SCHOTT Technical details and key properties of SCHOTT®
Developed for space, SCHOTT® Solar Glass offers a wide range of technical advantages. It ensures long-term stability, optical performance and reliable protection, supporting
The density of glass is about 2,500 kg/m 3 or 2.5kg/m 2 per 1mm width. Typical crystalline modules use 3mm front glass, whereas thin-film modules contain two laminated glass layers of 3mm each for front and back. As a result, assuming 3mm glass, 96% of the weight of a thin-film module and 67% of a crystalline module is glass!
For solar applications the main attributes of glass are transmission, mechanical strength and specific weight. Transmission factors measure the ratio of energy of the transmitted to the incoming light for a specific glass and glass width. Ratio of the total energy from an AM1-5 source over whole solar spectrum from 300 - 2,500nm wavelength.
Base-line commercial glass has a solar transmission of 83.7%. I.e. 16.3% of the sun's energy do not even get to the PV material. The energy loss is due - in equal parts - to reflection on the surface and absorption within the glass due to iron impurities. The density of glass is about 2,500 kg/m 3 or 2.5kg/m 2 per 1mm width.
Glass is used in photovoltaic modules as layer of protection against the elements. In thin-film technology, glass also serves as the substrate upon which the photovoltaic material and other chemicals (such as TCO) are deposited. Glass is also the basis for mirrors used to concentrate sunlight, although new technologies avoiding glass are emerging.
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