LAMINATING : If no Sylgard 184 (or 182) then what ??

[kermitas]

Hello,

I want to ask you what are your experiences in laminating panels.

Since everything cost : solar glass, aliminum frame, wafers (cells), wires ... we need something good and cheap as a backing.

Please see Sylgard 184 movies : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAxhZUZSkqU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muwclw5oYd8 .

I discovered that to laminate (protect) standard 100W panel I need two Sylgard 184 so the price would be around $100. Its advantage is that using it we need no backing and it is exactly in 100% what we need. Disadvantage is price (especially for me when I want to build 10 or more panels !).

We need something that will be :
- UV protected,
- will survive winter (cold)
- will survive summer (hot).
It also have to glue to glass and keep cells inside (keep in mind that there are only small spaces between cells where it can stick to glass !!). What is important : it have to be a little bit elastic !!! It must work with glass when it will be hot summer and cold winter, it can't be rigit/hard.

I want to know what are your experiences ???
Did you experiment with silicone, rubber, resin or something else ??

Thanks,
Arthur.

PS1 : other way is to use EVA and/or Tedlar foil but you will also need pressure & temperature table which cost in my city $4300 http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...rch_type=&aq=f .

PS2 : I found information about 'ge rtv615' - it looks like similar to Sylgard184 but I don't know nothing about it

[Mike90250]

You have to be careful with the RTV. The common kind releases acetic acid (vinegar), you can smell it! Of course, that's no good with electronics. The electronic grade kind, releases acetone as it cures, and that is OK with electronics.