Peel and Stick Thin Film Solar Panels on Flat Roof

[iLOVENATURE2011]

oh...if what he's been promoting in the video is true, then this solar panel is worth a try! =)

[neobudda1]

how much

[shikira]

I think the solar paint (when its released ) will be a better option.

[coolflatroof]

@shikira

Only it will delaminate when home owners start paining their homes with it, and short circuit left and right.

And not it won't be available to the general public in form of paint. Companies that develop the products, will want to make money on it, so they will control who and for how much can buy it.

And since you compare solar paint to these roof-integrated solar panels - paint would once again not work here, due to foot traffic, door contamination, etc.

[SmallWindTurbines]

Nice video project man.

[minami935]

Great product and great idea.

[lobocop101]

is this like amorphous film?

[kopi5896]

I like thin film solar flat roof.

[joejoeaudy]

Thank you for sharing a good video.

[liang8231]

This video is very helpful about thin film solar

[minami935]

Great thin film solar flat roof.

[jonathondixon859]

Good job.

[bjones88100]

so what happens if you have a leak like a small pin hole in the membrain or a bad seam that pops loose underneath a pannel?

[sprayfoamroofs]

I imagine this system would work on a spray foam polyurethane roof, is that right? Great video by the way.

[ignostu]

I volunteer my house ,brilliant!

[Shal3000]

and here's a really dumb thing about solar power / inverters. Every appliance in our homes has a power supply that typically takes 120VAC and drops it to between 5-24VDC for just about every appliance. We take the already DC voltage from the Solar PV Panels, invert it back up to 120VAC only to drop it back down to between 5-24VDC. Talk about a waste....

[coolflatroof]

@Shal3000

Hey Shal, you are right, and yet, there is a reason for all this - we can't get away from 120 v AC as that is the main current and voltage for distribution of electricity, which was not designed with few and in between solar panels owners - therefore we have to adopt in this case. Besides, the waste is not huge and is pre-calculated... nevertheless it is a waste

[Shal3000]

@coolflatroof What needs to happen is manufacturers of common household electronics (TV's, DVD's, stereos, etc) need to externalize the power supply so that a DC source can be applied to the item to run it. This would allow for both scenarios wherein someone who has AC only, can plug it in and go and someone setting up a Solar PV system can use a direct 12 or 24VDC power distribution system in the home as well or setup a WiTricty distribution system.

[dbantone]

@coolflatroof

recreational vehicles use 12 and 24 and other dc voltages for their appliances.

[OhmME1984]

@Shal3000 Most DC systems require brushes which require more maintenance then AC systems. The idea that DC is the end all current is laughable.

[KyleCarrington]

@Shal3000 I've often thought the same thing and I do agree with your points, however... there are also the high energy consumers that DON"T. The current drawing AC motors in dryers, washers, refrigeration, air conditiong - all of which do 2 things: 1. draw the most current. 2. Require many hundreds of feet of wire for distribution (DC power losses over distances are far greater.) Maybe, however, in the future, outlets will have both.. AC & DC current supply. That'd be cool.

[3lysium79]

@Shal3000 COMPLETELY AGREE! I've been baffled by this for years!

[a2zhandi]

@Shal3000 well, with my limited knowledge of electronics, I can see the convenience of an inverter. Reason being, As you say, "5-24VDC for just about every appliance", The appliances already have a voltage rectifier in it.

If you don't have an inverter, you'd have to branch all the receptacles for every appliance drawing different current via resistors. Voltage boost (step up) or V buck (step down). Individual boards may be cheap enough. But they do add up. And then there is installation costs

[enticed2zeitgeist]

@Shal3000 Holy fuck! I never knew that. The AC in my house usually gets turned into DC by appliances, is that what you are saying?

[9753flyer]

@Shal3000

A: Invertors now are extremely efficient - loss as literally nil

B: Those who are serious about solar install DC appliances. Most appliance are actually DC anyways and simply use a built in inverter. All major appliances are available in DC form for little if any cost difference.

[platinum243125]

@Shal3000 The extra voltage is to get the power through the wires and system. It would all get dissipated if it was run at low voltage.

[johnlvs2run]

How does this work with stainless steel roofs?

[coolflatroof]

@johnlvs2run

This does not work with stainless steel roofs - this system was designed for single-ply flat roofing membrane. For metal roofs, it is better to use thin-film laminates such as unisolar PV panels.

[johnlvs2run]

@coolflatroof Okay thanks.

[tekknorat]

Sounds like a perfect dream.

[n7c7m7p8]

how much will it cost to cover my 2000 sq flat roof with such panels? :) Also, can you walk on these panels, or will they be breakable?

[coolflatroof]

@n7c7m7p8

About cost - it all depends on configuration and who is buying the product and doing the work - therefore I can't really tell you. As for walking - I would not do it just in case.

[Vulcan750L]

@coolflatroof

"About cost - it all depends on configuration and who is buying the product and doing the work - therefore I can't really tell you. "

So why don't you give us a price range or a few samples of previous installations, or what the typical installation will cost? Why are you being so vague about it?

Cost is the reason solar is not a practical solution for most people. Apparently, this is still an issue.

[coolflatroof]

@Vulcan750L - Ok, I will explain this. First you need a PVC roof for this particular system. Lumeta makes something similar that works with other white roofs such as TPO.

Second, it is not practical unless you have enough unshaded area on your roof to install at least 3 KW. As far as pricing - last I heard, Open Energy panels where about $3.50 per watt + inverter and all other stuff. It's probably more like $2.50-3.00 now. For roof pricing I added Roofing + Solar calculator links in description.

[Pangolinx1]

However good your product is you need to fire the person who made the video. We're not learning anything about cost/kw/hr and payback periods. That's the only metric that matters.

[coolflatroof]

@Pangolinx1 - I will go ahead and fire him :)

[PermaroofOnline]

Looks like a fantastic product to go well with our product

[MegaWeebles]

somebody didn't do physics at school did they? AC, indeed

[cornandstuff]

@MegaWeebles they would have also told you about inverters in physics

[joecam905]

severe cost???severecost!!! 16 % effective use.why is everybody in solar panel industry so greedy????????????????? can you make affordable panels that average person can afford??????

[cornandstuff]

@joecam905 its not about greed. It just costs more (with current technology) to go solar than conventional power. And to argue that money isn't important defies the fact that renewable energy sources do exist, but people choose not to use them on the basis of cost difference.

[joecam905]

@cornandstuff nice product!!severly overpriced!!

[cornandstuff]

@joecam905 that's a fair comment I guess.. If you could make a cost effective one then you wouldn't have to sell the panels, you would set them up yourself and sell the power.. and then you would be making real money lol

[masluxx]

blahhh an infomercial?

[abeliscain]

Very cool will promote. thank you.

[Clenergy]

The main problem is if you don't tilt your panel and leave them on the floor, everytime it's rainning or the wind blow, you will have a lot of stuff on your panel reducing the efficiency.

I am not sure you want to go on the roof every 3 days to clean them.

Installation is something, maintenance an other.

[CcPie420]

you just read your bullet points asshole 2 thumbs down

[anynickwilldofine]

I had the same problem. But then I went to these guys: TILE-MOLDS . com . They provide the best roof materials!

[X9Intelectual]

is all the same but different

[GreenIsSexyTV]

I heard there were some problems with the OpenEnergy Solar PV panels. UniSolar works great!

[rickbar123]

does it work as well as the panels??

[ChrisF3F3]

This product has been enhanced and licensed to SunTech and will be available through them early 2010

[tessyblue]

sorry to ask, but does nano solar gives AC or DC current?

[coolflatroof]

well, nano solar is a mfg of thin film pv that is essentially printed onto metal substrate...

as for AC or DC - all solar panels produce DC electricity which usually goes into an inverter and becomes AC ...

[Christopher711]

I am wondering how well they will hold up in a hail storm or if tree branches land on then? How easily do they break?

[nom3d]

@Christopher711 How much "sunshine" you expect in an area having heavy hail and even tree ripping storms??

[roofingchicago]

This looks great. Does it perform well?

[coolflatroof]

Think of it as regular UniSolar thin film panels for low slope roof.

It has lower efficiency per sq. ft., but is much better at catching light on a cloudy day.

Best thing about IB SolarWise is that you have a choice to use other Solar panels. The main benefit is the complete integration of Solar PV and Roofing membrane. The end result give you a leaks free roof and well performing solar array and you won't need to replace the roof in 5 years.

[coolflatroof]

If you talk to solar integrators, you will learn that they hate the roofing part of the installation. Remember that panels must be attached to a roof, otherwise the wind will knock them down. This "attachment" usually results in a leak, which can be avoided by using roof-integrated solar system.

[coolflatroof]

Just as a note: In this video, the solar panels are from Open Energy. The company operantly stopped manufacturing those panels for some reason.

IB produced this video before they actually released SolarWise.

IB has just released and is now selling IB SolarWise that uses proven Uni-Solar thin-film laminates. Actual product looks slightly different, and comes in rolls vs. sheets as seen in the video.