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Debating whether to use glass or plexiglass on last panel. Any suggestions?
About UV damage to plexiglass over a period of time.
About UV damage to plexiglass over a period of time.
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is softer and more easily scratched than glass
transmits up to 92% of visible light
has excellent environmental stability compared to other plastics such
as polycarbonate, and is therefore often the material of choice for
outdoors applications.Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister -
Has to be of the UV stabilized type?[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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I bought a sheet of UV Plexiglass for a solar panel that I was building and It cost me $150.00. They wouldn't sell it anyother way. Plexiglass is very good. I have made a couple with low iron gless also.Comment
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Low iron glass is what is in bathroom and cars right? If it shatters, what happens to your cells?Comment
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Tempered glass is used in bathroom glass - it is meant to shatter for safety reasons.
Low iron is a totally different thing.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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Depends. Sometimes the glass cracks, and pebbleizes. (tempered glass does that) All the cracks shade the cells, and you loose 30% power. Then moisture gets in and rots the cells out.
Or, if the cells are bonded to the glass, they shatter too, and then the whole panel dies instantly.
All depends on how the panel gets broken - a baseball destroys the entire panel, a crack in a corner won't hurt much. Some examples attachedPowerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-ListerComment
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Low iron glass lets more light in to the cells and It to can be tempered. The glass in office buildings are tempered. I have one panel with Plexiglas ans two with low iron tempered glass and these seam to be holding up real good.
alot of the commercial solar panels are made with glass.Comment
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What thickness glass?
If I am pricing out glass for DYI panels what thinkness should I be looking at? I assume that plate glass comes in a variety of thicknesses.
Standard window glass from the hardware seems way too fragle for an outdoor application where I will get a snow load. Is this because it isn't tempered or because it is too thin?
Anyone have any pointers on finding a supplier of low iron glass in the Boston area? I've called a couple of suppliers and they can quote low e glass but seemed puzzled at requests for low iron/anti reflective.Comment
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I just use the hardened standered glass that is 1/8 " thick. I have to ordere my glass from a local supplyer that get's it from denver , that is 100 miles away.Comment
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As looking at the plexiglas it looks O K . I havn't measured the output for a long time , I'm changing the way I put the panels togeather and I'm making them biger , From 36 cell's to 72 cell's and I'm going with 5"x5" cell's from now on.Comment
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I'll have to take some readings and put it on here. When I was new to the solar panel thing that is the only way I knew how to make a solar panel. I think the plexiglas was a little bit more money but I had at the time buy a hole sheet of the stuff and my glass company cut it for me. I now can cut it myself. That is all I had at the time.Comment
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