Need To Know Options Before You Buy Solar Panels

For many years, the only kinds of solar panels commercially obtainable have been crystalline solar panels mounted in a rectangular casing and placed on a roof. That is why most people, as soon as they reckon of solar energy for their home, imagine this as their single option. Below are a few new advancements in solar power and mounting options you may have never heard of before.

Thin Film Solar Panels – Man Is That Skinny!

Imagine the solar panel you have in a solar calculator. That is a thin film solar panel. Thin film solar panels are used to a fantastic extent in satellites. Thin film technology is now being extended into residential and commercial use and was named one of the best inventions of 2008 by TIME magazine.

Thin film solar panels are flexible, not like polysilicon cells found in long-established crystalline solar panels. These thin film solar panels are being hailed as next generation solar power technology.

Thin film solar panels are more resilient to hail, rocks, and so forth. If a part of a crystalline solar panel is hurt, the entire solar panel will stop functioning where a thin film solar panel will go on operating.

Thin film panels can also be flexible and modified to lots of surfaces. They can be functional in places conventional crystalline solar panels cannot be mounted against. I have even seen a thin film panel sewed onto a coat that powered a MP3 player.

The draw back to thin film panels is that they do not take in as much energy because they are so skinny. These panels are not nearly as efficient as traditional photovoltaic panels but they cost less. Thin film solar panels are printed onto the rolled backing, eliminating many of the high energy and chemical intensive processes that are normal in conventional PV manufacturing.

Thin film solar panels are low wattage and require more room than traditional solar panels and they are more prone to degradation. In an attempt to counter a few of these competitive disadvantages they have against conventional solar panels, manufacturers offer 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 capacity, the plant will generate enough electricity to power an anticipated 17,000 homes.

Now let’s look at conventional solar panels and a few of the mounting options that are available you may well have never heard of before.

Mounting Options For Traditional Solar Panels – It’s In the Mount

Solar panel mounts come in three main types: pole mounts, roof-ground mounts, and flush mounts. With these mounts, you can install your solar panel onto an RV, on top of or against the side of a pole, on your roof, or even install them as a free-standing unit.

Pole Mounts – No This Is Not Something Santa Claus Needs For His Sleigh

Pole mounts, specially top-of-pole, have been well-liked for awhile now. Top-of-pole mounts are basically a steel or aluminum frame and railing system bolted or welded to a hefty casing that sets on top of a pole with set-bolts to keep it stationary. Side-of-pole mounts are often 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 technique of automatically aiming the mount to track the sun.

Top of pole mounts (including sun trackers) are one of the simplest mounts to set up. They really only need a single steel pole set in the ground (usually in concrete), and the mount slips onto the top of the pole. Most ordinary 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 avoid shading from nearby undergrowth.

Well loved Roof-Ground Mounts

Roof-ground systems can be mounted onto a roof or ground without much change in setup. They are typically made from stainless steel in a grid-like system of supports. Roof-mounted panels for smaller systems are the simplest to mount, using tiny flush-mount brackets which lift up the panels to the most brilliant angle for solar collection.

Ground mounts, as the name suggests, are solar panel mounts that are installed on the ground (as opposed to a pole mount or roof mount). They have supporting, variable legs which allow you to optimize their upright direction for solar exposure. Ground mounting systems usually entail lots of steel supports, concrete foundations, and galvanized footings, that can be troubling, when you are trying to keep your system low cost. Ground mounted systems need structural strength to avoid weight bearing failure.

Even though module mounting systems are available for ground and roof installation, roof mount installation is the most well loved and cost effective approach. The roof mounted panels are attached to a mounting system typically consisting of an aluminum or steel support structure which attaches the panels to the roof.

The Low Down On Flush Mounts

Flush Mounts are inexpensive and simple to install – these are perfect for single panel installations and smaller solar arrays. Flush mounts are mounted 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 function to separate the solar panel from the mounting surface and permit airflow to go underneath and cool the solar panel for efficient operation. Flush Mounts are usually used with small solar arrays on roof tops and RVs, because the structural design of a flush mount cannot hold up huge solar panels.

There are many new options available in the expanding realm of solar technology. To learn how to calculate the number of solar panels you need for your home and other solar power secrets they don’t want you to know about, go to where can I buy solar panels