Solar panel cover up

clyst

clyst

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Hi
I've just had a solar panel replaced as an insurance claim .(Dont ask) however when the yard fitted it ,on a nice sunny day , the fitter carried it uncovered and spent a fair ol 'time fitting it in the sun and unconnected . I was under the impression that these things had to be covered whilst unconnected or damage can occur . Am I right or wrong ?

cheers
 
Wrong.

It might cause a problem to whatever it is connected up to, if it is accidently connected the wrong way round for example, but the panel will be fine.
 
I exchange panels at the start and end of each season, from 125 watts summer to 38 watts winter, by shifting the wires into the controller between chocolate blocks. I have never covered the panels beforehand, been doing it for years now, no problems. I agree, my regulator instructions suggest the panels should be covered but it has done no damage so far. Is it a precaution against shorting the panel output?
 
When I fitted mine a couple of weeks ago (100w), I was undecided so wired everything up with the panel covered up with a cover made from the panel transport cardboard box just as a precaution. I think open circuit charge is ok as long as it is not shorted , and any problems occur when connecting the controller, especially with large output panels.
 
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No harm at all to have it uncovered but instructions were clear to cover it when actually connecting it up. BTW I'm a complete solar convert, we fitted two 60w panels on the wheelhouse and they are keeping up with usage nicely; 4 days at anchor and the bank was 13.2v first thing this morning.
 
xeitosaphil said:
When I fitted mine a couple of weeks ago (100w), I was undecided so wired everything up with the panel covered up with a cover made from the panel transport cardboard box just as a precaution. I think open circuit charge is ok as long as it is not shorted , and any problems occur when connecting the controller, especially with large output panels.
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Ditto when I fitted my 180w in the blazing sun, easy to do so why not? Having said that, back to the OP's original question, if it's all working OK after the installation I doubt that any harm has been done.
 
THanks for your prompt replies chaps . much appreciated. Seems as if I was wrong .
 
Scotty_Tradewind said:
I was informed by Marlec that the solar panel should be covered up whilst connecting it to their regulator/controller otherwise damage could be caused to the regulator/controller .???
S.
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If that's the case then I'd steer clear of that company - if they can't design a regulator that can cope with known fault conditions...
 
pteron said:
If that's the case then I'd steer clear of that company - if they can't design a regulator that can cope with known fault conditions...
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Not necessarily. It's very easy to design out the problem of connecting the wires the wrong way round but, if you use diodes to protect the regulator, you are introducing a voltage drop into the system that will permanently reduce efficiency. Sometimes it's best to not over engineer these things and simply rely on the installation instructions to resolve the problem.
 
Rigger Mortice said:
Not necessarily. It's very easy to design out the problem of connecting the wires the wrong way round but, if you use diodes to protect the regulator, you are introducing a voltage drop into the system that will permanently reduce efficiency. Sometimes it's best to not over engineer these things and simply rely on the installation instructions to resolve the problem.
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There are of course many ways to protect from reverse polarity without the loss associated with diodes. They also help protect against over voltage, spikes, ringing and all sorts of other problems that a reliable device should simply deal with.

If I tried the 'you have to follow the instructions' method of protecting my designs I would rapidly be out of a job when the return rate goes from 1 in many millions to 50%!
 
pteron said:
There are of course many ways to protect from reverse polarity without the loss associated with diodes. They also help protect against over voltage, spikes, ringing and all sorts of other problems that a reliable device should simply deal with.

If I tried the 'you have to follow the instructions' method of protecting my designs I would rapidly be out of a job when the return rate goes from 1 in many millions to 50%!
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Fair point! :D
 
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