For lots of years, the only kinds of solar panels commercially offered have been crystalline solar panels put in a rectangular frame and placed on a roof. That is why most people, as soon as they think of solar power for their house, imagine this as their only option. Below are some new advancements in solar power and mounting options you may have never heard of before.
Thin Film Solar Panels – Boy Is This Skinny!
Think of the solar panel you see in a solar calculator. That is a thin film solar panel. Thin film solar panels are used to a great extent in satellites. Thin film technology is currently being extended into residential and industrial use and was named one of the best inventions of 2008 by TIME magazine.
Thin film solar panels are flexible, unlike polysilicon cells found in long-established crystalline solar panels. These thin film solar panels are being labeled as next generation solar power technology.
Thin film solar panels are more resistant to hail, dust, and so on. If a segment of a crystalline solar panel is broken, the entire solar panel will stop functioning where a thin film solar panel will continue to function.
Thin film panels can also be bendable and adapted to a lot of surfaces. They can be applied in places traditional crystalline solar panels cannot be mounted on. I have even seen a thin film panel sewed on a coat that powered a MP3 player.
The draw back to thin film panels is that they do not take up as much energy because they are so slim. These panels are not nearly as efficient as conventional photovoltaic panels but they are much cheaper. Thin film solar panels are printed onto the rolled backing, eliminating many of the high energy and chemical intensive methods that are normal in conventional PV manufacturing.
Thin film solar panels are low wattage and require more space than conventional solar panels and they are more prone to degradation. In order to counteract a few of these competitive disadvantages they have versus traditional solar panels, manufacturers give better warranties for thin film panels.
The largest thin film solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the United States is the Blythe plant located 200 miles east of Los Angeles, California. The 21-megawatt solar power plant uses thin film solar cells constructed out of cadmium telluride. At full power, the plant will create enough electricity to power an anticipated 17,000 houses.
Now let us look at conventional solar panels and several of the mounting options that are available you may have never heard of before.
Mounting Selections For Conventional Solar Panels – It’s All In the Mount
Solar panel mounts are available in three main varieties: pole mounts, roof-ground mounts, and flush mounts. With these mounts, you can fix your solar panel on your roof, onto an RV, on top of or against the side of a pole, or even install them as a free-standing unit.
Pole Mounts – No That Isn’t What Santa Claus Uses For His Sleigh
Pole mounts, especially top-of-pole, have been popular for a long time. Top-of-pole mounts are basically a steel or aluminum rack and rail structure bolted or welded to a large sleeve that sets on top of a pole with set-bolts to keep it in place. Side-of-pole mounts are usually used when you need to mount to the side of a telephone pole or communications tower. Tracking mounts are similar to top-of-pole mounts, but they also have a system of automatically aiming the mount to track the sun.
Top of pole mounts (as well as sun trackers) are one of the simplest mounts to install. They basically only need a single steel pole set in the ground (usually in concrete), and the mount slips onto the top of the pole. Most common sizes use a 2-inch to 8-inch pole, usually around 11 to 13 feet in length. They can go higher if you need to get the panel up higher to get out of shading from close by undergrowth.
Common Roof-Ground Mounts
Roof-ground systems can be mounted onto a roof or ground without a lot of deviation in setup. They are normally created from stainless steel in a grid-like system of supports. Roof-mounted panels for smaller systems are the easiest to install, using tiny flush-mount brackets which raise the panels to the most excellent angle for solar collection.
Ground mounts, as the name implies, are solar panel mounts that are installed on the ground (as opposed to a pole mount or roof mount). They have supporting, changeable legs which allow you to optimize their upright orientation for solar exposure. Ground mounting systems usually entail lots of steel supports, concrete foundations, and galvanized footings, that can be troubling, when you are attempting to keep your system low cost. Ground mounted systems call for structural strength to avert load bearing failure.
Although module mounting systems are available for ground and roof installation, roof mount installation is the most popular and cost effective system. The roof mounted panels are attached to a mounting system usually consisting of an aluminum or steel support structure which attaches the panels to the roof.
The Down Low On Flush Mounts
Flush Mounts are economical and simple to install – these are ideal for single panel installations and smaller solar arrays. Flush mounts are put onto a level face such as the top of an RV, a roof, or the top of a boat and are not used for ground installations. These mounts act to separate the solar panel from the mounting surface and allow airflow to go under and cool the solar panel for smooth operation. Flush Mounts are normally used with small solar arrays on roof tops and RVs, because the structural design of a flush mount cannot support big solar panels.
Lots of options exist in the ever changing world of solar power technology. For all you could ever want to know about solar panels and wind generators visit where can I buy solar panels
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