Frequently Asked Questions about PV Solar Enhance Coatings

Regardless of our opinion of climate change, there has been a rise in record-breaking temperatures around the globe. According to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reductions, there has been a rise in climate-related disasters during the past 20 years. Thanks to smartphones, we can now see many of these events firsthand.

As you read through the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), you will learn how PV Solar Enhances advanced chemistry, reduces damage to solar panels, increases voltage output, extends longevity, and brings a greater return on your investment (ROI), thereby saving you money.

By making your solar panel more efficient and last longer through reduced heat damage reducing thermal cycling

I usually feel the surface, and if I can’t keep my flat hand on the surface for about 10 seconds (which, many times, is almost impossible), then it is too hot to work with the coating. It is better to work with the coating early or later in the day when the surface has cooled down. Some sites may want to clean the panels into the evening and work through to the morning till it’s too hot. In some very hot counties, crews work at night to keep working on more panels and reduce heat fatigue, making the application more efficient as the product dries slower and is workable longer.

The coating expels heat from a hot surface to a cooler ambient atmosphere. So, if the temperature of the solar panel is at 160°F / 71°C and the outside ambient temperature is 95°F / 35°C, then the panel will be able to cool as heat is drawn off into the cooler atmosphere. PV Solar Enhance is highly efficient; it expels heat 42% faster than copper into the cooler atmosphere.

A black roof in the full sun quickly has the potential to get too hot, reaching temperatures up to 190°F / 88°C on a 90°F / 32°C Day. This includes all types of roofing, like metal, asphalt, cement, and clay tile. Such temperatures wreak havoc on your solar panels, and the atmosphere will be too hot to cool the panels. It is more lightly that the hot roof will heat your panels. However, if the roof is adequately insulated, ventilated, and reflecting-coated, it will be more energy-efficient and could run up to ~20% cooler.

The other option is to use CeramaTherm™ over your current roof, it will insulate and be waterproof, and it is naturally white. White metal roofing provides the coolest option at 102-120°F / 39-49°C on a 90°F / 32°C Day. In addition, its colorless pigment naturally reflects sun rays instead of absorbing them, even without a reflective roof coating. Not to mention, a monochromatic color scheme adds sophistication to any home’s appearance. This option will provide the coolest house temperatures, save air conditioning costs, and extend the life of your solar panels.

It is important to apply it to new panels before installation, as well as to panels that are already deployed. The delay in implementation will continue to shorten the lifespan and voltage output of the panels. There are only so many temperature or thermal cycles in the lifespan of a solar panel before failure. Thermal fatigue is a failure with macroscopic cracks resulting from cyclic thermal stresses and strains due to temperature changes, spatial temperature gradients, and high temperatures under constrained thermal deformation. Thermal mismatch of materials can cause solder joint cracking, warpage, damage to leads and markings, and hermetic seal failures.

Keeping a solar panel cool throughout its operation allows it to produce constantly higher voltage output and increases the lifespan dramatically, giving you a far greater return on investment.