A couple of ideas on keeping panels moisture free

[Sunking]

Well BigSmile all I can tell you is the PE of 33 years says go file for your permit, build it, get it inspected.

Good Luck, you will need it. Just remember you have been told, now go learn.

[russ]

Sure, You can get your DIY panels certified. Maybe a 5 year process and many thousands of dollars.

[bigsmile]

Thank you guys for the (perhaps a little over done) warning. Now that I'm very much aware of the certification issue, I'll definitely get approved first before actually building, I mean if I'm really to build anything. So, I won't be really risking anything.

Actually one thing may derail my plan altogether (in a pleasant way) is that I just noticed that thin film has a interesting property, it performs better in summer than in winter. Where I am happens to have miserably wet winter and sunny summer. This may be an additional benefit of the thin film other than being cheap. But the low efficiency does bother me a little.

Anyway, anyone still interested in talking a little about technical details? Such as feasibility of using mineral oil as liquid sealant? I poured a little mineral oil usp into a dish today. Its clarity almost got me emotional. It's definitely clearer than ordinary glass. Now the question is, how stable is it under sun light? Will it get murky after a couple of years?

[Sizz]

Mineral oil degrades under UV. Plus, I wouldn't want the extra weight and combustible fluid up there. I still think a thin layer of silicone encapsulate is the way to go.

[Sunking]

oils will displace air and water, but also hold onto heat, and heat is a killer of solar panels.

As for thin film apart from the efficiency issue, which may or may not be a problem for an individual, product lifetime is troublesome. Sure thin film is inexpensive some like DIY panels, but that is negated when they only last 5 to 10 years.

[Mike90250]

thin film has a interesting property, it performs better in summer than in winter

And performs better when new, as it ages, it degrades. That's even accounted for in the sales lit, often saying you will experience higher output for the first year, but will become "normal" shortly. Then less than normal, but they hope you won't notice that 2 years out.

[russ]

For the HHO - water is a very stable material - very strong bonds. You have to break those bonds to create free H2 using electricity and then combustion recombines the two elements to make water again.

Same basic product as electrolysis and same problem - the energy input is excessive - not many people have adequate rooftop for that many panels - even if we had 24 hour sun.

like Mike pointed out - it is a scam looking for suckers that are not familiar with the chemistry.

Today, on a residential basis, there is no usable solution available for storage except batteries.

Thin film is not proven on the market as of yet. Unisolar in particular seems to have major problems. When some big boys get into the market such as Dow is it should improve quickly if it is going to.

[Sunking]

Russ I think the HHO thing is in another thread?

[bigsmile]

I think the biggest problem of mineral oil is that it degrades and turns yellow under sunlight in the matter of days according to this. That should be expected. Just like plastic and rubber.

I guess silicone is still the only feasible one.

[Mike90250]

Transparent Aluminum Oxide. http://www.physorg.com/news167925273.html

[russ]

@ Sunking - Thanks for pointing out that I am confused! No idea what I was thinking of when I posted that HHO thing in this thread!