RC Pilot Jim
Senior Member
Recently I emailed Renology with the following question:
Many folks say the back of a standard panel gets hot and should have a separation between roof and the panel to allow for cooling.
I never considered this issue when I glued our Renology bendable panel, so......Is heat an issue? And if so am I loosing amps with it GLUED down?
Following is Renology answer:
"........ you will be losing some voltage/power due to the increased temperatures that occur from a lack of cooling on the back face. Typically, the temperature of the bendable panel cell will be the same as the surface the panel is attached to, ie the roof. The temperature coefficient of this panel (for power) is -0.38%/°C of maximum. This means that if the panel were to get to say 57°C (160°F) during a summer load, you’d be looking at a power loss of about 12W. This may sound bad, but with the normal operating cell temperature of 47°C, you already lose about 8 W from the rating. So due to the mounting you’re looking at 12% loss versus the normal 8% loss which is negligible considering all the other variables at play with the panel."
Hope this helps!
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Chris McNamara, B.S.M.E., E.I.T.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Technical Engineering Manager[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Engineering & Technical Support Department[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]14288 Central Ave.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Chino, CA 91710, USA[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](909) 287-7100 Ext. 301[/SIZE]
Many folks say the back of a standard panel gets hot and should have a separation between roof and the panel to allow for cooling.
I never considered this issue when I glued our Renology bendable panel, so......Is heat an issue? And if so am I loosing amps with it GLUED down?
Following is Renology answer:
"........ you will be losing some voltage/power due to the increased temperatures that occur from a lack of cooling on the back face. Typically, the temperature of the bendable panel cell will be the same as the surface the panel is attached to, ie the roof. The temperature coefficient of this panel (for power) is -0.38%/°C of maximum. This means that if the panel were to get to say 57°C (160°F) during a summer load, you’d be looking at a power loss of about 12W. This may sound bad, but with the normal operating cell temperature of 47°C, you already lose about 8 W from the rating. So due to the mounting you’re looking at 12% loss versus the normal 8% loss which is negligible considering all the other variables at play with the panel."
Hope this helps!
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Chris McNamara, B.S.M.E., E.I.T.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Technical Engineering Manager[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Engineering & Technical Support Department[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]
[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]14288 Central Ave.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Chino, CA 91710, USA[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](909) 287-7100 Ext. 301[/SIZE]
