Great info Joel, thanks!
are cell and glass thickness somehow encoded into a modules' spec sheet? or do
you have to dig deeper and hope to get a reply from a mfg?
benn
DayStar Renewable Energy Inc. b...@daystarsolar.ca780-906-7807 HAVE A SUNNY DAY
From: joel.david...@sbcglobal.net
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 16:42:36 -0700
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV module
Hello Drake,
(silicon not silicone) Good question about
thickness. I recently inspected a circa 1996 solar
array with 300 micron thick, 6-inch round cells encapsulated
behind 3 mm thick glass and found a few cracked cells and impact
fractures. Today, some cells are 260 to 200 microns and even down to 180 to
160 microns thick. I think if the cells are handled properly, and the glass is
4
mm thick, and the module frame is strong enough to minimize twisting, and the
modules are handled and installed with care, then cell breakage can be kept to
a
minimum. It's not how thin the cells are. It is how the cells and modules
are encapsulated and handled.
Joel Davidson
----- Original Message -----
From:
Drake Chamberlin
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 1:39
PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV
module
Thanks for the excellent article. I have two of these old
Arcos, and they still put out like new, even though one was (apparently) used
in a concentrator, due to the fact that it came bronzed.
Do you
think the newer modules, with thinner silicone, will last as
long?
At 10:53 AM 5/21/2010, you wrote:
If your prospect asks how long do
PV modules last, refer them to this article
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/testing-thirty-year-old-photovoltaic-module
Drake Chamberlin
Athens Electric
OH
License 44810
CO License 3773
NABCEP TM Certified PV Installer
Office -
740-448-7328
Mobile - 740-856-9648
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