[RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV module

[Bob-O Schultze]

Joel,
A good argument against ever increasing PV sizes and a great argument against big PVs on RVs and other mobile mounts.
Thanks, Bob-O

On May 22, 2010, at 4:42 PM, Joel Davidson wrote:

Hello Drake,
 
(silicon not silicone) Good question about thickness. I recently inspected a circa 1996 solar array with 300 micron thick, 6-inch round cells encapsulated behind 3 mm thick glass and found a few cracked cells and impact fractures. Today, some cells are 260 to 200 microns and even down to 180 to 160 microns thick. I think if the cells are handled properly, and the glass is 4 mm thick, and the module frame is strong enough to minimize twisting, and the modules are handled and installed with care, then cell breakage can be kept to a minimum. It's not how thin the cells are. It is how the cells and modules are encapsulated and handled.
 
Joel Davidson
----- Original Message -----
From: Drake Chamberlin
To: RE-wrenches
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 1:39 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV module

Thanks for the excellent article.  I have two of these old Arcos, and they still put out like new, even though one was (apparently) used in a concentrator, due to the fact that it came bronzed.  

Do you think the newer modules, with thinner silicone, will last as long?
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