Advantages of thin film solar panels

When people think about thin film solar panels the first thing that comes to mind is the lower cost, but that's not the only advantage of thin film solar panels. Thin film solar panels perform more efficiently than crystalline solar panels in low light or shady conditions. They weigh 10% less than traditional silicon based solar panels and can be flexible which allows them to be installed on various surfaces.

Thin film solar panels are more resilient to hail, rocks, golf balls...etc. If part of a crystalline solar panel is damaged, the whole solar panel will stop working...on the other hand a thin film solar panel will continue to operate at a lower output if a part of the solar panel is damaged. The downside of thin film solar panels is they're less efficient than traditional crystalline solar panels, you will need more surface area to work with. Silicon based solar panels typically produce more watts per square foot. What type of solar power projects do you think thin film solar panels are a good fit for?

DIY sun tracker for solar panels

You've probably seen a number of light-following robotics projects. Making a light detector is one of the first projects a new Arduino maker embarks on. What better way to use a light detector than to aim a solar panel at the sun? Instructables user bwitmer shows us how.

For a class project (PV Design, Appalachian State, Dr. Dennis Scanlin) I decided to try making a low cost PV (photovoltaic) tracker. Being able to follow the sun's path through the sky can raise your solar panel system's output considerably (30-50%), but the argon filled ones can be a bit pricey, and seem to be a bit unsteady in wind. I looked at several different designs, looked at what materials I could find, and this is how I did it.

He's using an inexpensive purchased LED tracking unit, but if you're comfortable making your own, that part should be fairly straightforward. What's cool is the simple design of the hardware. The project uses a couple of bike wheels and a linear actuator to enable the movement of the panel. It looks to be relatively low-maintenance, and the bike wheels are easy to come by and should support quite a bit of weight.

Solar PV tracker