Posted by Over40pirate on September 28, 2003, 5:41 pm
Does anyone know of a site for comparisons of solar panel output, performance,
etc?
I have been thinking of adding another solar panel or 2 on my boat, and was
leaning toward Photowatt 75-90 watt panels. A friend recomended Uni-solar
palels claiming better performance, and better output when partially shadded.
To me the output voltage of less than 17 volts, in the Uni-solar panel would
limit the output.
Any thoughts on this would be helpfull
Posted by Solar Guppy on September 28, 2003, 7:43 pm
They are different technologies ...
Asi (Unisolar) is flexible , shade tolerant as pros , but degrades quickly
in the Sun and need 2x the size for the same power output as Si panels
(Photowatt)
Keep in mind the VI curve (the voltage/Current output) of Asi and Si are
different and putting them in parallel with not yield the combined
name-plate rating of both panels.
If you need cheap panels have a look at
http://www.sunelec.com/Clearance/Solar_Modules/solar_modules.html
They have BP solar Asi laminate panels (no frame) for 118.88 for 82 watts
(that's only 1.44 watt). I would think a boat would be a perfect application
for these type of panels as you could just glue them onto the deck
> Does anyone know of a site for comparisons of solar panel output,
performance,
> etc?
> I have been thinking of adding another solar panel or 2 on my boat, and
was
> leaning toward Photowatt 75-90 watt panels. A friend recomended Uni-solar
> palels claiming better performance, and better output when partially
shadded.
> To me the output voltage of less than 17 volts, in the Uni-solar panel
would
> limit the output.
> Any thoughts on this would be helpfull
Posted by Over40pirate on September 28, 2003, 10:45 pm
The Unisolar panels I'm talking about, are rigid panels. It is a 64 watt panel,
that is larger in physical size than a 75 watt Siemens.
They are different technologies ...
>Asi (Unisolar) is flexible , shade tolerant as pros , but degrades quickly
>in the Sun and need 2x the size for the same power output as Si panels
>(Photowatt)
>Keep in mind the VI curve (the voltage/Current output) of Asi and Si are
>different and putting them in parallel with not yield the combined
>name-plate rating of both panels.
>If you need cheap panels have a look at
>http://www.sunelec.com/Clearance/Solar_Modules/solar_modules.html
>They have BP solar Asi laminate panels (no frame) for 118.88 for 82 watts
>(that's only 1.44 watt). I would think a boat would be a perfect application
>for these type of panels as you could just glue them onto the deck
>>
Posted by Solar Guppy on September 29, 2003, 12:25 am
No , there not different ... (BP vs Uni Solar)
A-Si = amorphous silicon
Si = single crystal or polycrystalline silicon
The BP's are identical in technology to the Unisolar , there both A-Si , the
64 watt one you are looking at just happens to be in a frame ...
A-Si (any manufactures) will be 2X the area of Si for the same power rating
due to the lower efficiency in converting light to electrical power.
Si is very brittle, in a moving environment like a boat it would be more
likely to be damaged over time , put a hole in Si , no power , same thing
for Asi , small drop in power. I am NOT a fan of A-Si , but your boat is
probably the single best reason I could think of to use the A-Si.
The link I gave you is for the now discontinued BP line of A-Si. Still fully
warranted , just will need a charge controller (will for any panel)
Hard to beat 1.44 watt compared to 4.78
(http://www.solar-electric.com/solar-panels-40-to-80-watts.html ) for the
same thing minus the mounting frame
> The Unisolar panels I'm talking about, are rigid panels. It is a 64 watt
panel,
> that is larger in physical size than a 75 watt Siemens.
> They are different technologies ...
> >
> >Asi (Unisolar) is flexible , shade tolerant as pros , but degrades
quickly
> >in the Sun and need 2x the size for the same power output as Si panels
> >(Photowatt)
> >
> >Keep in mind the VI curve (the voltage/Current output) of Asi and Si are
> >different and putting them in parallel with not yield the combined
> >name-plate rating of both panels.
> >
> >If you need cheap panels have a look at
> >http://www.sunelec.com/Clearance/Solar_Modules/solar_modules.html
> >
> >They have BP solar Asi laminate panels (no frame) for 118.88 for 82 watts
> >(that's only 1.44 watt). I would think a boat would be a perfect
application
> >for these type of panels as you could just glue them onto the deck
> >>
> >
> >
> >
Posted by Eric on September 29, 2003, 2:19 am
> They are different technologies ...
>
> Asi (Unisolar) is flexible , shade tolerant as pros , but degrades quickly
> in the Sun and need 2x the size for the same power output as Si panels
> (Photowatt)
>
> Keep in mind the VI curve (the voltage/Current output) of Asi and Si are
> different and putting them in parallel with not yield the combined
> name-plate rating of both panels.
>
> If you need cheap panels have a look at
> http://www.sunelec.com/Clearance/Solar_Modules/solar_modules.html
>
> They have BP solar Asi laminate panels (no frame) for 118.88 for 82 watts
> (that's only 1.44 watt). I would think a boat would be a perfect application
> for these type of panels as you could just glue them onto the deck
I suspect these are old "millenium" series, laminated between 2 layers
of glass. Not what I would consider ideal for a boat. They are
heavy, fragile, and inefficient. But I could be wrong. A search for
MSP 49 doesn't turn up anything.
>
>
>
> > Does anyone know of a site for comparisons of solar panel output,
> performance,
> > etc?
> >
> > I have been thinking of adding another solar panel or 2 on my boat, and
> was
> > leaning toward Photowatt 75-90 watt panels. A friend recomended Uni-solar
> > palels claiming better performance, and better output when partially
> shadded.
> >
> > To me the output voltage of less than 17 volts, in the Uni-solar panel
> would
> > limit the output.
> >
> > Any thoughts on this would be helpfull
> >