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Solar cell imperfections on Solar Roof?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by NoMoShocks, May 31, 2009.

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  1. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    Everyone with the Solar Roof, have you noticed any inperfections in your solar panel such as internal air bubbles or delaminating with some discolorations? Mine has a bunch of these and I am somewhat concerned that over time, it will get worse and start looking really ugly. The air bubbles look like ones you might see in a poorly done window tinting job, and those seem to be diminishing, but the purplish discolorations are all over..

    The night shot does a lot better job of showing what I am concerned about, so I replaced the daylight photos I had posted here earlier as they didn't really show what I was talking about very well.. It is not the random pattern of the crystals within the cells. Rather, it is the fact that some grid blocks are mostly black, and others are mostly bluish purple. With close examination, the bluish pruple squares of this checker board look like they are starting to delaminate internally.

    Anyway, the dealer will take a look see next week. If everyone else reports having this black and blue random checker board effect, then I will just suck it up and stop worrying about things.

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 NoMoShocks, May 31, 2009
  2. Midpack

    Midpack Member

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    Ouch, please keep us posted. I am on the fence about getting a sunroof (leaning against it to be honest), but this would put me off it for sure.
     
    #2 Midpack, May 31, 2009
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    air bubbles?
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, May 31, 2009
  4. EZW1

    EZW1 Active Member

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    Can U post pics?
     
    #4 EZW1, Jun 1, 2009
  5. Mr. Nelsby

    Mr. Nelsby New Member

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    Yes, I'd be very very curious to see if this is widespread as I am quite leaning towards the sun-roof.
     
    #5 Mr. Nelsby, Jun 1, 2009
  6. DaveSheremata

    DaveSheremata New Member

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    Eagerly awaiting pics.... oh, and my new car.
     
    #6 DaveSheremata, Jun 1, 2009
  7. LTRAiN

    LTRAiN New Member

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    while were on the subject...how effective are the panels/fan? does it feel like the same temp inside as outside? still a little warmer inside? still pretty hot inside?
     
    #7 LTRAiN, Jun 1, 2009
  8. i3akachan

    i3akachan i love my new prius:)

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    hmmm. i'm not sure, but the solar cells might be polysilicon or amorphous silicon. if so, the chips shouldn't be perfect crystalline.
     
    #8 i3akachan, Jun 1, 2009
  9. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    You can find effectiveness reviews in another thread.

    I don't see any imperfections in my panel as mentioned.
     
    #9 HTMLSpinnr, Jun 1, 2009
  10. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    I have added the photos to the OP. I figure I'll have more amunition when I go to ask for a relpacement if I can say 10 or more people in our car club have solar roof panels without these discolorations and air pockets.

    It acutally is not that easy to take photos of the solar panel, because it is really reflective and you see a lot of clouds and trees and sky. I tried in the shade too, and you can see all the same pretty well.

    Finally, I got the idea to use my heat shield sun shade to shade the panel at close range.

    Question of the day is: What looks funnier than a guy with a camera taking closeup shots of the roof of his car?

    Answer: I guy taking closeup photos of the roof of his car with a sun shade drapped over his head so he can hold and operate the camera.
     
    #10 NoMoShocks, Jun 1, 2009
  11. raygundan

    raygundan New Member

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    The blotchy looking things *are* the solar panel. That's a textbook-normal polycrystalline solar panel.

    This image is straight out of the wikipedia article about this type of panel:

    [​IMG]
     
    #11 raygundan, Jun 1, 2009
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  12. LTRAiN

    LTRAiN New Member

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    thanks for the help. both to the OP and myself.

    next time maybe you'll go the extra mile and post a link when you decide to be the forum police.

    this is my second shot at derailing this thread...ill mosey on over to the search function to satisfy my curiosoty.
     
    #12 LTRAiN, Jun 1, 2009
  13. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    My threads are usually improved upon when somebody hijacks them. Here is the link to http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-to...ur-solar-roof-experience.html?highlight=Solar

    I think HTMLspinnr was probably just trying to be helpfull and didn't have time to look up the link.
     
    #13 NoMoShocks, Jun 1, 2009
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  14. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    HTML gave you solid advice. No need to be an nice person.
     
    #14 Boo, Jun 1, 2009
  15. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Are there really any air bubbles or is the polycrystalline giving the illusion of the bubbles? I dont see any bubbles in your pictures. Just want to make sure you still don't have any defects.
     
    #15 TheForce, Jun 1, 2009
  16. raygundan

    raygundan New Member

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    The big blue blotches are definitely just the polycrystalline panel. But it did appear that there were little air bubbles, too-- is there a protective film on the solar roof?

     
    #16 raygundan, Jun 1, 2009
  17. LTRAiN

    LTRAiN New Member

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    i searched solor panel and got a horrible thread about remote a/c.

    the linked thread was perfect, but they called it a solar roof and was exactly what i was looking for. html sherpa posted terrific info in that thread and could have easily linked me to it.

    instead he chose to be fippant....which is fine, but not helpful. whats the big deal?
     
    #17 LTRAiN, Jun 1, 2009
  18. i3akachan

    i3akachan i love my new prius:)

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    from one electrical engineer to another, i think your solar panels look fine. :)

    there was an article that said the solar panels are from kyocera: Kyocera Solar Panels Chosen For Toyota Prius | PriusChat , Kyocera Solar Panels Chosen For Toyota Prius : Renewable Energy News .

    so i googled "toyota prius 2010 kyocera," and one of the articles came up with a picture of the bare solar panel from kyocera: Kyocera offers details on solar cells used by 2010 Prius . looks similar to yours, so i wouldn't worry about the imperfections.

    i think the best indication of any defect is poor performance (temperature inside is warmer than outside, etc.). maybe you can test that by taking transient measurements of the temperature inside and seeing if it is the same as other people's cars (for the same given outside temperature and humidity, of course).

    :nerd:
     
    #18 i3akachan, Jun 1, 2009
  19. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    /Rant On

    The big deal was the laziness portrayed in the question. My response was for the OP, however it was just as easy to mention that the review had been posted elsewhere (including replies and YouTube videos by me) and (indirectly) encourage a search. Teach a man to fish approach. Not all prefer it.

    I went out of my way to be detailed in the other threads and thus chose to be just as lazy as the question which derailed the thread not searching for the link. Why would I want to repeat myself? ;)

    We welcome all types here, but there's little tolerance for people who can't or won't do any work for themselves and expect those on this board w/ a bit of knowledge to just "bend over" for every request, appropriate or otherwise.

    /Rant Off

    Going back on topic, yes, my panel shows the crystalline structure. This is normal on larger PV panels. IMHO, it gives them character and should be nothing to be concerned about.
     
    #19 HTMLSpinnr, Jun 1, 2009
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  20. brick

    brick Active Member

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    I think it's kinda purdy.
     
    #20 brick, Jun 1, 2009
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