Flexible solar panels

[mrburnzie]

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/wqdaqy/entering_the_next_level/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Sorry to cross post to reddit, that is where I have found it.

[Haenk]

Not really "new", but interesting IMHO.
Too bad they don't last long and are way less efficient.

[joeideal]

Have to agree with Haenik

Had something similar fitted on my camper van, should have saved my money as 6 months later the were useless.

[Marco]

Sunman has a pretty long warranty, of course they could just be planning bankruptcy before it becomes an issue.

[ejeffrey]

Linking to reddit is fine, but link and run is frowned upon.  It's really best if you have some of your own comments or questions to add to the discussion.

Thin film solar, including flexible solar has been around for decades.  It's less efficient than crystalline, but can be lighter and more robust although some technologies are less reliable.  Also, with the crashing price of high volume crystalline and polycrystalline silicon in the last 20 years, thin films are also more expensive.  So it really only makes sense in specific applications.

[Marco]

Sunman is crystalline silicon, they don't say a lot about how they make it though.

[rooppoorali]

Are these commercially available yet?

[Marco]

Sunman have some design wins for large installs here and in Germany (on trucks and some roofs which can't take the extra weight of traditional panels) but the only shop selling directly to consumers here has a ridiculous mark up, an installer might be able to get a reasonable quote from a distributor.

Alibaba has them and the mark up in Australia is a little more acceptable too (the owner has an Australian background). Which is not to say the cost per Watt is low, but the mark up from the Alibaba prices is more acceptable.

PS. no idea if they can survive hail worth a damn.