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Silicone (polysiloxane) gel for PV panel lamination
7 advantages of silicone gel lamination
- Inert material – Unlike EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate) polymer encapsulant which can decompose, because of high temperarature (80°C) or ultraviolet radiation, to acetic acid (causing degradation of solar cells), the silicone gel is inert in wide ranges of temperatures up to 250°C.
- Highly transparent material – The silicone gel is more transparent for solar radiation, compared to EVA. It results in about 1.5% higher conversion efficiency of PV panels laminated in Silicone gel compared to EVA.
- Gel instead of solid state encapsulant – The silicone gel, unlike solid state EVA, enables mechanical stress relaxation during PV panel thermal cycling between day and night.
The points a-c result in extended PV panel lifetime well over 30 years
- Recycling – at the end of PV panel life the recycling (including solar cells extraction) is easy by silicone gel laminated solar panels compared to EVA laminated panels.
- Shape flexibility – Unlike EVA solid film the silicone gel enables lamination of any complex shapes (cylindrical, spherical…).
Comparison table of EVA & silicone gel encapsulant properties
|
| EVA
| Silicone gel
|
| Long term operating temperature |
-40 +80°C |
-60 +250°C |
| UV radiation resistance |
low |
high |
| Operating lifetine |
25 years |
40 years |
| Energy consumption per panel |
49 kWh |
4.5 kWh |
| Transparency for solar radiation |
8% (360nm) |
90% (360nm) |
| Transparency for solar radiation |
62% (400nm) |
92% (400nm) |
| Transparency for solar radiation |
91% (600-1000nm) |
93% (600-1000nm) |
| Chemical inertness |
low |
high |
- Low energy comsumption – The energy need for silicone gel module lamination is reduced ~10 times compared to EVA film lamination.
- Price – there is negligible price difference between silicone gel and EVA technology.
