Flexible Solar Panels

[markopolo]

Davydd posted a photo here: http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...p=24063#p24063 showing how advanced RV mounted flexible panels. The insulation board and van roof ribs would keep the heat from the panels away from the van.

[Davydd]

The Advanced RV solar panels are European and custom developed for ARV. So they aren't the ones Technomadia or AM Solar were testing. How good are they? Who knows. I will be either the second or third one to get their new setup and the two ahead of me haven't been used yet as the owners are home and waiting to hit the road.

You can see in that photo a Sprinter has pretty deep roof ribs so you are not going to be able to tape them down and dance on them like the Wynn's did in their video. With ARV I believe it is a half inch insulation board trimmed with aluminum channels and bolted down to rails that were installed in the rain gutter. So not only the insulation works but the air gap between the insulation created by the ribs help. There is a small crown on the Sprinter so the panels can conform to it. Because they are tight to the roof they are not visible from eye level. Rigid solar panels usually are installed on elevated legs up off the roof and are thicker to give the structural rigidity.

For the record, here is that photo again. BTW, this is Mikes47's ARV, Imagine.

[cargovanconversion]

This is another installation of flexible solar panels on a Sprinter roof.

Van Williams.

[eurovanman]

I have had my flexible 100w panel mounted on my fiberglass roof for nearly 6 months. I used 3m VHB tape. They have dozens of kinds of vhb tape. I used VHB 4941. I have travelled from below zero temps to above 100 degrees. There is no way there will be any problems with this not staying attached. There is a formula for how many pounds per square inch the tape can support. We use it for all kinds of applications at the photolab I own. They also use it in architecture and RV construction to attach steel panels and windows.

As to removing the panels, it should be easy to break the bond with a plastic scraper, but then you have to remove all of the tape and residue from the roof of the RV. 3m makes special rotary tools for removing tape from painted surfaces, it just buffs it right off.

JP
1995 VW Eurovan Camper
EDIT: I only have 1.5 to 2.5 inches of clearance in my garage. Installing a standard solar panel was not an option for me.