Who knows solar panels

Tom-D

Taxi to Parking
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Feb 23, 2005
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Tom-D
I need to learn solar.

why are some glass like and require they be mounted in a frame.

then some are flexible film. and can be glued (for a better term) to a surface?

are they the same technology?
 
Tom, you live in the rainforest? Eight months of rain followed by four months of moss. The only place where you need to know the distance to clear a 300 ft obstacle (tree).

Are you voting yourself off the island to someplace dry and sunny?
 
Tom, you live in the rainforest? Eight months of rain followed by four months of moss. The only place where you need to know the distance to clear a 300 ft obstacle (tree).

Are you voting yourself off the island to someplace dry and sunny?
I guess what we pay our weather man is paying off.
granted the days are short this time of year.
but it was 100 degree in our solarium today.
 
Tom, the main diff in technology is mono or polycrystalline. Mono is more money but generates more watts per square foot. Take a look at the articles and videos at wholesale solar .com as well as YouTube.

Wholesale sells kits, which would give you an idea what parts would run at least for inverters, racks, panels, combiners, etc


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Flexible panels are generally meant for portable use like with RVs and camping. They're less efficient and more expensive but they serve a purpose. Fixed mount panels are typically mounted in a frame with glass to protect the cells. I've had solar power at my cabin for about 20 years. From that good experience I mounted a small fixed panel to my enclosed snowgo trailer to keep the battery charged. I had a good surface to mount it and it works well but your RV will need more power so bigger panel(s) so fewer installation options. Flexible roll-up panels make sense for that.
 
solar_panels.png
 
I guess what we pay our weather man is paying off.
granted the days are short this time of year.
but it was 100 degree in our solarium today.
Tom,

If your source of power is a PUD, they generally have lots of free brochures, studies and reports that explain the difference in the types of solar panels, converters, etc., and provide guidance on how to design and implement a solar system for a house. Many PUD’s are also implementing community solar projects where you can buy into the project without have the panel installed on your house, lawn, etc., but rather in a central location. Seattle Power (a public utility) is doing a number of these community solar projects as has Mason County PUD and others. With the tax and investment credits available in Washington, the payback on a typical solar investment, whether community or your own system, is typically 2 - 3 years. Without the tax and investment credits, solar on you side of the mountains is a complete bust - 10% capacity factor or less meaning you can’t generate enough energy to equal the investment cost. Here on the right/dry side of the Cascades, we do better - around 19% and in some locations 20%.
 
Tom,

If your source of power is a PUD, they generally have lots of free brochures, studies and reports that explain the difference in the types of solar panels, converters, etc., and provide guidance on how to design and implement a solar system for a house. Many PUD’s are also implementing community solar projects where you can buy into the project without have the panel installed on your house, lawn, etc., but rather in a central location. Seattle Power (a public utility) is doing a number of these community solar projects as has Mason County PUD and others. With the tax and investment credits available in Washington, the payback on a typical solar investment, whether community or your own system, is typically 2 - 3 years. Without the tax and investment credits, solar on you side of the mountains is a complete bust - 10% capacity factor or less meaning you can’t generate enough energy to equal the investment cost. Here on the right/dry side of the Cascades, we do better - around 19% and in some locations 20%.
 
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