* World oil production has peaked out as predicted by M. King Hubbert and evidenced by sky rocketing oil prices above $120/barrel. This will also cause the world wide shortage of solar grade silicon to grow very severe. Uni-Solar is immune from this problem because the amount of SGS or solar grade silicon used in Uni-Solar Triple Junction is miniscule compared to old fashioned crystal silicon PV panels. The manufacture of Uni-Solar Triple Junction modules is extremely energy efficient, and the price for laminates has dropped when everything else is rising especially PV panels. This makes Uni-Solar Triple Junction laminates have the fastest energy pay back in the world. They have no frames and glass to forge and fit. In May 2008 Uni-Solar announced that the module efficiency(W/M2)of Triple Junction has been increased so the 18'- 136 watt laminates will be upgraded to 144 watts rated power. This will place power density at over 5 watts/sq. ft. AC.
Include a Uni-Solar Triple Junction laminate system in your building plans. Or retrofit your existing home with these attractive building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products from the leaders in the PV industry United Solar Systems Corp. BIPV laminates are bonded on site to metal roofing pans or EPDM and TPO roofing membrane. Framed panels are used for tile roofs and all other applications.
* Seven million watts (7MW) of Uni-Solar Smart Roof are being installed on 7500 homes on Oahu for Army Hawaii, making this the largest solar powered community in the USA. This will place PVL's from Uni-Solar as the most installed PV module in Hawaii. The largest (12 MW) roof top solar array is to be placed on the GM plant in Spain with Uni-Solar laminates next year.
This is a great roof, even if you put it on a garage or farm building, or even on top of your existing roof with 2X4 purlins with insulation in the spaces.
* Uni-Solar Triple Junction modules are proven to give you the most power per purchased watt in the solar industry by tests in the USA and Europe. The secret is glass free construction and United Solar Systems patented Triple Junction Technology which combines three separate tuned PV layers for red,green and blue light. Its like Kodachrome for photovoltaics. Three PV junctions are way better than one. Dupont Tefzel is half Teflon and half Kevlar for superior transparency and toughness. Tefzel is in fact, clearer than glass. Glass free construction makes Triple Junction modules run cooler and generate more power than crystal cells under glass. The PV laminates work even better because the standing seam metal roofing acts as a seamless heat sink, to pull heat away from the PVL's. This is the best design for PV on earth. These products really do give you the most power per watt. Click on the link to the Lanai school Fat Spaniel.com test pitting Sharp modules against framed Uni-Solar Triple Junction framed modules. Inverter #1 clearly outperforms inverter #2 with Sharp modules especially in the heat of the day. The module efficiency is a little lower than modern crystal cells but don't let this fool you. Tests commonly use strobe lights that do not alow the module to heat up, thus making rated watts much higher than actual performance watts. The temperature coefficients of Laminates are over twice as good as glass panels.
I have 2128 watts of PVL's on my roof along with Arco, Seimens, Solarex glass panels. My system has greatly benifited from the addition of 10 PVL 136's on my new power porch. My generator use is now a thing of the past during the summer months. I run TV's, computors, a Danish Eco Fridge etc.
* The Laminates are bonded to painted Zincalume roofing on site by a certified Uni-Solar installer. The PVL's as they are called, come in a roll with a plastic covered adhesive. The standing seam roofing panels are 16 to 17 inches wide. We are suppliers of this painted Zincalume roofing in many colors (My preference is Mauna Kea White). If the job is big enough the roofing panels can be roll formed on site then the roofing is cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and the laminants are applied to them. The result is a great standing seam metal roof with PVL's in the pans. Wiring is completed under the ridge cap or under the deck and fed through the roof to the breakers/charge controller and or inverter. These are the most popular of all the Uni-Solar products because of the ease of shipping and performance. The 18' long PVL-136's weigh only 17 pounds. Tests at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory show almost no power degradation at all,after the initial burn in. They have extra power built in, especially in hotter climates like Hawaii.
* These Triple Junction modules are made with stainless steel then the triple decker sandwich of PV junction are layered on, EVA encapsulent is added next then its topped off with a flexable Dupont Tefzel glaze. These PV products are very very tough and will survive the worst the environment can throw at them. They make for a very strong roof and a wise investment. This is truly a roof that pays for itself! Uni-Solar products come with a 20 year warranty.
* A battery based system will cost about 20% more.
Just imagine,the lights are off all over town but you have lights and power for your eccential electric loads like the fridge, lights, TV, computors, radios etc. Outback Power FLEXware 500 systems and sealed maintenance free 8D batteries on racks are my preference for stand alone and grid tied battery systems. The integrated FLEXware system is awesome with the FLEXnet DC fuel guage read out in the Mate display.
* A battery-less system is simpler to install and requires no monthly maintainance. The cost is less but you'll lose power if your utility goes down. You can watch your digital meter go backwards.
* Off the grid systems work the best with Uni-Solar Triple Junction modules with the most power per purchased watt in the PV industry. Uni-Solar No Ka Oi. Smart Roof Systems 808-876-0377 franklin@smartroofsystems.com
|
Uni-Solar house with PVL Laminants and metal roofing.
Contact: Franklin Russell 808-876-0377 franklin@smartroofsystems.com
Efficiency is the catch word these days in the PV industry.
There are several different ways to measure efficiency of a PV module. The most important is Kilo (Greek for 1000) Watt (Amps times volts) Hours or KWH per 1000 rated watts installed or KWH/KW. A KWH is the equivalent of 1.3 horse power hours with a cooperative horse or running a blow dryer for one hour. A KWH is a lot of power. Kilowatt hours per installed KW of PV is the most important measure of efficiency because it tells you how much juice you get from every 1000 watts installed. In a sunny area on Maui you can expect to get 4 KWH per every 1000 watts installed. Your Uni-Solar system is bigger and more powerful than glass systems per rated watt. Efficiency is typically a measure of module performance as a percentage of total insolation per square meter at standard operating conditions. The trick is S. O. C. or standard operating conditions. Normal operating conditions are way way higher than 72 degrees F. 160 degree F. is a normal operating condition for a PV cell under glass which is an excellent thermal insulator. Glass is perfect for hot water solar but a design flaw in PV solar. Temperature coefficeints are another way to measure PV efficiency. Because there is no glass with Uni-Solar the temperature coefficients are twice as good as glazed silicon PV modules.
NREL recently achieved 40% efficiency with a concentrator cell under 350 suns. The trick here again is this is measured at SOC at 72 degrees F. The temperature should have been 500 degrees F. but heat sinks, air-conditioners and fans keep the cell cool to fudge up the numbers to the 40% mark. Its cheating and as much as I respect NREL's work its really is cheating and in the realm of scientific lala land, not the real world. When I was a kid I used to fry grasshoppers with a magnifying glass, it must be over 451 F with the sun concentration and hot enough to destroy any PV module.
Laminates may be applied to commercial flat roofing membrane directly resulting in a 500% lighter weight elegant solution to flat roof mounting problems. All large commercial systems will include Fat Spaniel web monitoring. See the Fat Spaniel web monitor for Lanai School showing more power with Uni-Solar. The Lanai school test was weighted against Uni-Solar because the modules were wired to only 250 volts while the Sharp modules were wired to 475 volts. The voltage window cuts off at 150 volts so the Uni-Solar array was severly handycapped. My estimate is 15% down from where it would be if it was wired properly. In spite of this obvious trick, Uni-Solar out performs Sharp by 10%. If you need laminates fast we can have them UPS'd to your door anywhere in the USA.
 |
|
