Solar Cell Deteriorates When Exposed to Air

Er, the question is what, please?

question was ,if you put a 3x6 solar cell inside a thermopane window ,would it last? seeing that it is NOT exposed the the elements.

It will surely last "X" amount of time... now, as to what X may be is another discussion altogether.

I say it will last just fine. Just keep the glass clean.

As an added efficiency gain, Argon is used in between the glass of a double pane window. Argon is inert so you should be fine using it with your inserted solar panel.

OK, I'm not an expert here, but, as noted already, double pane windows are filled with argon to increase insulation effects. However, it should also be noted that double pane window seals just don't last. Most manufacturers will not warranty them for longer than 20 years. A 5 year warranty is not uncommon. Once the seal is broken, the argon leaks out and moisture leaks in with atmospheric air. IOW the window probably won't last as long as the solar cells (if they were protected with a plastic film).

Solar panels can certainly last thousands of years, - ie the crystals, provided no moisture gets to them, but normally they are sold with encapsulation, - inc. EVA, and the panels are warranted on a power output sliding scale,(which is about another issue) for 25 years, the current belief as to how long these new encapsulations can be guaranteed to last, (they haven't been around that long). I would for myself be asking how long the thermophane window would last, and how much would it cost, given that (encapsulated) Solar panel wholesale prices have fallen (with Chinese panels) below 1$/watt. Cheers, Geoff Thomas.

One would have to open the window and reseal it.... not good. If an OEM product, the price point would have to allow for fixtures and assembly technology. If a self help job, you can buy small quantities of film and vacuum package it in an inert box and inset it in the window, best of both worlds. Why you wish to do so, I care not to know. There are such things in commercial units for buildings. Good project though!

To many answeres going into to much detail. from thermopane to Double ,with gas, etc. Im asking ONLY if the solar cell was placed in side two peace's of glass and sealed on the edges.All that would be inside would be that air that was their when it was sealed. Oh now sealed/ with what. will say silicone. Just thinking of ABOUT how many years it would last, and I know that noone could know for sure, because it wasn't done.

No gas , not double, not triple, just glass solar cell glass and Sealed around the edges with about 1/4 inch thick from out-side to in-side of the window.thickness of the window would be the glass the solar cell and the other peace of glass.

see how easy i just made it. Lol

John

Several panels came on to the market with glass on both sides, - heavy, expensive, and still dependant on how long the Silicon, (that seals it, same as most panels) will last. What has been done, as well as the 2 pieces of glass, is seal with silicon, and now more long lasting encapsulations are being used, or Silicon. Probably a good idea to do some research about Solar (PV) developments over the last 30 years, - that way you won't try to re-invent the wheel and if you find you have some creative new ideas you will be able to see where they might be applied. Cheers, Geoff.

Im just asking / or would like to know IF the solar cell would have to be " encapsulated "/ or the blue side coated. if it were between the 2 peaces of glass,.another words just put the bare cell in-between the glass. I think it would last because the weather would not be able to touch the cell and rune it.

Normally the panel is encapsulated, by glass or whatever, you will have to pay a lot more to get "Unencapsulated" cells as they won't last long and who would want to sell such? Back to Google, Geoff.

Yes, it can definitely be done. All you have to avoid is corrosion. Usually, corrosion involves the presence of water. In order to avoid that cells are usually encapsulated. However it has to be said that EVA is a fairly poor water vapor barrier. In essence, EVA will only avoid condensation forming on the cell but humidity still gets to it. So as long as you can avoid condensation on your cells you are in about the same situation. Now, you will still need to fix your cells somehow so they don't fall down. That makes the glass-EVA-glass laminate the most common solution for window applications. However in France a company has developed an interesting approaches called NICE Using vacuum to hold two panes together and keep the cells squeezed in. That approach also avoids water ingress by its seals. You might want to have a look at it. (http://www.apollonsolar.com/userfiles/file/Publi/NICE%202004%20PVSEC%20-%20New%20Industrial%20solar%20Cell%20Encapsulation%20(NICE)%20technology%20for%20PV%20module%20fabrication%20at%20drastically%20reduced%20costs.pdf)

Um , OK. So why even bother putting the panel in between glass in the first place? What's the point? There are much better (clear) films that could be used to encapsulate the panel, and without potentially breaking. And it would cost less too.

Tell me one! This is still a challenge for flexible thin film modules. For crystalline cells, you have to have something rigide. Otherwise you break the cells. Then there are a number of other criteria such as electric breakdown resistance, aging, UV resistance over 25 years in full sunlight and and and... Glass is still a cheap material for the mix of properties it has, as surprisingly as it might sound.

You might find something useful here.

Any serviceable solar cell (or module made of serial cells) will be sealed, usually between EVA and low iron glass. You would like to make a window out of a solar panel? It would work fine, although vertical orientation is not likely to give you good production. In addition, the window will no longer function very well as a window, seeing as it will largely be blocked, in addition to requiring electrical connections that will hinder operation.

Easily done, and yes you can build your own. Check out Sanyo Bi-facial panels.

I'd be concerned about the type of substrate used in the cell. Any extra heat from being doubly enclosed might result in de-lamination.

Good idea tho.

To understand solar power degradation one need to understand cell manufacturing and that is

1. Common cell material is ITO coated polysilicon

2. Silver glass fine lines are on the top of of ITO

3. Silver has tendency to oxidize at low temperature and oxidation rate increases in presence of moisture in air

4. With time resistivity of line goes up and we loose some power in heat generation

5. With time loss is more

6. EVA allow migration of air and decrease migration of moisture but allow clear light photon to go to silicon p/n junction to generate power

7. Putting solar cell between two glass will decrease photon density on silicon and hence power production but cell life will improve

You can encapsulate the solar cells with Dow Corning Low VOC Conformal Coating (Product #I-2620).......... It's much like "Slygard".

One need to fight with solar light photon delivery efficiency to silicon. We even with EVA film get some loss of photon energy and hence power. Loss will increase and will have poor performance from day one

oWe just had a solar energy webinar. one of the speakers (Dr. Hojun Yoon of Solergy)talked about glass with solar cells. the discussion was pretty basic. see http://www.glassonweb.com/news/index/14313/

Ohio state is full of this industry having solar cell on glass. This is very doable. We do not need silicon to generate power. What we need is p/n junction. p/n junction is created on top of glass by coating with silicon / boron (sputtered or CVD) then top coating with phosphor and heat it to 500oC. Now you have p/n junction same as normal silicon and start generating power.

This currently have lower fill factor and power efficiency since some photon just pass through p/n junction and is the reason silicon has back coat of aluminum and boron aluminum to reflect it back for conversion. In glass this is lost because of glass composition. If some one works on this to eliminate loss then it will be same as silicon in term of efficiency