Frameless Solar Panels.

[WotEver]

I couldn’t understand why he kept going on about using silicone when he really knew that he shouldn’t (does he also know it will dry up, crack and fail in the UV?). Why didn’t he simply use Sikaflex, or Marineflex or similar?

[Johny London]

I'm afraid that in common with many people, once the camera becomes familiar, the rambling starts... makes you appreciate professional tv shows where they are concise and really cram a lot in.

I liked their tilt idea because it was low profile, but  I have my panels flat mounted - just onto little z brackets, so about as low as is possible. I figure to just have more panels, to compensate for the lost efficiency, which prolly wont be so much more expensive than doing all the mechanisms.

You could perhaps add a turntable mechanism to get the full adjustment but not cost effective and will increase height some.

But getting back to the o/p's frameless panels, I agree that they prolly will need framing, so not sure of the advantage really - unless they are very cheap.

I note with some disappointment that panels don't seem to have come down in price much (if any) since last year, at least from a quick search for similar to what I got in 2017.

[Bewildered]

I'm planning to upgrade my panels this year. My plan is simply to build a couple of low roof boxes out of decking boards to mount the panels on. The boxes will have a plywood lid hinged on one side and the panels will be mounted to the ply and hinged on the opposite side.

Tilting in both directions with a lot less faffing about than the design in the video with the added bonus of more storage space for logs and coal. Ok so roof boxes make some bridges and tunnels impossible to pass but I can simple just not go to those places.

[rusty69]

Our panels are flat mounted. I'm trying to get the entire roof covered so i never have to paint it again. Only got 4 so far. 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Bewildered said:

Ok so roof boxes make some bridges and tunnels impossible to pass but I can simple just not go to those places.

And anyway the solar won't work under bridges or in tunnels so it's a win-win!

[Bewildered]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

And anyway the solar won't work under bridges or in tunnels so it's a win-win!

Must write to CRT and suggest lights be fitted under bridges and in tunnels so my solar panels will work

[cuthound]

17 hours ago, Bewildered said:

Must write to CRT and suggest lights be fitted under bridges and in tunnels so my solar panels will work

Haven't they already tried that in Newbold Tunnel? 

[Sea Dog]

27 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Haven't they already tried that in Newbold Tunnel? 

No doubt they'll be lighting all the ones with towpaths now to keep Sustrans and the cyclists happy.  Trim the budget on looking after the navigation, and it could even be cost neutral in terms of maintenance and running costs!  'Course, there's the capital cost of installation, but there's always crowd funding...

[LadyG]

On 28/03/2018 at 15:23, frahkn said:

As I understand it, he's almost teetotal and his partner is only slightly more liberal.

My apologies if I'm defaming one or both of of these individuals!

you are correct: I watch all their vlogs, they are not suggesting everyman should fit their solar, and don't claim to be experts, to me, its just as valuable to see alternative systems that folks use.

If they are stopping for a few days in winter they try to find a good mooring.

Edited March 30, 2018 by LadyG

[Tumshie]

The follow up video 

[MtB]

3 hours ago, Tumshie said:

The follow up video 

 

I LURVE the way the dog yawns with boredom at 1.10. 

And the way I lost interest at 2.00 mins out of 15...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

[WotEver]

7 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I LURVE the way the dog yawns with boredom at 1.10. 

And the way I lost interest at 2.00 mins out of 15...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

You did better than me. I didn’t even click the link

[Dr Bob]

13 minutes ago, WotEver said:

You did better than me. I didn’t even click the link

Was there a link?

[Johny London]

Some really useful info in there if you can stick it out. 

So tilting is worthwhile in winter. Interesting.

But they don't use the fridge, washing machine or anything else.

[WotEver]

3 hours ago, Johny London said:

tilting is worthwhile in winter.

Define ‘worthwhile’. Certainly you’ll get more than if they were flat, but if you got 0.8A instead of 0.2A I wouldn’t consider that worthwhile - it’s still an insignificant amount.