Heat/Power TESTING Flexible Solar Panels on RV (Flat Mounted vs Ventilated)

Me and my husband just got a class c he wanted solar but I didn’t want holes in my roof. I just saw your other video of how you installed yours and now I’ve been bing watching you to see how they were doing and down loaded your guide. You won me over with your setup and knowledge. New subscriber thank you for your help and videos

@rvwithtitodiy hey there, i have a 160w flexible panel on my van and recently my voltage has dropped to about 8.6-8.7 volts.. (unuseable..) . I tried swapping diodes but no fix.. any ideas what the issue is? Is it toast?

You have very good topic videos, many that i am interested in. I have found my flexible panels work very poorly when i attach them to my RV. I assumed it was the heat.

Hi Tito, when using a I-R thermometer, better use your own shadow for blocking sun radiation. The sun’s I-R that wil be reflected by the panel will influence the reading of your instrument. Always measure in a 90 degrees angle to the surface on the exact same spots on all panels will give reliable results.

I love your contact, no shouting no melodrama just quiet information.

Your performance increase is likely due to the increased irradiance due to the reflective white roof. This will create more current and therefore offset the reduction in voltage due to the higher temperatures. Full disclosure...I used to be a technical trainer for SunPower.

I have two questions: how do you store the flexible solar you had deployed on the ground? I was going to do that, but opted not to because it seemed to me the flexible panels would break too easily if moved all the time. Please do a video on that some time!

Next: your antenna mast, I assume that is for WiFi, are you running omnidirectional or yogi? How far are you from the cell tower, what type of signal are you getting from your phone verse WiFi?

Interesting

Thoughtful presentation Brian. I have often wondered whether the lack of ventilation impacted performance; obviously your test shows no, as production & temperature variables were negligible. One needs to also consider the longevity of the array, but that is a different issue.

BTW, I love SunPower panels & components as we installed on 2 of our prior homes and now embarking on installs a new system on our née home.

As always, well done my friend.

I have no idea where to start I have one solar panel on top of my trailer I know it's going to to the batteries that are here at Scott some yellow device that I think it's regulating that power into the batteries but again I have nowhere that I know please direct message me I really need some help on what to do I am very limited on money and I'd like to be able to be more off-grid and be able to keep my refrigerator going and the power going without being plugged into Shore power

Are your flexible panels mounted directly to the roof or did I notice a piece of card board between the panel and the roof to provide some insulation?

The ground array is using longer, smaller gauge cable, and is not at the same angle to the midday sun.
This would contribute to lower output.

Hello
interesting to see how hot the panels are.
but I wonder how much energy the panel delivers when the measurement is performed.
affects the temperature a lot
why flex panels poor durability and expensive

Apples vs Oranges just to mask a fact.

It's not insulation you're putting under the panels. In fact, it's the complete opposite, and for good reason. The layer you're putting under the flexible solar modules is actually a thermally conductive layer. Its purpose is not to insulate, but to actually increase thermal conductivity between the module and the roof of your RV so that your panel can more effectively transfer heat to the roof of your RV in order to stay relatively cool. Also, out of curiosity, why did you connect your panels in series?

wait till the flex panels set your roof on fire!!! JUNK!!!!

I think pannels on roof are totally horizontal so collect more Electric at mid of day

why not flat mount the air gapped panels as well. doesnt the angle affect the results as well?

If your hat was turned around you could keep the solar out of your eyes.

Would love to know what the roof temperature was on same day and what the temperature on the back side of the panel was?

I have two traditional 200 watt glass panels on my Class A, but given the extra weight compared with flexible panels, considering using flex panels going forward. I only wish they came in 200w configuration.

thank you for checking temperature and info 😊👍👍👍👍 Have a nice day

How are they producing now compared to new?

Amazing the flat mounted ones even outperform the angled ones

the ones on the roof are laying flat and the ground ones are angled, so depending on the time of day/sun position the more direct towards the sun should be hotter

The angle on the ground and the way you use the IR temperature meter, makes the measurement incorrect. measure under 45 degrees and block the sun with your own shadow and both set-ups needs the same angle. So it is an interesting test, but you should do it again with the correct set-up 🙂

Well its been two years how are the flexible panels holding up?

Isn't that RV roof made of aluminum?
If so why not use it as a heat radiator?

I mounted these guys on aluminum plates with holes, and additionally are able to set up in different angles with supports towards the sun, when my RV is sitting still. So they are perfectly cooled from the back, the aluminum helps a lot with dissipating the heat from the sun.

I don't think the insulators are doing what you want. The panels are black and absorb heat making them hot. The insulation below, does not allow them to cool and get rid of the heat. While you are traveling, the insulators' air ducting, allows for air flow to cool as well as when you are stopped and getting a forward or rear wind. . Should you attach the solar panels directly to the roof material, you may get more cooling. However, the roof is insulated inside. Your insulators are needed for air flow and not the insulation factor.
Don

not just heat.. its longevity ,.. they will never last 25-30 years like a traditional solar panel.

Hi Tito, very good videos you do, my compliments! One question; in another Video you mounted glass panels, out off your long experience what would you suggest to mount, flexible or glass panels? Lot’s of people say with the newest EPFE and new cells like Renogy or so it makes no difference anymore, What do you think?

Really appreciate all your videos, you break it down simply, easy to follow and many things I have been able to use. Keep it going please

It is my understanding that there is a high risk of damage to the fiberglass roof of RVs due to the heat of flexable panels in fact some RV manufacturers have stopped using them altogether and gone to hard mounted panels only. Unfortunately a new rig I am looking at purchasing only uses flexible panels so I may not move forward with the purchase for that reason even though I love the rig itself.

Any chance you can do a test with bougerv CIGS directly on the roof with a meat thermometer probe between the CIGS and the roof?

“Everyone loves Tito” should be the name of your channel❤ great videos!!!

When the panels get into the 120+ temperature range, doesn't that damage the roof membrane since there is no airflow between the panel and the roof?

Thank you Tito, I've stumbled across some of your videos when I'm looking to improve either my Yacht or Class, A and I find them very instructive. And thank you so much for your free book, I'm about to go solar on my Yacht and I have so many question right now, your book will answer some of them I'm sure. My main concern today is the durability and quality of these flexible panels. But on my boat this would be the easier and cheapest option. I already have rigid panel on my RV but they were already installed when I bought it and I have the felling that the power they deliver is not what it's supposed to be.

I appreciate your approach to the issue of how heat buildup affects solar panel power output, but you need to control for a couple more important variables.

First is.the sun angle. Your roof-mounted panels almost certainly were receiving a different amount of sunlight than the ones that were set up on the ground. The intensity of direct beam sunlight (as opposed to diffuse skylight scattered by the atmosphere) is at its maximum when it is directly above the panel. As the sun moves across the sky, the direct beam portion that comprises the vast majority of solar radiation decreases in proportion to the sine of the angle of the sun relative to the surface (in this case, the solar panel). So, the maximum solar power can be achieved when the sun is directly over the panel (sun angle of 90 degrees). It decreases to 0.707 of the max when the sun angle is 45 degrees above the panel, and to 0.5 when the sun angle is 30 degrees above the panel. To do an apples to apples comparison of flush-mounted vs. free-standing panels, orient the free-standing ones horizontally like the ones on the roof of your RV, and ensure that the ground beneath them is shaded.

Also, if you want to account for the effect of heat on panel performance, it would be good to see some significant heat differences between the panels. And if your assertion is that there isn't any heat difference between the freestanding and roof-mounted panels, then I'd suggest that you take multiple temperature measurements of the free-standing and roof-mounted panels over the course of a cloud-free day and report the results.

Anyway, I love your presentation style and the equipment you used to generate the data you reported. Thanks.

Heat of panel same but the transfer through yhe roof is radically different.
Raised panels way better.

I would assume with the roof being white and pretty much reflecting light that's the reason why you're getting more wattage from the top ones. It's just a thought I might be wrong

all these people using chloroplast to try and make air passages behind flexible solar panels. i dont think there is any significant airflow through the chloroplast, its just too thin and its like trying to suck air through a long tiny straw. air doesnt really flow through there. imo it just adds another insulator to the back of the solar panel and makes them hotter. what i did with mine is I used a 2$ roll of that aluminum foil tape and coated a couple layers on the back of these solar panels which should help move the heat around better and because of the lower specific heat of aluminum vs silicon it will pull heat away from the front of the panel and better exchange it with whatever it is mounted to. mine are mounted to the steel roof of my car with some construction poly urethane adhesive and some added 3m window weld polyurethane adhesive to fill in the gap due to the compound curve of my roof. you can use copper foil tape as well which is better but usually more expensive and made much thinner. if theyre not up against a solid surface to conduct the heat away then they will actually act as insulators as shiny metals have low thermal emissivity so you really need physical contact for it to be helpful.

Just use CIGS panels, problem solved.

they are at different angles to the sun

Not a Fair test Brian... the panels on the roof are closer to the Sun than the ones on the ground !
lolol

You Rock Brother !

High time you guys get to decimal, so much easier for yourselves and the rest of the world.

Thanks for your effort

Have you noticed, do it make your RV hotter inside?

Hey great video, I know I’m a little late to the party here but I was wondering what the outside temperature was on the day of the test, I appreciate it was a good while back. Thanks for all the info 👍