Solar Laminates

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Solar Laminates

Postby Bob Boyce » Sat Oct 01, 2011 4:05 pm

For those not familiar, solar laminates are PV solar panels without aluminum frames. They are typically found on eBay and surplus sites as manufacturers leftovers or rejects from the thin film solar PV industry. They are rarely ever found in the mono or multi crystalline PV cell types, as those sell typically at a premium.

One well-known manufacturer has been offering their blemished panels for years through Sun Electronics for a reduced price. Last year, I bought 9 of the 205 Watt blems at $1.68/watt for my RV project, and they turned out to be excellent panels that all produce above rating. I just found out that these panels have come down in price even further.

I also fount out that a PV panel manufacturer sold shipping container loads of crystalline solar laminates at some really great prices. They are not operational rejects like many of the thin film laminates, but some might have some chips in the edges of the glass. Sun is passing these along for $0.50/watt when they arrive in a few weeks. I thought I would let you all know so you can be prepared to get in on a great deal when they arrive.

Each laminate can be mounted in a homemade wood or metal frame, or silicon sealed to a piece of plywood with a hole cut in the back for the junction box to stick through. They have all of the performance and endurance specifications of a complete PV panel, just no mounting frame included. I've used laminates before, but they were always of the thin film type. I might just order several hundred watts of these crystalline laminates to use here for my emergency shelter.

Bob
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Re: Solar Laminates

Postby Jehu » Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:27 am

What a cryin shame I don't live over there. Things are so cheap in the US. Though Panels are getting cheaper over here now. There is a big rebate scheme here atm and due to demand locally and internationally, some really good deals can be had. When the sparky came to finish the grid connection on our system, he reckons that people are gonna be giving panels away soon due to the glut on the market.
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Re: Solar Laminates

Postby Bob Boyce » Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:16 pm

I wanted to edit the above post but could not find an edit button. The above mentioned laminates do not have junction boxes attached, so the mounting plywood could only be drilled with small holes for the electrical wires. Or just run the wires through the silicon beads that mount the laminates to the surface for a no hole solution. They could be silicon-sealed flat to a roof in this manner! As long as the connections are soldered well and sealed in silicon, junction boxes could be left off. Be sure to apply silicon to the glass edges to help protect them from damage. The minor chips some get are from careless handling.

Here's a link to the laminates page;
http://www.sunelec.com/solar-laminate-c-47.html

The $0.50/watt price was quoted in an undocumented sale email a few days ago. No minimum limit was mentioned like the per panel vs per pallet price quoted on that solar laminate page. You can check their blog for other undocumented sales. I buy solar goodies from Sun a lot when they have these undocumented sales.
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