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Great info Joel, thanks!<div><br></div><div>are cell and glass thickness somehow encoded into a modules' spec sheet? or do you have to dig deeper and hope to get a reply from a mfg?</div><div><br></div><div>benn</div><div><br><span class="ecxecxecxEC_Apple-style-span" style="color:rgb(0, 32, 96)">DayStar Renewable Energy Inc. </span><div><div>benn@daystarsolar.ca</div><div>780-906-7807 </div><div>HAVE A SUNNY DAY</div></div><br><br><br><hr id="stopSpelling">From: joel.davidson@sbcglobal.net<br>To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org<br>Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 16:42:36 -0700<br>Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV module<br><br>
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<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Hello Drake,</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">(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.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Joel Davidson</font></div>
<blockquote style="border-left:#000000 2px solid;padding-left:5px;padding-right:0px;margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px">
<div style="font:10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="font:10pt arial;background:#e4e4e4;font-color:black"><b>From:</b>
<a title="drake.chamberlin@redwoodalliance.org" href="mailto:drake.chamberlin@redwoodalliance.org">Drake Chamberlin</a> </div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>To:</b> <a title="re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">RE-wrenches</a> </div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, May 22, 2010 1:39
PM</div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] 30-year old PV
module</div>
<div><br></div>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. <br><br>Do you
think the newer modules, with thinner silicone, will last as
long?<br><br><br><br>At 10:53 AM 5/21/2010, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="cite" cite="">If your prospect asks how long do
PV modules last, refer them to this article<br><a href="http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/testing-thirty-year-old-photovoltaic-module">http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/testing-thirty-year-old-photovoltaic-module</a>
</blockquote>
<font color="#0000ff">Drake Chamberlin<br>Athens Electric<br>OH
License 44810<br>CO License 3773<br>NABCEP </font><font color="#0000ff" size="1">TM </font><font color="#0000ff">Certified PV Installer <br>Office -
740-448-7328<br>Mobile - 740-856-9648 </font>
<BR>
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