AVOID 1 FATAL MISTAKE When Installing Flexible Solar Panels On Your Van Roof! 

I have constructed some perforated aluminum plates, supported with aluminum profiles, mounted with hingees and standees, which are able to put the whole construction in different angles to the sun. When not needing the camper (which is - normally - for most people the most time of the year), I remove the panels from the construction (which also helps with extending the life time of them, storing them in a dry, well tempered area, with no UV), and, when mounting it, I am using the holes to secure them during the drive, which is already not faster than 80-90km/h with my old Iveco. Securing them, I use screws and strong cable ties. This will allow air to circulate all the time also below the panels, and the aluminum plates help to dissapate the heat from the panels.

Stellar solar panel that truly harvests the solar energy that I need!

Hi KiteVanMan, great and useful video. For future installations I would advise to use polycarbonate sheet to place between the ridges. You will get the most stable and durable installation when you use two layers. The 1st layer is to fill up the slots between the ridges and a 2nd layer that covers the whole back of the panel. You want the panels to have the same (cooling) conditions underneath each part of the panel to reduce material stress. Material stress can cause micro cracks in the solar cell which probably caused the hot spot. Kind regards, Peter

Great little video Deffo going with flexy panels thanks butty 👍🚐😁

Woohoo !! sunday night viewing :D

Love your vlogs mate.

love the cwtch sign my partner is welsh, love the brecon area!

Top Tip: Renogy just bought out a new flexible 100w panel that i personally use and i swear actually gets up to just under 100w (around 90-95w) !! Really surprised me just how good. Bit bigger than usual 100w panels i think but not too much bigger, but just brilliant. Also they work really well in cloud and rain which is brilliant for the UK

Hi Alex I've bin following you from the start. So much so I built a van same as yours and I love how it all works. Shower is amazing. I've put solid panels on my roof 450 Watts. Watching this video I'm thinking could I get one more panel at the front like you just done. Love watching your videos keep them coming Budd. Cheers Jason: -)

Have you ever heard of core flute? THIS product is required for heat dissipation under the solar panel.

I like the idea of a forest mural on rear and both sides of a van build which is yet to happen, did you just use the adhesive it comes with where you just add water or use a different way? Has it held up in the heat over summers without peeling? Thanks

Can you use the corrugated plastic roofing material for a spacer between the flexi-panel and the roof? It is easier to get than the other materials shown on YT and it gives about 3/4 inch spacing. Gluing down the aluminum unistrut to fasten the flexi-panels to, gives a rigid mount. Use the gorilla tape to tape the edges of the panel down to the corrugated. This method avoids gluing the panels straight to the roof.

You could run bolts from underneath the wood and fasten them into the panel through the eyelets? That way you can easily remove the panel if needed

The fatal mistake was using flexible panels in the first place they are inherently prone to degrade quickly by design and do not dissipate heat well. I hear the ETFE ones you mentioned fail even faster. Great videos keep them coming

You could do one on the side panel too... for low sun moments in the evening

Exactly how long would the install be of this system from beginning?

Use magnets was some kind of medium in between them to prevent damage to the solar panels, what does send sheet of Plexiglas between the magnets and panels. Small powerful magnets can easily hold them in place. You could even do extension stands using the same technique to raise the panels up a few inches so they don't overheat.

Thanks for sharing subscribed

I see some people using Eternabond or VHB tape to hold down flexible panels so as not to need holes drilled in the roof. By sealing the panel all around you could trap moisture under the panel. If you were to use z-brackets secured with the super adhesive tape and bolted the panel to the brackets, it would raise the panel off the roof an inch or so and allow air to pass under it helping to keep it cool. I have no idea if the wind passing under the panel when you drive would force the panels up but I would tend to doubt it. What do you think? Thanks for sharing your experience.

I am lucky to get a year out of the cheap solar lights or panels due to the Australian sun so I cover them with perspex, it doesn't seem to affect the efficiency and they last ten times longer, well I don't know how long actually as they still work after five years.

Hi, thank you for the video.. I was wondering if you have to drill holes on the roof for the wires?? If yes how do you do it right

What is this material you are using to get the solar pandel to stick to the car? how do you spell it? :)

really helpful, thank you. can you or anyone recommend a good electrics book for a complete novice? tarrifa looks nice and quiet, was randomly there after my car broke down and got stranded, worse places to be stranded!

thanks for that really helpful ill definitely be doing the same

At some point you may need to attach your kite rig to the front panel as it flies away.

How do you feel about your new installation? I also want to go with flexible for stealth reasons, but I worry about the heat build up. I've seen most people completely seal them like you did on your first round but I always thought that seemed like it would cause heat issues. I like the suggestion below about the polycarbonate sheet under the panel. That seems like a good solution to provide some airflow. Another thing I'd thought of was attaching them with the super strong velcro so if you want to park in the shade, you could disconnect and pull a couple panels down and put them in the sun so you can keep the van cool in the shade but still get some solar coming in. With the poly panel idea you could attach that to the van and then velcro all the edges of the solar panel to connect those. But, I'll be the first to admit that I don't really know how the wire connections work, so that might not be viable at all. :) Still lots of learning to do.

Renogy have got some new design out and they sh1t all over the competition - they are pricey though - i paid £140 for each 100w but fantastic results.

great vid, thanks... do you need 5 panels though! how many watts do you need to have to charge a leisure battery or two each day?

👍👍👍 #Tarifa 😊👍👍👍 Thanks for sharing

There are ETFE panels now. ETFE panels survive extreme temperatures and has almost no sun reflections. Please keep up with technology.

Can you please tell me what bread is Sam??

Im a solar engineer.the gap between the panels u have now after refit will flex and vibrate as ur driving ect,eventually will crack .possibly ur original problem

Where did you get panles

RESPECT dood 🤘🏻 just building my first stealth based on a high top T5. I want to run 1 Kw if i can this was a great help i WAS going to buy bendy panels.......BUT.........😳

No air flow they get to hot !

Hi wat s the fatal mistake mate

Thanks for sharing. When you're going to install solar panels on your van roof you should be super careful and first you should have a plan about how to use it. I like you didn't drill the roof. Next time you can use magnets. It's easy and practical. If you want more info about magnets, check this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SGLfB3lqtVE.html out!

The FATAL MISTAKE is when wind gets under it, tearing it off and takes off a motorcyclist’s head. The tape and silicon are not going to last for long. It needs to be bolted min 300mm apart

Puppy! did I miss a video on the new addition?

Hey dude, I'm unemployed like you, so how am I going to get money to do that install?

Even the flexible panels are intended to have circulation on the bottom.

i cringed whe you plugged that live panel in with out covering the panels first... also parallel??

Do not use silicon! just quality double sided tape!

Nice video, but what’s the 1 fatal mistake? That wasn’t clear.

Really enjoy it. Let's check Avasva plans also

Sorry cheers

You are making the same mistake again. Expensive mistake. Repeat labor. You did not do your analysis up front. You have not understood how they work. 1. Solar panels need to be kept cool despite glaring sun. So you need air circulation underneath. This can only be achieved if you raise them off the very hot metal roof. If they overheat, they will die prematurely from cracks and malfunction, and efficiency is reduced during operation. 2. In order to raise them, you need to stiffen them up from behind and build a frame around them. You could omit the frame. Simply stick each solar panel on a piece of Lexan Coroplast, which is polycarbonate corrugated plastic. This is highly UV resistant, and impact resistant, lightweight, and won't break the bank. The dimensions will match precut pieces exactly at 2 f x 4 ft. 3. Stick panel onto Lexan. Stick Lexan onto van directly with open vents facing direction of front of van. Long channels should be facing front to back for air to flow under when driving. 4. Another option is to attach all the stiffened panels to a T-slot aluminum system (see 80/20) and raise this a few inches off the roof. To see how this is done, visit ourkaravan - solar install. Know that 80/20 is a branded version of generic T-slot extruded aluminum and pricey. You can buy this direct from China much cheaper. Comes in all colors. It also comes with channels in 1, 2, 3, 4 places. So pick carefully. You can screw this into the existing side rails of your van with no holes drilled. Then attach some cross beams, and attach solar panels to cross beam. If you think this is too much work, you will have to repeat your labors again and again. There is no shortcut in any technical work. If you don't follow the advice given by other folks, you will be doomed to repeat your mistake till you learn. And spend twice the money. Either its done right, or done wrong. Focus on doing the work correctly instead of selling Merch and making videos about wrong install repeatedly. All you are doing, is teaching the world how NOT to install solar. When you ramble on for 4 mins into your video with no direction, then make a video without a clear link to your title, you lose credibility.

I lightly sanded my panels to go on the roof, and it fucked all three of them. 80 grit.

can you say the"flax thing" word slowly and clearly so we can know what adhesive you are actually using

The efficiency percentage has nothing to do with how good they are, it has to do with how big they are. A higher efficency simply means that you can fit more power in a smaller area,resulting in smaller panels. They will still output whatever they are rated for.

Using wood already a mistake

lmao wood

3:16

3:03 FATAL MISTAKE!!!

Thumbs down for that bun

Bird poo burnt through it

what a dirty installation

This is an awful way to install a panel. Don't do it.

"Fatal".....really???

Clickbait title

Hi KiteVanMan, great and useful video. For future installations I would advise to use polycarbonate sheet to place between the ridges. You will get the most stable and durable installation when you use two layers. The 1st layer is to fill up the slots between the ridges and a 2nd layer that covers the whole back of the panel. You want the panels to have the same (cooling) conditions underneath each part of the panel to reduce material stress. Material stress can cause micro cracks in the solar cell which probably caused the hot spot. Kind regards, Peter

Hi wat s the fatal mistake mate

Hi KiteVanMan, great and useful video. For future installations I would advise to use polycarbonate sheet to place between the ridges. You will get the most stable and durable installation when you use two layers. The 1st layer is to fill up the slots between the ridges and a 2nd layer that covers the whole back of the panel. You want the panels to have the same (cooling) conditions underneath each part of the panel to reduce material stress. Material stress can cause micro cracks in the solar cell which probably caused the hot spot. Kind regards, Peter