Forum Discussion
- Thanks Almot!
I'd probably just end up mounting them to some sheet metal, and then mounting that anyway. Not real keen on gluing them to the roof, in case they ever stopped functioning. jrnymn7 wrote:
Do they make these that aren't a hundred feet long?
They do indeed. 68W Unisolar flexible panel is 9'4" long. If you find them at reasonable cost. The company filed for bankruptcy in Michigan in 2012. One of many, in this country.- But it's not just an advantage only in the extreme conditions. My big mono's drop to 2.38a in the lightest of cloud cover and then drop farther as it thickens. That's on the controller, so it's being bucked. The poly doesn't take a total nose dive in light clouds and neither will these.
- Do they make these that aren't a hundred feet long?
- Don Pianotuna once reported that in leafy shade, his Unisolar panels generate 41% of normal. For those on sale now, 41% equals 56 watts for 3348 sq. inches, or 0.017w/sq in. Based on anecdotes I've seen here about crystalline panels in leafy shade, and doing the same math, I'm guessing those generate ~0.01w/sq in.
This is purely a wild guess. Hopefully I'll have some hard data at some point. So very very roughly, the Unisolar might be somewhere around twice as productive in shade per square inch or cm. Almot wrote:
Ah, I know those framed laminates, 64W used to be a common size.
my three sets , are different wattages
the first set of 3 panels..39w each
second set 2 panels 64w each
third set 4 panels 33w each
PT and others have said never saw those sizes
but they are clearly marked
don't know why so many different power ratings
but they are all the same voltage and all play nice together
all have the same number of cells
but each set has different size cells
the cells on the 33w are smaller than the cells on the 39w which are smaller than the cells on the 64 watt
so its the increased size of the cells that determines the increased wattage- Wasn't is Cruz that installed two of the 136w, and two for the 64w rolls on his 5er? He seemed pretty happy earlier this year.
- Ah, I know those framed laminates, 64W used to be a common size.
- PT's Unisolar are "framed" just like mine
neither of us have the roll out "stick on" kind - They are really 2 times less efficient in watts per sq.ft than rigid panels. Wake up earlier, yes.
Hedge - people drive screws in the roofs of their trailers, to install rigid panels. Shouldn't be a problem with truck camper. Depending on the roof, you could get away with VHB tape, sans screws.
I only saw Unisolar install on very expensive Class A, where they didn't want to to mess with "resale value" - those buses are really expensive and clients are really conservative. Another install that I know of, is Pianotuna.
