down each side.

Izabarack · Guru

I often use a 120W flexible panel in portable mode. 2Kg is quite easy to handle and move around and re-position, especially when parking the camper in the shade and putting the panel in the sun. This particular panel is just over 2 years old and no issues. I often tie it down, up, and around using the eyelets and the arrangement has survived quite high wind loads at times. Favourite place to prop it up is over the windscreen as it helps shade the interior of the campervan. Paralleling the panel into a 250S with a 150W framed panel has not been a problem.

Iza

T1 Terry · Guru

I have an on going experiment running at the moment with 2 x 100w semi flexible panels being used as portable panels. One is backed by a sheet of Lexan Thermoclear and the other by a piece of the mesh used on the outside of flyscreen doors, that stuff with the big diamond sort of look. Both have a light aluminium frame around them and a leg of the same material as used for the backing support. These panels have been blown across an asphalt car parking area numerous times, fallen on their face or blown over on their side countless times over the last 2 yrs and are still going strong.
The problem with just using them without a backing is accidentally folding them in a tight radius curve when caught in the wind or dropped, that fractures the module and kills the panel almost instantly.

T1 Terry

Kiwoz · Veteran Member

T1 Terry,

Pardon me if I'm butting in here but your experiment is of great interest. I have a pop-top Coromal with a 130w Kyocera, 12kgs, fixed in place. I toyed seriously with using a semi-flexible panel but was put off by the responses received when asking about such an arrangement. The advantage was to be purely weight saving coz it's got to be liftable. I even thought about using corrugated or 6 rib alloy as a backing to give a bit of cooling/air gap.

Thanks, Bruce

iana · Guru

So the idea of using hooks attached to the van or ute, and the panel secured from the eyelet holes to the hooks via bungee type cords is not a practical idea. This was the idea I was working on, to capture early morning and evening sun. Apart from weight, theft, wind blowing them over, and most of all, an inadequate panel angle, especially for winter sun position, I thought standard portable panels offer little over fixed roof ones, except the ability to be able to move them into the midday sun if one is parked in the shade.

daffyfrancis · Senior Member

On our yacht I installed a flexible solar panel to the cabin top by first sicaflexing 2 pieces of timber with stainless bolts permanently countersunk from underneath protruding upwards matching the eyelets of the solar panel enabling it to be placed onto these & fastened down or just undo the nuts to move the panel - Has worked well for the last 2+ years.

David

T1 Terry · Guru

Kiwoz wrote:
T1 Terry,

Pardon me if I'm butting in here but your experiment is of great interest. I have a pop-top Coromal with a 130w Kyocera, 12kgs, fixed in place. I toyed seriously with using a semi-flexible panel but was put off by the responses received when asking about such an arrangement. The advantage was to be purely weight saving coz it's got to be liftable. I even thought about using corrugated or 6 rib alloy as a backing to give a bit of cooling/air gap.

Thanks, Bruce

This install on a 5'er was to minimise the weight so it remained under the heavy vehicle class for rego.

1900w semi flexible solar completed job small.jpg

There is 1900w of solar on there. The idea was to be able to run the 3.5kW dual head split system air con 24/7, the big part during the day and the smaller head unit over the head at night. We ran it 24/7 for 3 days and it was back to 100% SOC by 11am on sunny days and 3pm or later on over cast days.

T1 Terry

T1 Terry · Guru

iana wrote:
So the idea of using hooks attached to the van or ute, and the panel secured from the eyelet holes to the hooks via bungee type cords is not a practical idea. This was the idea I was working on, to capture early morning and evening sun. Apart from weight, theft, wind blowing them over, and most of all, an inadequate panel angle, especially for winter sun position, I thought standard portable panels offer little over fixed roof ones, except the ability to be able to move them into the midday sun if one is parked in the shade.

Just a bit harder to handle without damaging them. Erich and Lesley used the tie out method for their semi flexible panels at last yrs Stone The Crows rally because they sited/parked them under trees so they didn't get anything from their roof top solar. It worked ok for them for the week there, you just need to ensure they don't get bent at a sharp angle while moving them or storing them.

Of course, you need to add blocking diodes for each panel if you plan to use multiple panels in parallel or series so they don't suffer from reverse current once the solar regulator decides to disconnect the solar string. With no battery for the solar panels to discharge into they discharge into the next weakest point, without a blocking diode in the cable that weak point would be one of the modules in the semi flexible panel.

If you do a search on blocking diodes you will find quite a bit of info posted here on this forum that will help you understand just how to install them.

T1 Terry

daffyfrancis · Senior Member

I note on Ebay at the moment "Outbax Camping" has 160W folding Solar Flexible Panels in a fitted casing with wiring & controller & weighs only 5kg for $167.20 inc. free postage (includes 20% off Ebay discount ie: $209- 41.80=$167.20) you need to choose- Add to Cart option & go to Checkout to enter the relevent discount code.

These may be of interest to some & I have No affilliation with Outbax Camping but have been happy with my previous dealings with them.

David

T1 Terry · Guru

daffyfrancis wrote:
I note on Ebay at the moment "Outbax Camping" has 160W folding Solar Flexible Panels in a fitted casing with wiring & controller & weighs only 5kg for $167.20 inc. free postage (includes 20% off Ebay discount ie: $209- 41.80=$167.20) you need to choose- Add to Cart option & go to Checkout to enter the relevent discount code.
These may be of interest to some & I have No affilliation with Outbax Camping but have been happy with my previous dealings with them.
David

$104 per watt if they really are 160w panels, not bad at all, move the controller to the battery end of the cable will make the set up far more efficient.

T1 Terry

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Missed a decimal point there Terry?
I think that is $1.04/W which a good price if the panels are any good.
Cheers,
Peter

T1 Terry · Guru

Thank you Peter, it did make them look over priced @ $104 per watt eh evileye

T1 Terry

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

T1 Terry wrote:
There is 1900w of solar on there.

Terry, could you share published the specs for those panels please?

Cheers,

Peter

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
T1 Terry wrote:
There is 1900w of solar on there.
Terry, could you share published the specs for those panels please?
Cheers,
Peter

No response from Terry?

That is most unusual. hmm

Cheers,

Peter

T1 Terry · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
T1 Terry wrote:
There is 1900w of solar on there.
Terry, could you share published the specs for those panels please?
Cheers,
Peter
No response from Terry?
That is most unusual.
Cheers,
Peter

Sorry Peter, travelling got in the way of internet chatting wink

Pm ......100w

Voc .....21.6v

Isc ......5.97a

Vmp ....17.8v

Imp ....5.62a

Vmax ..600v

All technical data at standard test conditions

(E=1000w/m2, TC=25*C, AM=1.5)

Hope that helps Peter

T1 Terry

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

That is about what I expected from 32 cell panels - thanks.
But it begs the question - 11 panels @ 100W = 1900W ??????
Cheers,
Peter

T1 Terry · Guru

You can see 12 panels but the sun reflection makes it hard to see the other 7 panels up front, maybe they are easier to see from this angle, there are 4 panels across the front you can just see.

1900w semi flexible solar completed job2.jpg

T1 Terry

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

OK, thanks, that's nice.
I have recently purchased 12 @ 110W (1,320W total) semi flexible panels for the OKA to replace the 600W of rigids currently installed. 8 (880W) will go on the main roof (where the 600W is) and 4 (440W) will go on the pop-top. All on a vehicle with an overall length of 6M :)
I don't expect to be able to install them for a few months though. :(
Cheers,
Peter