When shopping for a solar panel brand, the issues at the forefront of people's minds are normally topics such as efficiency and wattage. An often overlooked issue is glass - and the type of glass used on a solar panel in fact does matter.
When you buy a solar panel, it's a long term investment - it should serve you well for decades. While most manufacturers offer lengthy warranties, some up to 25 years, it's important to note the builder needs to be nearby to honour it. There's still many fly-by-nighters in the solar panel industry, cutting prices by cutting corners on component quality.
Solar Panel
While a warranty from a solid company is a great guarnatee policy, there's also the inconvenience of needing to make a warranty claim - pulling the panels down, taking them in - it's all very disruptive and stressful. It's best to have peace of mind from the outset and you can only have that if every part of the panel is of the top inherent quality.
The dangers of cheap solar panel glass
Cheap glass can cloud over time. Clouded glass greatly reduces solar panel efficiency. Broken glass, aside from being a general security issue and even if the glass only cracks, can allow water to perforate and create a fire hazard - water and electricity plainly do not mix.
When choosing either a monocrystalline, polycrystalline or amorphous solar panel, be sure to check out the type of glass being used. Look for panels that apply tempered glass - this should be clearly stated in the panel specifications.
What is tempered glass?
Tempered glass, also known as security glass or toughened glass, is anything up to six times the drive of general plate glass. It is created by thermal or chemical means. We've witnessed panels using tempered glass flip over onto rock strewn ground with some force without breaking.. This is something we obviously do not suggest trying out, but it goes to show how strong the material is. When tempered glass does break, it shatters into small pieces rather than creating long and razor sharp shards.
Flat plate glass in solar panels
This is most often found in economy brands of monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels made by small, relatively unknown companies; any way it can also be found in well known brands in amorphous (thin film) solar panels that have a glass plate component.
Most amorphous panels can only use flat plate glass due to the way they are constructed. Amorphous panels are normally created by applying extra silicon rich gas called silane at high temperatures directly to the back of a glass plate or to a steel plate. Some manufacturers get nearby the comparative weakness by using thicker flat plate glass, but this is still not as strong as using white tempered glass.
When buying solar panels, don't forget that this is an important point to check on - as mentioned, it should be clearly stated on the product specifications as to the type of glass used as it's an important feature. If it doesn't, the chances are it's flat plate glass and should probably be avoided.
Solar Panel Glass - Tempered Vs Plate