Has anyone made there own panels?
How did you encapsulate them?
How have they stood up over time?
I have begun building my own solar panels and after much research have found that the biggest problem among DIY panel makers is encapsulation. This is a means of making the panel completely air and water tight to prevent degredation of the cells, tabs and buss wires inside the panel.
The obvious (cheaper) double glazing style works effectively but generally this method begins to fail within a short period of time (1-2) years, due to the large amount of heat generated within the panels (well over 100C, materials used should be rated at an absolute minimum rating of 120C, i would suggest more in sunny QLD) The expansion/presurising and shrinking caused by the small amount of air in the panel, over a long period of time will sooner or later fail.
The next method commonly used is heat shrink film. This method seems quite satisfactory however, the commercial grade films (Tedlar) available need to be baked on, requiring a large commercial oven, and the cost of the film adds considerable cost to the panel. I have watched on youtube several peaple using other shrink films with heat guns (not Tedlar) but have not been able to find any feedback as to how these other films have stood up over time.
The final method which is what I expect to use is brushed/rolled on liquid seelant. There are two products on ebay for this purpose. Sylgard 184 and Solar-Tite 384, both are a silcon based
liquid seelant that dries into a weather/air tight film. Once again though the only downside I can forsee is the cost due to its small amount of coverage per litre, and due to the shipping cost being almost as much as the product. I expect the cost to do this will be as much as $80 per 36 cell panel (which is almost as much as I paid for the cells) I have 7 panels to make.
I have found an engineering grade silicon made my "Sellys" localy that appears to be suitable and the price is much more reasonable (I am hoping about half the cost of the Ebay products) I have sent an email to the manufacturer to find out if the product may pose any threat to the cells and also if they may have any other products that could be used. The only downside I can find with this product was that it is very thick like most silicon seelants and will have to be applied with a putty knife or scraper, and I am unsure of the coverage I will get. It may cost more than expect.
I will post in the next couple of weeks with the results, however if anyone has successfully made thier own panels with no moisture issues I would be interested to hear about how you constructed them.