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diy solar

Flexible Panels hit Prime Time?

JoeHam said:
Not cheap at $4/ watt.

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Not cheap at all, ridiculously expensive really, still less than some of the top tier marine flexible panels at > $10/W ?. High quality flexible solar panels are not even close to competitive when it comes to dollars per Watt and especially not when you add the dimension of time into the equation. They usually don't compare well when looking at Watts / square meter. I don't think we will see solar farms or homeowners replacing rigid panels with these anytime soon.

But if you are willing to pay the premium, the flexibility and ruggedness do enable creative niche projects like this walkable solar roof deck and storage box:
solar-roof-deck.png
 
I was watching Will's video on CIGs solar panels, and had seen prior comments like this ref:

CIGS also doesn't degrade in sunlight like other thin-film technologies.
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Seems like everything should degrade in sunlight, so I wanted to follow up looking into their degradation.... found an NREL test, but it was looking for failures at some extreme temperature and humidity conditions (big take away was quality of sealing).

Then found another paper, that had:
Cells with an aluminum-doped zinc oxide window layer degrade approximately 25x faster than cells having an indium tin oxide window layer... The electrically conducting adhesive used to connect bottom and top contact to solder-coated ribbons can be a major factor in degradation
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So, even if the active parts aren't degrading, the passive parts do.

Finally came across an NREL degradation study that compared various technologies:
Silicon Only
1614956187935.png		Thin Film
1614956213553.png

For modules, here's a comparison of different technologies (pre being before 2000 and post being after 2000). The crossbar is the mean and length of the "diamond" the 95% confidence interval

1614956501073.png​
 
svetz said:
There's a lot of threads on them: https://diysolarforum.com/search/300488/?q=flexible&o=relevance

Mostly about experiences where they don't last, but it looks like that might be changing. Will also did a recent review of CIGs that might interest you:
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Thanks Svetz,
Watched the vid a while ago, a little over the top price wise.
Probably dreaming thinking something affordable is an option, paid $1/watt for the 300w renogy panel that will not work with the renogy DCC50.
 
Oldtoad said:
...Probably dreaming thinking something affordable is an option...
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I've got the same dream, but I suspect the cheapees are the disintegratees. But, now the prices of CIGs has come down, perhaps the others will too?
 
Just don't secure them down so well that you can't get them back up.
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HRTKD said:
Just don't secure them down so well that you can't get them back up.
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I was reading they could be secured to a rubber roof with eternabond tape. But yes, they would need to be removed eventually
 
Yes, but he still had a heck of a time removing them, really just the mounting bolts. I watched the follow-on video where he took the panels off after about a year. Eternabond is some tough stuff.

It was good to see that the panels didn't melt the Coroplast. As far as his mounting method is concerned, it worked, no argument there. However, the chance that a replacement panel, purchased three or four years after the initial purchase, would fit exactly the same way seems unlikely.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Brian (RV with Tito). I followed his lead on fixing the delamination on my trailer and it was spot on.

He has a newer mounting method for 2021. It doesn't seem like the corrugated material has much access to fresh air.

 
HRTKD said:
HRTKD said:
Yes, but he still had a heck of a time removing them, really just the mounting bolts. I watched the follow-on video where he took the panels off after about a year. Eternabond is some tough stuff.

It was good to see that the panels didn't melt the Coroplast. As far as his mounting method is concerned, it worked, no argument there. However, the chance that a replacement panel, purchased three or four years after the initial purchase, would fit exactly the same way seems unlikely.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Brian (RV with Tito). I followed his lead on fixing the delamination on my trailer and it was spot on.

He has a newer mounting method for 2021. It doesn't seem like the corrugated material has much access to fresh air.

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Oh I like that better! Looks easier and cleaner! I do agree about a replacement panel fitting the same exact spot. But wouldnt it be that way with rigid ones as well? Provided the Renology 175w really does last like the warranty implies. Clean up the tape residue is easier-safer I would think then filling a hole in the roof?
 
I have a pretty brand new roof. Took the air conditioners off too. I like it better without holes or patches if possible. But that's just me
 
AER said:
I have a pretty brand new roof. Took the air conditioners off too. I like it better without holes or patches if possible. But that's just me
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Yes, and I think a lot of used buyers would feel the same way
 
If you catch the flexible panels on sale Renogy will let you stack coupons on top of the sale and you can get the cost of the 175watt panels down to about $260-265. I bought 6 of them for my ultralight diy RV project.

Let me know if anyone wants me to shoot some video showing what they're like. From my experience, even in indirect sunlight they were putting out 22.1v on average. I would imagine that'd only go up since they were partially shaded when I was validating they were functional.
 
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