Foam board/polystyrene insulation

[Lonerider1888]

Question: what effect, if any, would foam board insulation under a solar panel cause? The polystyrene board would be installed within the rigid aluminium frame.
The reason for my question is that the RV rooftop solar panels could provide extra thermal protection to the RV, as well as potentially have positive impact on heat absorption on the panel surface. Any thoughts?

 

[bolhuijo]

The panel is going to absorb the same amount of heat from above but you would be trapping it from escaping out the bottom. Panel temperature would rise, probably quite a lot. Just having the panel suspended above the roof of the RV providing shade is helping you out a lot already. Insulate the roof, not the panel.

 

[azjeff]

Yeah don’t do that. There is thermal transfer mitigation just by providing a air gap. The panels are already shading the portion of the roof underneath. You being in Australia ( assuming it’s hot) the ambient air temp is hard to avoid or over come inside the RV. I’ve seen temps INSIDE my RV as high as 111 degrees F. Shade helps but ambient air temps win unless you can run a AC system. Fans alone just move the ambient air around. Circulation helps but not nearly enough. AC absorbs and removes/relocates that heat or temperature differential to the outside. RVs are very tough to regulate temps. Thin walls, and depending on where parked.., exposure. You need sun for the panels, but shade for the entire rig.

 

[crossy]

Not an RV, it's our patio roof under full tropical sun. No insulation of any form even under the roof itself just the panels and the 2" airgap.

Spot where the solar panels end