Solar Panel Repair

Solar panels can often get damaged if rocks, large hails or bullets hit its surface. Falls are also possible if bolts on the mount get loosen up. In most of the cases there is no need for you to throw the broken panel away as solar panel repair can be done.

First try to see if the panel still works even though it still has the broken glass in place. You might surprisingly see that it will function, of course not at the same output as before but sufficiently enough to satisfy the house electrical needs. If you want to have a fully functional solar panel than you should remove the broken glass and try to replace it with a new piece. This operation might add some problems: in most of the solar panel repair cases you can not keep water from condensing inside and leading to the fogging of the new glass.

Another problem that can appear is the loose solder connections. As the panel heats and cools some of the connections might cut in and out. You can test to see if this is the problem by sharply rapping the panels with your hand. In this case too solar panel repair can be done but it might be a little more difficult as you have to cut into the silicone that embeds the solar cells and reach the back of the cells for repairing the connections. There are some special products that can re-solder the connections. The first one is the silver impregnated epoxy. It is strong and also waterproof. Another useful product is an electronics solder that contains 2% silver. Even self-adhesive metal stained-glass tape seems to be effective for solar panel repair procedures. If you have some physics knowledge about circuits you will manage to repair your solar panel solder connections in no time.

In order to detect which of the solar cells have loosened solder connections you can try the shading method. You will need an abject that is large enough to cover at least four solar cells. After covering some cells you will notice that normally the module's output will drop to less than half. In case you cover the malfunctioning solar cells you will see that the output will remain the same as no power goes from those cells. This way you can see which cells need to be re-soldered.

Burnt terminals can offer occur in a solar panel. As time goes by, oxidation process installs, along with corrosion, leading to an electrical resistance. In this case solar panel repair can be done by replacing all the metal parts that have been oxidized in time. Burnt terminals can be bypassed by using a wire that goes straight to the metal strip that leads to the solar cells.

Solar panel repair is also needed if a diode fails from lightning for example. Such a problem will severely reduce the module’s voltage. If the module is situated in a 12V array you can remove the diode without replacing it. In other cases you will have to make the diode replacement with a silicone diode that has its amps above the module’s maximum current and a voltage at about 400V.