Does anyone use anything like Rain-X on their panels?

[pamalot]

I often you Rain-X on my truck which does a great job of keeping the windshield clean. I was wondering if there's any reason why I couldn't do the same on my panels to keep them clean from the dust that comes in the rain? or are panels usually already coated in something similar already?

Spamalot

[J.P.M.]

I often you Rain-X on my truck which does a great job of keeping the windshield clean. I was wondering if there's any reason why I couldn't do the same on my panels to keep them clean from the dust that comes in the rain? or are panels usually already coated in something similar already?

Spamalot

About a yr. or more ago, Russ contacted Rain-X and as I recall, they stated that they could not/did not recommend their product for such uses. My guess is they were trying to avoid legal problems based on ignorance. I wonder if anyone knows what Rain-X might do to antireflective coatings/systems.

[pamalot]

About a yr. or more ago, Russ contacted Rain-X and as I recall, they stated that they could not/did not recommend their product for such uses. My guess is they were trying to avoid legal problems based on ignorance. I wonder if anyone knows what Rain-X might do to antireflective coatings/systems.

Thanks JPM.

Hey Russ! Did you try it anyway? I've got a bottle sitting on the shelf but I'm in 2 minds whether to give it a try.

[J.P.M.]

Thanks JPM.

Hey Russ! Did you try it anyway? I've got a bottle sitting on the shelf but I'm in 2 minds whether to give it a try.

You're Welcome. Just a thought: If you're a gambler, take a shot & try it on the corner/1 cell of a panel and keep an eye on things.

[SunEagle]

Thanks JPM.

Hey Russ! Did you try it anyway? I've got a bottle sitting on the shelf but I'm in 2 minds whether to give it a try.

If I had a system and some spare panels then I would give it a try to see if it works or degrades the panel surface.

[inetdog]

About a yr. or more ago, Russ contacted Rain-X and as I recall, they stated that they could not/did not recommend their product for such uses. My guess is they were trying to avoid legal problems based on ignorance. I wonder if anyone knows what Rain-X might do to antireflective coatings/systems.

I suspect that they were also concerned about the effect on the sealant at the edge of the panels because:
1. They did not test with sealant compounds other then those used for automotive glass panels.
2. They did not take into account the fact that the solution could pool at the edges of the panels during application, something that would not happen with typical auto glass sealant systems.

[pamalot]

I'm gonna give it a go. I'm feeling lucky As suggested, I'll do a corner first, leave it a few weeks, if OK, I'll do the whole panel. Then I think I'll leave it some months just in case, then maybe do the rest. What could possibly go wrong

[J.P.M.]

I'm gonna give it a go. I'm feeling lucky As suggested, I'll do a corner first, leave it a few weeks, if OK, I'll do the whole panel. Then I think I'll leave it some months just in case, then maybe do the rest. What could possibly go wrong

Keep us posted please ?

[pamalot]

Keep us posted please ?

I did one complete panel with Rain-X over the weekend. I thought, if I'm going up on the roof just to do one corner of one panel, it ain't worth it, so I did one complete one while I was up there. I plan on going back up there in a month and seeing if I can see any noticeable difference. What I'm gonna look for specifically is if there is any difference in the amount of surface dust/dirt between them. I'll keep you posted.

[J.P.M.]

I did one complete panel with Rain-X over the weekend. I thought, if I'm going up on the roof just to do one corner of one panel, it ain't worth it, so I did one complete one while I was up there. I plan on going back up there in a month and seeing if I can see any noticeable difference. What I'm gonna look for specifically is if there is any difference in the amount of surface dust/dirt between them. I'll keep you posted.

My suggestion on one cell was so that if the Rain-X did affect the anti reflection coating, it might be a visible to the eye and would not be as bad an outcome as if a whole panel were coated. The Rain-X may affect the panel/coating in ways that may not be visible to the eye.

As long as an entire panel is coated, if you have a micro inverter system w/monitoring, consider monitoring the test panel and an adjacent panel.

FWIW, that's also one not too bad way to get a back of the envelope SWAG at panel/system fouling.

[SunEagle]

My suggestion on one cell was so that if the Rain-X did affect the anti reflection coating, it might be a visible to the eye and would not be as bad an outcome as if a whole panel were coated. The Rain-X may affect the panel/coating in ways that may not be visible to the eye.

As long as an entire panel is coated, if you have a micro inverter system w/monitoring, consider monitoring the test panel and an adjacent panel.

FWIW, that's also one not too bad way to get a back of the envelope SWAG at panel/system fouling.

Another tool that may detect something the "eye" doesn't would be an Infrared thermography camera. They are not cheap (~$1000) but may provide some thermal details about the panel surface.

[pleppik]

Another tool that may detect something the "eye" doesn't would be an Infrared thermography camera. They are not cheap (~$1000) but may provide some thermal details about the panel surface.

You can get a cheap ($200-ish) thermal camera attachment for a smartphone. Not as accurate or fancy as a dedicated unit, but good enough to find hot spots on your panel. Plus way fun to play with. The model I bought is called Seek Thermal, and is readily available on Amazon.

[SunEagle]

You can get a cheap ($200-ish) thermal camera attachment for a smartphone. Not as accurate or fancy as a dedicated unit, but good enough to find hot spots on your panel. Plus way fun to play with. The model I bought is called Seek Thermal, and is readily available on Amazon.

I saw that advertised. It would be interesting to compare it to a more accurate thermal camera but with this application you don't need to know the temp within a couple of degrees F. You just need to see if there are spot or areas of different heat emission.

Let us know what you find out with your camera.

[J.P.M.]

I'm not sure what the relationship would be, if any, between a panel's local temp. and any change in the surface reflectivity of the glazing. So, while a thermal camera may very well show a temp. diff., I'm not sure how such a temp. diff. would be interpreted.

Off the top of my head, a few of probably many considerations:

If the reflectance was changed by the Rain-X, and that change was to decrease the reflectance in the PV sensitive wavelengths, or even out to the IR, that may be a good thing by increasing the amount of sunlight getting past the surface. However, that would then increase the absolute amount of radiant energy trying to penetrate the glazing which would increase the amount of energy absorbed by the glazing, probably increasing its temp.

If the Rain- X were to increase the reflectance in those same wavelengths, the glazing temp. may drop as less energy is absorbed.

Meanwhile, if the Rain-X increases reflectance in the IR, an IR thermometer would need an (unknown ?) emissivity adjustment to avoid a false reading.

If the Rain-X keeps things cleaner, the glazing will tend to be warmer.

Etc.

[zaki]

I suspect that they were also concerned about the effect on the sealant at the edge of the panels because:
1. They did not test with sealant compounds other then those used for automotive glass panels.
2. They did not take into account the fact that the solution could pool at the edges of the panels during application, something that would not happen with typical auto glass sealant systems.

They did not take into account the fact that the solution could pool at the edges of the panels during application, something that would not happen with typical auto glass sealant systems.
I think so, this is an indisputable fact






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