A few days ago, we had a moderately severe convective weather event.
One of my PV modules now looks like a giant spider web. What’s really wild is that
it still produces an Isc of 8.47 A and a Voc of 41.6
The Isc and Voc values on the label are 9.69 A and 47.95 V respectively.
So while it has lost some of its ability to harvest energy, it still has enough output to drive
an Enphase M250 to full output for 4+ hours per day.
If I understand the technology correctly, the ‘cracked’ area will cast a shadow on the cells and turn them into hot spots. (cells become series resisters with reduced light) There is also the issue of water ingress eventually getting in there corroding and shorting everything…
Personally would set it into bypass mode and replace when convenient.
I managed to get a really good deal on the panel. ie. it cost only 100 bucks. I’m not really concerned if it goes south on me. It’s the only one that was damaged. Not too bad, all things considered.
I have some damaged panels with cracked cells, but the glass is intact. I also have a mixture of panels: abt 48 @ abt 5 y/o (how time flies!) & a few that had been in a hailstorm from the old system. I have a solaredge system with Optimisers, so panel mismatch does not matter. I currently have 52 panels, with another 3 to add.
The damaged panels are still working albeit at a reduced rate. My system is way overpowered anyway (abt 40%, into 2 of S/E SE5000 inverters.) S/H panels are incredibly cheap (bought 7 @ $30Au ea… Issue is the S/H panels have reduced fire standards, so can only be used on open frames or sheds in Australia (non-habitable buildings).
Optimisers work great with used panels.
