Design of PV panel for a solar car

In this study, proposed design of PV panels uses mono-crystalline cells which have 16 % efficiency for a solar car. 35 solar cell are connected serial as 7×5 array. After soldering the cells together with ribbon wires, they are pasted onto sheets with transparent resin. Afterwards, the surface of the bus wires is soldered and sheets are coated with epoxy resin to obtain the panel. Its dimension is 650×900 mm. Under the real conditions, the panel generates approximately 70 W maximum power. Its open circuit terminal voltage is approximately 21 V, maximum power voltage is 16.1 V, maximum power current is 4.28 A. Weight of the panel is about 2.5 kg and its cost is 140EUR. Proposed panel has %60 lower cost and %70 lighter and flexibility than conventional glass coated panels. Approximately 600 W power is generated from proposed solar panel array consist of 12 PV panels used in solar car.