[RE-wrenches] Canadian Solar "blemish"

Wed Nov 9 15:17:34 PST 2011

Thanks for that Allan,
   I should add that there does not appear to be any cracking of the cell
to the customer when compared to non-effected cells. It is just that
strange "shape" ,"shading" , "design" underneath the glass on that
particular panel and cells....this is according to the customer, who is
of above average intelligence and knowledge of things solar.....

Daryl

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>     Daryl,<br>
>     Before offering my opinion, I'll note that it's only that, and I'd
>     hope to learn from others with more knowledge of PV cell structure
>     than I have. Given that, it appears to me that the silicon wafers
>     that make up these cells are extensively cracked. It likely will
>     have little effect on cell output, as the electrons that are knocked
>     out of their orbits by the photons of light must only move through
>     the silicon semiconductor as far as the microgrid of conducting
>     traces visible on the surface; that is, few if any need to bridge
>     any of these apparent cracks in order to reach the conductive
>     traces.<br>
>     <br>
>     At my own off-grid home, all of my (BP85-90 W) modules are from the
>     mid-nineties. Many of the cells on about 10 of the 18 modules are
>     extensively cracked in similar ways, as they came from an abandoned
>     (good idea that didn't work out) system from a local Boys' and
>     Girls' Club. When I bought the dead system (quite cheaply), 8 out of
>     18 modules had been shattered by kids using it as a target for
>     throwing rocks. All of the intact modules have multiple cracked
>     cells and even chipped cover glass. All continue to perform after 15
>     years with only a little more than predictable degradation.<br>
>     <br>
>     But to repeat, I'm interested in others' opinions, as I may be
>     completely off base here.<br>
>     Allan<br>
>     <br>
>     <div class="moz-signature">
>       <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
>         charset=ISO-8859-1">
>       <title></title>
>       <font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b>Allan
> Sindelar</b></font><br>
>       <small><a href="mailto:Allan at positiveenergysolar.com"><font
>             color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times,
> serif"><u>Allan at positiveenergysolar.com</u></font></a></small><font
>         face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
>         <span style="font-size: 10pt;">NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic
>           Installer<br>
>           NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional<br>
>           New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician<br>
>           <b>Positive Energy, Inc.</b><br>
>           3201 Calle Marie<br>
>           Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507<br>
>           <b>505 424-1112</b><br>
>           <a href="http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/"
> target="_blank"><u>www.positiveenergysolar.com</u></a><o:p></o:p></span></font>
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>           style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Times New Roman, Times,
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>     <br>
>     On 11/9/2011 2:41 PM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
> href="mailto:penobscotsolar at midmaine.com">penobscotsolar at midmaine.com</a>
> wrote:
>     <blockquote
>       cite="mid:ff80be43ccd855638e7103ee7ebf54ae.squirrel at mail.myottmail.com"
>       type="cite">
>       <pre wrap="">Hello all,
>    We have a customer who has acquired, over the last ten years or so, a
> large array with several different makes and models of panels, all
> installed by a qualified electrician and the customer. They have done
> an excellent job as far as self installed systems go.
>    He just sent me a picture of one of his Canadian Solar 210's with a
> very unusual pattern on it (actually under the glass). The panel is
> about three years old and shows no decline in output, but he is
> concerned with the very obvious visible pattern. I have never seen
> anything like it.I've attached it to this email. Anyone?
>
> Thanks for any suggestions or ideas,
> Daryl</pre>
>       <pre wrap="">
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