Survey. Solar Panels

[Clive Mott]

1.How many have had solar panels fail?
2. What type of panel? glass or flexable?
3. When did you last check that your solar panels are working?
Ta. Clive

 

[The Wino]

No concerns here as the Wickes twin wall polycarbonate I used is UV protected and it has a nice black solar panel on it to block out the UV as well.
As for the Sika adhesive causing a problem, I've not seen any evidence of that come to light, have you ?
Anyway, my semi-flexible panels are bolted onto the raised roof mounts, not bonded, so easily removable if needed.

I've not heard of any specific problems with the bonding agent but on industrial eye protection with polycabonate lenses a single wipe with acetone to clean the lenses can permanently halve the impact resistance and it was a problem on motorcycle helmets with solvent from stickers. It's funny stuff!

 

[Oldrat]

No failures (touching wood)

2 large flexible panels bonded to fibreglass roof

Checked this week

 

[Taran_Las]

When I wanted to fit a couple of extra solar panels, weight was a consideration, so I went for semi-flexibles.
Being aware of failures of semi-flexibles due to overheating when bonded to a roof with no air gap for cooling and along with the expansion and contracting of the panels causing conductor joints to fail, I went for mounting my semi-flexible on lightweight multiwall polycarbonate roofing sheet which gives stiffness to the panel and also allows airflow to dissipate heat away from the panels.
They have been up there for 3 years or so now and neither has failed, so either I'm just lucky or my mounting method is keeping them alive.

View attachment 633491

Fancy showing your dirty roof to the rest of the motorhome world. Do you have no shame?

 

[TDub49]

1. Thought I had but it turned out that the inter connector between the panel and the control unit was duff.
2. Glass
3. Every couple of days as the van is on my drive and I check battery levels etc regularly.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Two on Tour]

Fancy showing your dirty roof to the rest of the motorhome world. Do you have no shame?

Come on Phil you know me .............................. shame ?

 

[Millcourt]

Clive Mott

I see you have also asked the same question on the “Out and About Live” Forum, where you are described as the “Forum Master”. I wonder what your purpose is in asking these questions. Is it for some commercial reason?

 

[Cobra]

1. Never
2. Glass
3. 24/7 monitoring

 

[cyberyacht]

Fitted a cheapo aluminium backed panel to a "floating" caravan roof that failed within a year. First moho had resin encased semi-flex glued to a bonded roof. Still good three years later when I swapped to the Carthago. Fitted three semi-flex directly to the GRP sheathed roof with sikaflex eighteen months ago shortly after acquiring the van and still good.