Monocrystalline Solar Cells

                                                       Price is $20aud per cell ( plus freight)

Dimension(mm)： 125×125 (±0.5)

Diagonal： 150 mm ±1.0 mm

Thickness(μm)：220μm ± 40μm

Front： (-) 1.5 mm busbar (Ag)

Back： (+) 3.5 mm busbar (Ag/Al), aluminium backing surface

Monocrystalline Silicon wafer

Conversion effiency (%) =  17.6
Maximum power Pmax (W) =  2.6
Open-circuit voltage Voc(mV) = 595
Short-circuit current Isc(A) =  5.7
Optimum operating voltage Vm(mV) =  480
Optimum operating current Im(A)  =  5.4

Each cell is 2.55 Watts maximum output ( no load under 1kw/sqm insolation, actual no load output can be higher depending on local conditions, 2.55watts is measured under lab conditions with simulated solar radiation.. Once connected to batteries output will drop due to battery resistance

Freight costs will depend on location, its dependent on number of cells ordered. Weight of each cell is a few grams ( not measured accurately as yet) so air freight costs should not be high.

Solar cells are extremely fragile and should be handle with utmost care.

Packaging of cells is done with a view to minimize likelihood of breakages. If cells are damaged during transport I cant accept responsibility for that unfortunately

.If a cell is broken though it is still quite useable.

 Note: no tabs for connectors are soldered to the cells, that is not possible as it would increase the likelihood of  breakages of cells during transport . So soldering connecting wires or tabs to cells is required to be done by customer. Suitable tabs/solder/flux can be supplied. Low temperature soldering required, or solder connecting wires/tabs on quickly with minimal heat transfer to cell. But best to use correct flux and solder.

Below are some test results from a sample of 5 cells ( note tests were done under artificial sun under laboratory conditions, some basic testing with multimeter under real sun at 32degree south in summer gave  outputs  somewhat  higher than those done in the lab ).

Taking some averages from the above test cells  gives:
Average volts: ( 0.595 + 0.596 + 0.596 + 0.593 +0.594 )/5 = 0.595 volts

Average current: ( 5.662 + 5.667 + 5.675 + 5.682 + 5.649 )/5 =  5.667amps

 from graphs above max power output average of the 5 cells is:

( 2.6138 + 2.5740 + 2.5812 + 2.5613 + 2.5512 ) / 5 =  2.5763 watts

Note on max output : just using a multimeter under summer sun in newcastle australia ( 32degree south) I get 0.62volts and 5.35amps. Just multiplying these numbers together gives 3.3watts output, but its a little more complex to get the maximum output

and tests such as the ones above are needed to determine the actual maximum output.

On another note: completed solar panels as are normally sold by solar power suppliers can also be arranged. The panels though

are quite heavy due to the glass and mounting frames, so freight costs from china would be quite high ( sea freight would be only practical option). The supplier of the cells can make panels as per request price for panels works out to 3.5 euro per watt ( using the above cells) ( solar cell companies have taken to using the euro rather than usd it being a bit more stable apparently)
Panel output power and voltage can be made to suit: typical ones are 20watt up to 80watts .
Solar Panels would most likely attract import duties on arrival at destination port.

180watt panel Front and rear  shown below:

Future Project/Product:

 I'm trying to organise with the supplier to make small panels suitable for use on electric vehicles,
the small panels will look similar to the picture below. The idea is to have the cells on a very lightweight but rigid backing plate of thin aluminium ( allowing good cooling by heat transfer, solar cells loose efficiency the hotter they get, so keeping them cool can increase the ouput). The idea is to have small panels that can be connected together to make a solar roof  for an ev or an ev trailer. Making use of the airflow over the vehicle to keep the cells cool.

 No glass would be used just eva and pet plastic to protect the cells.

The picture below shows the idea, I've included a picture of an ebike controller, as behind the mosfets is used a heat resistant

material that acts as an electrical insulator but allows good heat transfer, it would be ideal to use under the solar cells, inbetween the solar cell and the aluminum base plate. Not sure if this project will come to fruition but will see how it goes.
I haven't come across anything like this on the market, it would certainly be useful for use in ev's. The cell supplier is looking into the possibility of producing small panels like this and they seem positive that they will be able to do it. But time frame it will take
I have no idea at the moment.

On a practical note its unlikely that a solar powered bike or vehicle could be run solely off solar cells due to the large number of cells required, but they could play some role in topping up the batteries or assisting the batteries during driving. I'll put some calculations up here later on to demonstrate numbers of cells needed to make a practical recharging system.

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