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22 DesIGnInG WItH PoLYMeRs
The world‘s largest lightweight solar module with a cover sheet made of
PLEXIGLAS®. The module measures 1.58 meters by 4 meters and has a maximum
power of about 880 Wp. The true record, however, is its low weight. The
SUNOVATION® module weighs only 80 kilograms, which makes it over 60
percent lighter than a glass-glass module of this size for overhead use. In addition,
with a U-value less than 1 W/m²K, the module boasts excellent heat-insulation
properties. The module exhibits outstanding structural properties, can withstand
high mechanically applied loads, and excels with its durable, highly transparent
and scratch-resistant surface
Schematic structure of a SUNOVATION® module
●
Base sheet
Transparent
plastic
elements35 Issue 2|2011
Cell-connector
technology
Solar cells
(crystalline or
thin-film
technologies)
333 in the photovoltaics market. Currently, Sunovation
is the only company that produces lightweight solar
modules from plastic, keeps advancing their development,
and has gained a wealth of experience in the
field worldwide. A host of applications—bus stops,
golf carts, and solar portholes for boats, the solar catamaran
Alstersonne in Hamburg, the solar butterfly
in Freiburg, which supplies energy to a radio tower,
and the largest lightweight solar module in the world,
measuring 1.5 meters by 4 meters—testify to the
company‘s success.
The best possible material for the lightweight
mod ules is poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA), which
Evonik Industries has sold for over 75 years under the
PLEXIGLAS® trademark. PLEXIGLAS® stands out
from other plastics by virtue of its longevity, high
UV- and weather resistance, high light transmission,
and its outstanding surface hardness. As a thermoplast,
it can be handled and processed by all shaping
methods and is completely recyclable.
PMMA for freedom of design
In addition to its low weight, PMMA has another key
property that makes it superior to glass as a carrier
sheet for solar cells. The modules can be produced in
any shape desired. They can be easily bent into a roof
over a bus stop or into a gently arching roof construction
on solar boats, and they can be used in noise
barrier constructions over express train and subway
tracks, individually shaped for high-tech, power-
generating façades. The lightweight modules are installed
either cold-formed, in which the module is
clamped into an existing space, or following treatment
in a heating furnace, in which it is shaped into
its final three-dimensional form with the help of
forming tools.
With its lightweight modules, Sunovation has
opened up new areas of application in photovoltaics.
Permanently
elastic multicomponent
gel
●
Cover sheet
Transparent
plastic
SS =^ Solid sheet
MWS =^ Multi-wall sheet
4 mm
approx. 3 mm
SS: 2 – 30 mm
MWS: 6 – 32 mm
GRAPHIC: SUNOVATION