new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

actually came across this by accident:
http://store.altenergystore.com/Solar-Electric-Panels/1-to-50-Watt-Solar-Panels/Global-Solar-6W-12V-Glass-Framed-Module/p4435/

whats the scoop on this new technology, is it noteworthy? i notice they say no degradation of power output due to light (but degradation due to other things??), but only a 10yr warranty. competitive price to regular panels.. huh.

Comments

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    you know that's pure double talk on their part. over $11.60/w is a steal, at least for them. each probably comes with an ink stamp with a big L that you can paste on your head. buy 5 or more and they'll give you 5 letters that spell LOSER. all you need do to get your free stamp is send $24.95 for s/h for each stamp. i do hope nobody is taking this 'offer' seriously. :lol:
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    well pricing aside (as we all know most small wattage panels are a ripoff as to price per watt). did you read about the space tests and self repairing properties of the material. wierd.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    It was used in space in (I think from a quick search) one test (along with UniSolar) of thin film panels... Besides allowing them to store about 2x the amount (in terms of watts) of solar panels for space deployment, it was also only $200 a watt vs $500 a watt for standard solar arrays.

    Lastly, it appears, as in most items exposed to weather, that it is not the sun degrading the generation capacity of the material that is the limiting factor--It is probably just thermal stresses that eventually allow water/air/contaminates into the array (through seams and wiring connections) that will kill the product.

    So even if the cells can last 500 years, the 10 year manufacturer's warranty (vs 25 year for good quality silicon panels) seems it indicate that either they don't trust their own product, have history to back longer warranties, or just don't have their own processes dialed in yet.

    Don't know anything about the product other than a quick search and read--it may be a wonderful product (pricing aside).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • crewzer
    crewzer Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 1,832 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    The 15.8 V "Operating voltage" (Vmp?) is pretty poor, as it will likely not be able to reach 14.4 V in warm- or hot weather. Self-healing may be useful in space (pesky micro-meteorites), but I don't see that feature being of much benefit here on terra firma with the active surface protected by the tempered glass cover.

    There's nothing in the data sheet that would lead me to buy or recommend this product.

    :-( Jim / crewzer
  • Roderick
    Roderick Solar Expert Posts: 253 ✭✭
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    Wow, real CIGS! It's encouraging to me to see this coming out, even if the price is presently high.

    If $75 is not a lot of money to you (I know people who would blow that on a dinner without a second thought), then it might be a fun thing to experiment with. I would not buy it for any real work, though, and would go for proven, ordinary silicon, instead.

    I seem to recall that the promise of CIGS was ultimately being cheap per watt. Time will tell.
  • Brock
    Brock Solar Expert Posts: 639 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    I thought the other big deal when I first read about them was they could get you about twice the wattage for the same area, but it doesn’t look like that in this case?
    3kw solar PV, 4 LiFePO4 100a, xw 6048, Honda eu2000i, iota DLS-54-13, Tesla 3, Leaf, Volt, 4 ton horizontal geothermal, grid tied - Green Bay, WI
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    Question,

    If CIGS seem to be frowned upon here, has anyone had any experience with them, or is it speculation that they are being hyped up. I was researching CIGS, as I do all new panels, but nano thin film seems to be the most promising advance, so has anyone got an opinion on nano solar application process?

    Thanks, Mike
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    I don't think that CIGS are being frowned upon here because they are CIGS or Thin Film--I think it is because that there have been many announcements of new technologies just around the corner that with a few billion dollars more of development will fix our energy problems.

    Typically, I would guess, that folks that are into solar power (i.e., actually have researched, installed, failed, try again, and use solar power--not just talk about solar power), have pretty much a "show me" type attitude. For example, one of the sites that I read on this CIGS company included a quote that the solar cells would last 500 years (from a user, not a scientist--as I remember)... But yet, these panels only have 1/2 the guarantee that are offered on the current silicon modules.

    In the end, there are places that CIGS and other thin film panels will make sense, but at this point of development and manufacturing, they don't seem to offer anything better than is already available today... Pretty writing in a press release does not mean much in the real world.

    There will always be some (usually rich) people that are willing the try the "bleeding edge"... And from those people "funding" the new technology (either through stocks/investments or just buying the first release product)--we will see something new and wonderful in the future. Will it be CIGS or something else, I don't know.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    not that i saw, maybe you saw twice the price ;)
    :roll:

    the sanyo hit's's do give more wattage per same area than my sharp single cell panels. i'm psyched to expand my array of sanyo's this yr if i can afford to.

    Brock wrote:
    I thought the other big deal when I first read about them was they could get you about twice the wattage for the same area, but it doesn’t look like that in this case?
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    welp, if i ever travel to space, i know what panels *I'M* taking.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: new type of panel, thoughts by the experts?

    ground control to major matt. :lol: :-D