With $49 spent on the cells, I still need the following to finish the panel:
- about 2.5 m^2 EVA (STR 15420P) encapsulant (ebay)
- about 1.25 m^2 of TPT (Tedlar-polysomething-Tedlar) backing (ebay)
- about 1.25 m^2 of fluoropolymer (or other suitable) front sheet (ETFE, PFA, FEP, etc)
This should also be done for under about $150 total, since otherwise I might as well just buy a UniSolar 68 W panel which uses the same cells and ETFE coating, for under $200. However that panel only rolls up (does not fold) and probably weighs about 10 pounds alone. The purpose of the encapsulant film is to keep moisture out of the cells. The front and back films also help seal oxygen and moisture out.
Research on fluoropolymer front sheets (the most expensive sheet part AFAIK):
- non-cementable FEP is probably the best.(http://www2.dupont.com/Teflon_Industrial/en_US/tech_info/techinfo_compare.html)
- I can get it at http://www.durafilmshop.com/teflon-FEP-film-500A-p/500a.htm for fairly cheap, if I can convince them to waive the $60 spooling fee.
- Tefzel ETFE scraps on ebay are way overpriced
to complete the project, I also need:
- power controller or DC/DC converters, to output 5V 1.0A (USB), 5V 2.0A (USB), 12V, 19 V for charging 18 and 19V laptop
- small battery or supercapacitor to smooth out power output?
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