What is difference between drip solar panels and laminated solar panels?
A solar panel is a device that utilizes solar energy by converting light energy into electricity, providing a clean, renewable energy source for our lives and work. In the solar panel market, there are two common types: drop-in solar panels and laminated solar panels. These two types of solar panels differ in terms of manufacturing process, appearance, performance and price.
I. Drip Solar Panel
Drip solar panels are a type of solar panel that uses epoxy resin drops as the encapsulation material.This type of solar panel has a more ordinary appearance without much decorative design. The production process of drip solar panels is relatively simple and low cost. The production process of the drip solar panels mainly includes the following steps: cutting - assembly - testing - drip adhesive - vacuum - baking - sampling - laminating - packaging. There are the following advantages and disadvantages for drip solar panels:
Advantages:
(1) Low cost: the material cost of drip glue solar panels is low, and the production process is simple, so the overall production cost is low.
(2) This encapsulation process is particularly suitable for the encapsulation of small power solar panels, which are relatively light and easy to install and move.
Disadvantages:
(1) temperature-sensitive: drip adhesive encapsulation material is more sensitive to temperature, high temperature environment is prone to produce bubbles, resulting in the shedding of cells or performance degradation and cracking and other issues, affecting the performance and service life of solar panels, the average life expectancy of 1-2 years.
(2) The epoxy resin adhesive on the surface is prone to yellowing, which affects the light transmittance, thus affecting the conversion efficiency of solar panels.
II. Laminated Solar Panel
Laminated solar panel is a kind of solar panel that stacks multiple layers of solar cells together and encapsulates them through the lamination process. The production process of laminated solar panels mainly includes the following steps:
Preparation of materials:
including conductive glass, EVA, backsheet, solar cell wafers, and so on.
Cleaning the glass substrate:
clean the conductive glass to ensure that there is no dust and impurities.
Laying EVA:
Lay the EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer) film on the conductive glass as an adhesive and insulating layer for the solar cell wafers.
Laminating Cells:
Laminating the solar cells onto the EVA according to the designed arrangement, ensuring that the distance and position between the cells are accurate.
Stacking of backsheets:
Stack the backsheets on top of the laminating cells to ensure that the backsheets are tightly bonded to the cells.
Lamination process:
Put the laminated solar panels into the laminating machine for high-temperature and high-pressure lamination process, so that the layers of materials are tightly combined together to form an integrated solar panel.
Testing and Packaging:
The laminated solar panels are tested for electrical properties, qualified panels are packaged, and unqualified panels are reworked or scrapped.
The advantages and disadvantages of laminated solar panels are as follows:
Advantages
(1) High efficiency: laminated solar panels adopt advanced lamination technology, which can tightly combine multiple solar cells together, thus improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency.
(2) Exquisite appearance: laminated solar panels have an exquisite appearance and good decorative effect, which can meet the needs of some occasions that require aesthetic appearance.
(3) Stable performance: Laminated solar panels have a compact structure and stable performance, and can work stably for a long time in various harsh environments.
(4) Wide applicability: not only for small power low-power solar panels, but also for large-scale photovoltaic modules.
(5) Long lifespan: the lifespan of laminated solar panels with glass surface can be up to 25 years, and the lifespan of solar panels with ETFE surface can be up to 5 years.
Disadvantages
(1) High cost: The production process of laminated solar panels is complicated and the material cost is high, so the overall production cost is high.
If you only consider the price or only ask for the lower price the better, you can choose the drop-in solar panel, if you have requirements for the life and quality you can choose the laminated solar panel. Now in real life, the application field as well as the popularity of laminated solar panels are getting wider and wider.
