Solar panel in the roof structure?

[leblanda]

Hi

Has anyone thought about mounting a solar panel directly into the roof itself and covering it with plexiglass?

Any thought?

Thanks

 

[GTS225-TNT]

That sounds like more opportunity for leaks, IMO.

Roger

 

[Pmullen503]

I'd worry about heat build up.

 

[Tony Latham]

Why?

 

[Tom&Shelly]

The plexiglass would cut down performance of the solar panel, by reflecting and absorbing some of the light. No reason to do it.

Personally, we like the flexibility of not having the solar panel mounted to the roof. That way, when possible, we can park the teardrop under shade and place the panel in the sunniest part of the site. Granted, lately our sites have been all sun or all shade.

Tom

 

[leblanda]

I forgot to mention that the build will be used as enclosed trailer 6 x12 for my snowmobile.
The solar panel will only to charge the battery for the indoor light so I do not want/need to find the maximun sun.
Since I already own a hard small solar Panel, the goal is to reuse it.
As as as heat build under the panel it wil be open in the enclosed trailer.

 

[Pmullen503]

So it's more like mounting the solar panel behind a window in the roof?

 

[Tony Latham]

As as as heat build under the panel it wil be open in the enclosed trailer.

I get zero heat buildup from my Renogy flexible.

Tony

 

[GeorgeDS]

I get zero heat buildup from my Renogy flexible.

Tony

Strange.
I bought a BougeRv Cigs 200w panel to put on my foamie biycle camper and did a test on the lawn for about half an hour. Grass was burnt.
Flexible panels always benefit from an air gap to keep them cooler and improve output and longevity. i think the heat will weaken the bond of paint/fiberglass/epoxy/foam/ or paint/canvas/glue/foam.

 

[Tony Latham]

Flexible panels always benefit from an air gap to keep them cooler and improve output and longevity.

So... my panel–and teardrop–disagrees after six years. And no, I didn't experiment with what it might do to grass.

I've got a Renogy glass panel on my tongue box, and it gets hot, unlike my flexible.

Tony

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Solar cells themselves don't warm up by producing electricity. What may be happening is the protective material is absorbing some sunlight and getting hot. In that case, it depends on the specific material and design of the panel holding the cells, not the technology of the solar cells.

FWIW, our cheap semi-flexible folding panel does not get hot. Nor is it losing efficiency the way certain interweb experts predicted. My guess is that the loss in efficiency has more to do with the degredation of the protecting transparent plastic than the cells, but I wait enthusiastically for the problem to happen so I can test the hypothesis.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

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[Woodbutcher-TNT]

I have a standy with a 100Watt solar panel on the roof. No issues at all. Just secure it well and use lap seal around all the brackets and screws. Most every big trailer out there has solar on the roof.