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Electronics => Power/Renewable Energy/EV's => Topic started by: The Soulman on August 08, 2018, 11:08:16 am

Title: Èast to West on a sloped roof, thin-film, or?
Post by: The Soulman on August 08, 2018, 11:08:16 am

Hi, I'm moving to a different house soon (in NL) and are planning to install solar panels asab.
Looking for 5 max. 7 years return of investment, 15 year useable live.
The available roof space is approximately 25m2 facing east and 25m2 facing west at about 30 degrees slant, no shade.
Apart from a permit that may force me to thin-film on the east side for esthetic reasons:

I'm leaning towards thin-film because:

*Low cost
*Better performance in cloudy weather conditions (ie normal weather)
*The higher degradation of the thin film is off-set by the sub optimal placement (not facing south).

Is thin-film a logical choice in this case?

Title: Re: Èast to West on a sloped roof, thin-film, or?
Post by: timh2870 on October 12, 2018, 03:10:05 am

I also have an East-West roof and chose thin film for the western side because (1) they generally do better [than silicon] in low light or late afternoon conditions, (2) they look better, and (3) they were dirt cheap. $500US for a pallet of 50 panels. The catch is that the company is no longer in business, so it will probably cost more to dispose of them in 20 years than I paid for them now. Thin film panels contain Cadmium, and their future disposal might be a problem here or where you are.