ok all you solar gurus out there, can someone give me some info on these unique panels i saw on some show. It may have been on DIY or HGTY or some show on the new green channel but i know I saw them, I just can't find anything about them on the net. This builder I think in the northeast was building zero net homes with geothermal heat pumps , PV solar panels on the roof of the house with a solar hot water coil system built right into the same panel underneath the pv cells. The first question is are these things mass produced some where or did this guy create them himself? Second question is, is this a good idea and are they efficient. Third question is what are the costs ? Sounds like a good idea to me what do you guys think?

Someone in Maine was trying to get that to sell, its fundamentally flawed IMHO.

PV's decrease power as they get warmer, yet the hot water wants to be 140-180F to work well. Other issues are putting something plumed to a 40 year PV panel and of course the cost which is probably 4X having separate systems

It will never be a main stream product

So this guy must have made them himself? Actualy i remember him addressing the issue of heat on the pv cells. He said the pv cells became more efficient because they were cooled by the incoming cold water. This may not be practical but sounds interesting.

One of the PV engineers I know at FSEC (Florida Solar Energy Center) is putting something like that on his house right now. I'll contact him and see if I can get some more information about the product and post it here.

Scott.

The guy I know at FSEC finally got back to me. He gave me this site http://www.pvtsolar.com/ which doesn't appear to have much information. The actual product (which he is beta testing on his house) is a PV panel with ductwork on the back to capture the hot air behind the panels. The ductwork is routed to a heat exchanger inside the attic which heats the water in his water heater. Might be another year before the product is commercially available.

So instead of letting the panels cool by ambient air, the ductwork and keep it hot ... not a winning idea at all, but doesn't surprise me FSEC is involved

C'mon.

The idea of moving the hot air behind the panels through a heat exchanger where it is cooled and then returned seems like a valid concept to me. Now how well it works in practice, who knows. I'm going to visit in a few weeks to check it out myself.

Hmm interesting. Sounds like any type of heat exchange comming off the panels could be used for a hot air duct work configuration or a water supply. The guy i saw had a water in and water out connection out the back of the panel. I may just try to make a minature version of this and do a few tests to see if it really does make the pv more efficient. I still haven't found the product i saw on the show.