article on flex panels

[sternwake]

Agreed, but we also assume that the modern framed panels have not also cut every corner possible and the 15 to 20 year projected lifespan is still 15 years shy of being proven.

Look at the method for sealing the edges of a framed panel where it meets the glass. Perhaps the automatic sealant applier needed to be adjusted and left a one inch gap, and this corner is faced in a position where water might collect and moisture wick inbetween glass and solar cells.

My Kyocera GT130 framed panel, bought in 2007 for 700+ dollars, appeared to not have a nice even bead of caulk all around the interior frame, but it certainly did before I mounted it.

I just inspected my 100 watt framed Renogy panel and one corner of it is lacking in the nice thick even bead of caulk department,

and out comes the caulk Gun.

Now the flex panels shown in that article linked to in teh OP obviously show Sun damage, how much was that exaserbated by being adhered to an Rv roof?

I saw one you tube video on Flex panels where the supposed well informed guy was saying you can walk on these flex panels without issue? Anyone believe that?

How about if these were adhered to a roof which expanded and contracted at a much different rate compared to the flex panel itself.

We all know excessive heat is not good for a panel's output, but it also degrades the cells too.
And while flexible meaning is obvious, that does not mean they should be attached to rope and treated as a shade tarp or that they will be just fine loosely mounted/secured via their rivets on an RV roof at 70MPH.

I think the very nature of a flex panel will have the owner treat it poorly, where as a heavier glass framed panel is obviously fragile and likely to be treated with a more tender hand.

i treat my framed and flex panels both as portables, and it is far easier to bang the crap out of the flex panel as it is lighter and not going to break skin if I run my shin into it..

That said If I had to transport these inside my Van to deploy as portibles I would rather have the flex panel.

i do not want to install the framed panel on my roof where I was going to install the flex panel, and there is no other place on my roof where it will fit, but I would surely love to have 100 more watts up there without having to break it out and hook it up as a portable.

But I am not going to treat the 250 to 300$ Sunpower flex panel as a replace every 2-3 years type of project.

My Kyocera gt130 has gotten almost no maintenance in the almost 11 years it has been on my roof.

If I had to redo my Solar I would go with a much larger wattage framed panel and MPPT, but in 2007 that choice would have been much more expensive.

I have MPPT controller now( Bluesky SB2512i) now but it cannot handle 24v+ nominal panels, and I do not run my portable panels through it when i employ them. I just hook it directly to an Anderson powerpole originally intended for output, not input.

What is unanswerable, is just how long a flex panel, one of the higher quality ones, will last when it is mounted so that it will no longer flex, and yet also have some ventilation under it( Impossible?)

i think the 2 year lifespan in the OP's article is a worst case, and the best case they might last considerable longer and might be Ok for someone who is not excpecting 5 to 25 years from them, in this disposable minded society we now inhabit.
But that is a guess with no evidence, and likely worthless.

[rvpopeye]

Good points.
Only one true way to see how long they last I guess .
Like so many things these days , newer rarely (never?) seems to mean better anymore .. at least they cost less now !

[Blacktank]

with the who knows how many panel manufacturers you bet everything is bottom barrel to get that $1 per watt price tag but if you can get close to a 100w for $100 that last 10 years... and then of course throw it away and buy a new one

[Scott7022]

I think the most damaging thing is the heat, expansion and contraction of the mounting surface. I, like Sternwake, have seen them used a great deal on boats. But boat owners are an anal lot and everything gets cleaned and made ship-shape. glueing them to an expanding chassis with zero reprieves from the baking sun is going to kill anything.

AM may not be the cheapest but they have been doing it and doing it with bleeding edge tech for years. While the rest of the industry shops for RV were saying Lithium would burn your rig they were figuring it out. Cheapest is not always the best. Profitable shops have time to figure out and offer services to those that can afford more. A song comes to mind:
"Put it in, get it off, take it out; Don't mess my hairdo..." cheap and fast is not always desirable.

[sternwake]

I am kind of torn on whether to try and baby my Sunpower flex panel for long life, or perhaps I should throw it up there with a mind toward temporary( for ease of later removal, and see how long it lasts.

The cheapest flex panels advertise just how thin they are as if that is a good thing. As if 3/32 is highly desirable and 3/16 is a useless POS. Plastics also have various degrees of UV resistance, and perhaps the higher end products use not only the A grade cells, but thicker stronger more UV resistant plastic and more layers of it.

"throw it up there' is a bit of a stretch as to get it o fit and not hang off the edge of my roof requires trimming the edges of the panel and a bit of foam shaped and then covered with fiberglass on a 6x 30 inch section of my roof.

I was considering laying it with strips of Sikaflex adhesive caulk parallel just inside cell edges with perhaps 1/16" gap under it to allow air and water pass under it. This should keep it from flexing in the wind and from being tied to my fiberglass roof which could expand and contract at a much different rate as well as conduct less heat to the interior.

I've been enjoying just hanging this panel over my east facing conversion van window from S hooks in my rain gutter. I just fear that using and storing it as a portable inside my Van would eventually lead to breaking multiple cells.

I've a hard time treating anything as disposable.

I'd really like to know how the failed flex panels in the AM solar article were mounted, and exactly which brand was used and the thickness of their plastic.

The Solbian Flex panels sold to Sailors for 3x the price as the cheapest flex panels available, well if they are failing, it is not being reported on the Marine forums, as far as I know.

[rvpopeye]

While it would be nice to know.........
You decide about if.
In the end the flex is yours and it's life expectancy should then be an issue .
I'm sure other's experiences should start appearing as they fail.

[Blacktank]

the whole point of a flex panel is to be able to mount it directly on non flat surfaces,if it cant do that then whats the point?

stress test that sucker

[sternwake]

Flex panels cannot stretch nor compress, and that is what it would have to do, on my TV top fiberglass roof where I intend(ed?) to put it.

It is that or it hangs off the edge of the roof 3+ inches, which is not going to happen.

If I do mount it I will be trimming the plastic around the cells, so instead of a 1 inch plastic around the edges it would be about 1/4 inch. I can see this actually opening up a seam and perhaps ruining the panel.

How many here would buy a 100 watt 250$ flex panel when they are available for 100$ cheaper than that. Especially without proof that they will last longer attached to a RV roof?

I don't know what I am going to do with it.

[Flying kurbmaster]

I have a couple of flex panels and think that is the way of the futur, I think the concept is brilliant maybe they are still working on perfecting them, I am pretty sure that this article is all based on one experience, the panels they are showing likely came off the roof they are also showing. I am not saying that some are no good or all are manufactured the same but mine have been on my roof for around four years they came from that outfit that went bankrupt in California I can’t remember their name, there is no sign of deterioration on my panels nor have I noticed any loss of power, they work exceptionally well in the shade, are glued directly to my alluminium roof with the adhesive they came with. Under my roof there is 2 inches of battt type stuff, a sheet of alluminium, 3/4 inches of high density foam then 1/4 inch tung and groove pine and I don’t find the ceiling gets hot. Just my experince so far, the panels are likely six years old or more not sure when they stopped production,

[sternwake]

I have had a UNisolar EPVL-68 roll out flex panel adhered to my roof since 2011 or 2012.

This panel is amorphorus and not the same as the flex panels of today that when new offer the same efficiency as framed panels

My unisolar is 16 inches wide and almost 9.5 feet long for that 68 watts and is still providing a high percentage of what i expect from it.

It is good at producing in low sun angles and clouds.

It is not really appreciative of the crown on my roof.  There are several gaps where the butyl paper backed adhesive it came with failed, but I am not seeing any obvious signs the cells are damaged in those areas.