What is a Quality Panel?
It is very easy to become lost when searching for high quality solar power panels. When making an investment you want to be sure that your investment is safe, that the solar power system you are purchasing which will generate solar electricity and subsequently your financial returns will generate the highest solar electricity possible. Also ensuring that your warranties are safe and secure if anything ever goes wrong and at a price that is affordable.
The key to a high quality solar power system is to purchase brands that you know and trust, that have been tried and tested. Brands that are diversified enough to whether whatever storm may come along to ensure that your solar power investment and warranties are safe and secure for the life of your system.
Brands like LG Electronics, Hyundai and Power One Aurora.
There are many products out there that simply will not continue to perform for many reasons, we have provided you with a number of examples below of what to look out for, and reasons why it pays to purchase high quality solar power products.
Below you will find a couple of examples detailing our high quality LG Electronics and Hyundai Solar Power Panels. You can click on the photographs to generate a larger image.
Soldered Joins
You can see the soldered join in the picture above is a flat solder, when electricity passes through here it is dissipated across the entire join, ensuring that the temperature created by the passing electricity is spread out, therefore creating a cooler join with no chance of the join burning out.
In the above photo we have an example of one of many Chinese manufactured panels, from one of the largest panel distributer in Australia. You can see that the join is a spot solder, where the area of the join is a lot smaller than in the flat square solder above. This means that the electricity will be passing through a much smaller area, where the join will substantially increase in heat and there is a chance that the solder will burn out and completely stop the flow of electricity. This will lower the amount of electricity your system will send back to the grid, lowering your financial returns.
Degrading EVA
In the above picture you can actually see that this panel has turned yellow. Solar Panels should not be yellow, no matter how long they have been exposed to the elements. This yellowing colour of panels is a common occurrence for many panels that have been installed in Australia. The panels that are turning yellow - or in some cases are yellow when pulled out of the box from the manufacturer are panels with brand names that you will not recognise, who are manufacturing panels simply for the demand.
There is an EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) component in solar power panels which is required to be baked at a certain temperature for a set period of time to ensure that the EVA sets properly. Consider an oven on an industrial level to do this baking, this becomes a high cost in the manufacturing process due to the amount of electricity required to power the oven. The reason these panels are starting to turn yellow, is due to the panel not being at the correct temperature when being baked and not being baked for the required length of time. This allows more panels to be pumped through the oven, lowering the cost per panel of electricity required, therefore lowering the cost of the panel so it can be sold for a cheaper price in the Australian market. This is how you then get yellowing panels.
This is an issue for thousands of panels across Australia, and it is simply because of the manufacturers cutting corners in the manufacturing process, to make a lower cost panel. This is having a massive impact on home owners who have purchased panels that are subjected to this yellowing. Claiming warranties from factories in China is a very hard process.
Further corrosion of panels due to EVA degradation
In the photograph above, you are looking at the same yellowing panel used in the example above this one, but about 4 months later. Over time the EVA as it degrades (turning yellow and eventually brown) it will produce acetic acid. Acetic acid will react with the metal parts of the panel as you can see above and corrode it. So the issue does not simply stop with a yellow/brown panel, but will very quickly corrode the panel to a point of very minimal solar production.
Panel Frame
Have a look at the two panels above, this is just another way that Hyundai prove they are a cut above the rest. Most manufacturers will produce an anodized alluminium frame Hyundai are again a cut above the rest they put an enamel coating over the top of their anodized alluminium frame. This is fantastic for salt prone area's, this also increases the longevity of the panel. In the above photo, the Hyundai panel is the lower panel with the smooth frame.
Panel Frame and Backing
'Other Panel'
In the above photograph (we have used the same mass produced panel again) you can see that the frame of this panel is attached to the backing of the panel by a thin strip of silicone. Silicone (as a synthetic compound) when used in this manner, is not a complete seal from the panel backing sheet to the frame of the panel. Air can pass through the silicone which will increase the degradation of the EVA (noted above). Being subjected to the elements on top of your roof is also going to cause rapid degradation of the silicone, increasing the permeability of the silicone and it may just fall away
'Quality Solar Power Panel'
As you can see with the photograph above of the backing and frame, you can instantly notice how much more sturdier the panel frame is. You can also see that cheap silicone has not been used, but the panel has actually been manufactured to incorporate the seal of the backing board into the structure of the panel. No cheap silicone to fall away. Excellent high quality manufacturing again.
As you can see there is good reason that LG and Hyundai are now regarded as the highest quality manufacturers in the world across their diverse range of products. LG and Hyundai manufacture high quality panels, with excellent performance for homeowners just like you to maximise your returns and minimise your risk.
Contact Future Sustainability today to find out more.
