Hi All
I am looking for a new (or very good condition) panel. Maybe someone has a spare from a project? Close to 400w.
Needs to be around the following dimensions: 1700mm x 950mm (30mm thick)
It’s for a very specific DIY project so size is NB.
Thanks alot.
Feels like a size that fits in those tall window frames.
Seems I figured out the project 
Tell us more please… 
I think you have a room/window that’s in the sun for most of the day. You want to make more of that energy and cool the room at the same time. You’re probably leaning towards NOT integrating it with an existing ESS system but just something localised. Like a panel + MPPt + inverter/power station.
At a pinch such a setup could be taken camping or wherever.
Why I am able to say this, is because I’ve pondered the same thing. And first thing I did was measure that window I have for it.
Let’s laugh now. How wrong or right was this?
Very wrong
It’s an outdoor project - a roof mounted panel for camping, etc.
Excellent guess on my part!
But yes, after typing my response and thinking of alternatives this was more plausible. But I didn’t want to change what I already wrote 
Alright do tell, what’s the rest of the system like?
Rede Power Bank with 400w solar input which will charge from Jimny while driving but have the panel on a roof rack for when parked (camping Namibia).
Nothing else on roofrack so light enough.
Jimny is so slow that won’t cause major issues with wind, etc. (Hopefully)
My thinking is if there’s a roof rack with clear slots underneath for the air to escape, you might just get by with it on the roof while driving. You’re effectively funnelling air between the panel and the roof. Probably great for cooling the panel, but maybe not something the panel likes. But this is theory. I think with good enough mounts, you should find out.
What probably happens in practice, is that the air forms a kind of a cushion below the panel, a bit of slower moving air (much like it does on the roof of a house) which then causes the majority of the air to be pushed over the panel, which in turn means the net force is downwards and not upwards. By a tiny amount. Since the profile towards the wind is the thickness of the panel, I doubt it will cause significant wind drag. If the Jimny is the same as the Terios I’ve driven (which it probably is with that engine size), you’ll probably be doing about 100km/h most of the time anyway 
Agree Plonkster: Will probably be 80-90km/h (with a venter trailer) and I can also put in a wind deflector.
It’s not for me but a retired couple who have a “take it easy” driving style.
BUT: I need to find a panel Come all you faithful, please…
No wait - this I don’t understand. If the air over the panel is moving faster than under, then there would be lift so the force is upwards?
Yeah maybe I have that all wrong. Either way, probably doesn’t matter.
One thing I ponder on, roof racks/tops on vehicles, their was a wind tunnel test somewhere?
Cause planes have this “magic” in their wings:
Fast smooth over the top, stuff under their wings, yet they lift that plane into the air easy.
As pointed out, the solar panel on a roof, it lifts like a plane wing.
And a 80-110km/h wind … it has some “potential”.
Ag, what do I know.
As I understand it, for a wing to work, the air has to pass through under it more or less unimpeded, while it is pushed along a longer path at the top.
In that sense, panels on a roof seems like upside down wings (when installed close to the tiles), since flow under the panels is impeded. Fluids (air can be considered a fluid) sticks to surfaces at the edges, and you also have the rails in the way. The air on top of the panel is not impeded.
With a solar on a roofrack I would expect a similar result. The air going under the panel has a longer path to take. I would expect the panel to push down slightly.
You made me Google.
Hence me wondering, if the top of the panel is smooth, wind moving faster over it, the pressure is less = it wants to lift (bend), for prolonged periods of time driving at 80-110km/h …
More a case of, by making the path longer (curving the wing) you make the air take a longer path, so it has to speed up to make it in the same time as the air at the bottom of the wing (taking the shorter path).
The wind actually moves slower over the smooth part. Shorter path.
With panels on the roof, the shorter path is over the top, so the air pressure should push it down. That’s my thinking.
Seems to me neither of us, today, know anything for a fact about the behavior of a solar panel mounted on a vehicles roof travelling at speed.
What we think and what is happening, that is why they test this:
