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diy solar

Budget CIGS or narrow panels for Airstream

truckasaurus

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May 9, 2021
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Following some extensive forum studying I finally ordered a swath of Victron hardware for my vintage Airstream project but now I'm down the solar panel rabbit hole and could do with some advice. I desperately want to keep my trailer streamlined and have a space between the ceiling vents of 178" and the vents are ~15" wide so this seems like a decent place for panels. I thought I'd eternabond some aluminum channel to the roof and pop rivet brackets on to hold 4 x 100 Renogy Eclipse or similar 21" wide panels but watched Will's video on 80 watts CIGS and started dreaming. Anyhow I found $79 50 Watt panels from Miasole on Amazon and even Ebay and thought for $316 I could get up to 200 Watts and a really slick looking stealth install. Now 200 CIGS watts aren't 400 watts but is it crazy to consider dipping my toe in the solar scene this way? 12V 280Ah LIPo4, Victron 12/3000 multi-pas, 100/30 MMPT, wired with 10 gauge MC4 IIRC, expecting to use around 1400 Watts a day but just hoping the solar could top up the charge whilst stored and maybe add a little juice whilst driving to a camp site.

 
No you aren't crazy at all!

In my life, I never thought I'd see a totally rational review of a cigs panel (or similar amorphous). Heed Will's warning because there is a lot of junk floating around - specifically folding-camping panels made of scraps and floor sweepings of mono-polycrystalline manufacturers sown together.

And no, this is not a fan-boy of thin-film trying to start some marketing war vs mono/poly types - which I also use for other reasons. I really try to fit the application, rather than the wallet. :)

Will mentions the ability to suffer bullet-holes and still perform, and take shadowing. He's right. Expanding on that is the practicality that in your case, it is likely to be on a flat roof, where more mundane things like huge bird-droppings will only take out the part is shaded, whereas with a conventional mono/poly, most of that panel's output could be shut down.

In the future, he might also want to test the ability to handle high-heat better too: laying on a flat roof or concrete, a mono/polycrystalline can heat up to the point with not good airflow to start shutting itself down. This massive heat is one reason you DONT just lay a mono/poly on a roof with no airflow. Yet with a cigs or other amorphous, it can still put out rated current at high temps with what looks like no air-space cooling. But of course there are limits. A handheld IR thermometer and an ammeter tells all side by side!

On your application, if it is mostly flat on the roof, then yes that is not optimal as being angled towards the sun, so you will lose some efficiency there.

I'd recommend you take a look at another of Will's videos about sizing your array vs DOD vs bank capacity. Depending on where you live and season, getting that 280ah LFP charged might make you grow old faster than necessary. Like me. :)


Materials have progressed about thin-film / cigs panels over the years, but again - watch out, the sharks are out there attempting to pawn off sub-standard panels made of floor sweepings. Go reputable as always.
 
What a great reply! I'm feeling pretty reassured and enjoyed watching Will's video. I think i'll go with the tiny wattage battery top up plan and get 4 of the 50 Watt CIGS. I figure I can wire them is 2p2s I think is the terminology I'm fumbling with? I'd just need a little cable and MC4 Y's. Does that sound decent? 13V x 2=26V or is all in series preferable? I think worst case I can just leave them in place and install regular panels on rails over them and kiss goodbye to $316.
 

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Looks ok to me, but I have a different view of "dipping your toes in the water".

Unless you have the experience to know better with a DIY build, and how those may even differ from what you read online in the real-world, my tendency is to try and reduce variables up front so you don't step on your toe. :)

My "toe-dipper" would be a BattleBorn 100ah LFP. Yeah, costs more, but the variables are reduced, like compression worries, overall QC, availability, 2nd hand cells, and on and on.

But if you have specific power-budget needs, and need to go beyond the toe-dip, then it's probably best to let others here (or at BattleBorn) engineer this for you to let you know what works, or what might turn out to be a waste of money - souring you on the whole solar experience.
 
? I'm really focused on the panels right now although I appreciate its a system. One hiccup came up, the 50 Watt CIGS for $79 attach with velcro rather than adhesive so that's far less appealing.
 
? I'm really focused on the panels right now although I appreciate its a system. One hiccup came up, the 50 Watt CIGS for $79 attach with velcro rather than adhesive so that's far less appealing.
Pretty good for avoiding theft or vandalism if you want to leave the trailer to go to your local eatery and back. Depends on your risk level.
 
Made a decision, ordered 4 CIGS. May make lemonade of the velcro hurdle and just add more velcro on the short sides too which thinking about it may let the panels move more with the thermal expansion of the aluminum trailer skin and reduce the likelihood of panel fatigue.
 
Made a decision, ordered 4 CIGS. May make lemonade of the velcro hurdle and just add more velcro on the short sides too which thinking about it may let the panels move more with the thermal expansion of the aluminum trailer skin and reduce the likelihood of panel fatigue.
Would love an update on your experience with them. I agree, I'd rather be able to apply them directly like the Rich Solar cigs panels rather than the velcro. My loose goal is to cover the top of my 4 dr Jeep and 10x5 teardrop in cigs panels. I'm thinking these $79/50W are my best option right now.
 
I stuck 2 175w renogy flexible panels on my teardrop using 3M VHB tape. They have stayed on very well. In fact, I worry about they day I have to try and get them off! don’t know if you can get those Velcro strips off the panels you bought???

 
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