This has always bugged me about the flat roof installs, seeing the photos of workers out on the glass in the middle of the array. Hmmm. I'd love to see which manufacturers actually approve of this sort of loading! It would be nice to also have a list of which ones are using the thicker glazing too.
Sincerely, Chris Worcester Solar Wind Works NABCEP Certified PV Installer Phone: 530-582-4503 Fax: 530-582-4603 www.solarwindworks.com <http://www.solarwindworks.com/> ch...@solarwindworks.com "Proven Energy Solutions" From: re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Bob-O Schultze Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 9:32 AM To: RE-wrenches Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV module Joel, A good argument against ever increasing PV sizes and a great argument against big PVs on RVs and other mobile mounts. Thanks, Bob-O On May 22, 2010, at 4:42 PM, Joel Davidson wrote: 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 <mailto:drake.chamber...@redwoodalliance.org> To: RE-wrenches <mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> 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?
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