eva only protection

[nechaus]

has anyone ever made a panel where the cells were encapsulated over glass using eva, so the glass is the backing?? i was thinking of making a few small ones like 70 watt, connect all cells up and do eva laminate, aluminium frame to give strength and hold down eva..

a panel to use on short camping trips ?

or should i do dual glass forget eva, slyguard?
i have lots of epoxy resin, eva, tpe,

materials to play with to kill boredom and make the best diy panel i can do

[Pylonman]

I made a panel with the face of the PV cell (blue part) against the glass and then used one sheet of EVA on the back. I then used a piece of FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) for the backing.

[nechaus]

would you consider using eva on the front ?

[Pylonman]

I wouldn't for a big panel. It overs little protection from dust and grime. The EVA isn't too thick. But, you could make a small panel and "hang it" for a couple hours in the sun and then take it inside at the end of the day. The cells are still brittle.
If you plan to go ahead, what I would do is spray the back of the cells with that plastic coating stuff called PLASTIDIP http://www.plastidip.com/. It used to keep tools from rusting. It also offers a little flexibilty to the back of the cells. Then I would sandwich the cells between the EVA. Keep us posted on your progress.

[nechaus]

hey man yeah sounds good.. im trying all type of materials, anything and everything..
i got some cheap 6x6 inch cells that put out 4.12 watts @ .5/6 volts


so i put 9 of them in series.. used a wood center, tde on back and front of wood, then cells tabbed and connected, i then used UV stabilized epoxy resin and coated the cells with that ...

i then used eva on the top to offer some protection, i actually found a hair dryer worked the best, one of my girlfriends ones " not mine " haha



i can post some pics... its ok for a small portable one hey.. does the job.. used aluminium frame and sealed everything with silicon...


i can post the pics if you guys want.. im planning on making 2 more so i can get the volts up

[nechaus]

this is one of my diy panels

6 volt 50 watts

coated with epoxy and eva

[russ]

Looking good! Thanks for sharing the photo.

Russ

[nechaus]

everytime i make a panel i get better and better, im waiting for my fiber glass one to finish curing and ill have to post pics, im trying to make the panels as light as possible, this one was 7 kilos, its rather durable . doubt it will last long tho. $58

[elect41]

Great work!!

Looks great

Iam also interested in building my diy panels,can you please give me some information on the frames,cells.I live in Puerto Rico and my rooftop is solid concrete.

[Pylonman]

Thanks nechaus for posting the pictures!
How did you make the frame around it? Can you describe and show some more pictures. I have got a bunch of 6x6 cells and plan to build another panel (or 2)
I also agree with you about trying new techniques out on each panel. It's part of the fun and learning.

[conntaxman]

useing EVA

what side of eva. when making a solar panel with glass then eva the cells then eva then backing.Is it the Sticky side to the glass then the cells then the will say Dry side on back of cells and Sticky side facing up then backing.
would that be correct.
tks
John

[Bratan]

Why use eva if you already encapsulated in resin? Is it possible to use just epoxy in front and back and some ridgid backing material? Maybe frame too for added strengh. Would something like this sufficiently protect portable solar panel that never left outside for long time?

[conntaxman]

eva

Why use eva if you already encapsulated in resin? Is it possible to use just epoxy in front and back and some ridgid backing material? Maybe frame too for added strengh. Would something like this sufficiently protect portable solar panel that never left outside for long time?

..............Don't use Epoxy on the front to cover the cells, it will CRACK/break if you have even a very small air bubble.I did that. I use boat epoxy,with uv protection.
I now just seal them like a thermopaine window, with silica in-side. So far they are working good, no proublems. 1 yr old

[Bratan]

..............Don't use Epoxy on the front to cover the cells, it will CRACK/break if you have even a very small air bubble.I did that. I use boat epoxy,with uv protection.
I now just seal them like a thermopaine window, with silica in-side. So far they are working good, no proublems. 1 yr old

Even something like Sylguard 184? I thought it was ok since it always gets on the front of solar cells. Or is it different because there's a glass protecting it from flexing?
Is there no way of building panel without glass/acrylic in front?

[Bratan]

used a wood center, tde on back and front of wood, then cells tabbed and connected, i then used UV stabilized epoxy resin and coated the cells with that ...

BTW what is "TDE"? Is it similar to FRP panel?