Walkable Semi Rigid Marine Solar Panels

Can You Walk on Solar Panels?

Most traditional solar panels should not be walked on, because stepping on them can crack the glass or damage the solar cells.

However, walkable solar panels are specifically designed to handle foot traffic. Our semi-rigid marine solar panels feature a strong backing plate and an extra-thick ETFE non-skid laminate surface, allowing them to be safely walked on without damaging the solar cells.

These walk-on solar panels are commonly installed on boat decks, sailboats, catamarans, camper van roofs, and docks, where people may need to step on the panels during normal use.

High-Performance Walkable Marine Solar Panel Specifications – SunPower Maxeon Series (A+ Grade)

Our SunPower Maxeon Series walkable marine solar panels are built with SunPower Maxeon’s latest-generation A+ grade solar cells — delivering the highest energy yield and power output of any solar cell commercially available. SunPower Maxeon cell technology uses a back-contact design which maximizes the sunlight energy available to each solar cell and enables a sunlight to electric conversion efficiency of up to 25.4%.

These semi-rigid, walk-on marine solar panels are available in several styles:

> Standard walk-on panels that are 1/4 inch thick with an aluminum backing,

> Light walk-on panels that are 3/16 inch thick and ideal for hot climates, and

> Shade tolerant light walk-on panels ideal for hot climates and mounted where there is shading.

Our team will help you determine which style is best for your application.

Shade Tolerant Walk-on Solar Panels- Solar panel shading is a major issue on many boats. Shading can reduce a standard panel performance by over 60%. Custom Marine Products has developed a series of semi-flexible and semi-rigid shade tolerant solar panels that have superior performance when partially shaded by boat equipment or nearby objects. These shade tolerant panels are ideal for bimini and dodger mounting where there is boom, mast and instrument pole shading. Patent pending​

Carbon Fiber Walk-on Solar Panels- We have available Carbon Fiber backed semi-rigid walk-on solar panels. These panels are 7 mm thick similar to our standard aluminum backed walk-on panels. They are lighter and slightly stiffer than our aluminum backed panels. Our Carbon Fiber panels have the same high quality materials and comparable output to our other panels. Ideal applications include flat or nearly flat decks. van racks, portable moveable requirements. Heat distribution and heat dissipation is excellent.

PERC - HJT Series (~25% less cost, ~1.5% less efficient)

PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact) cells are about 1.5% less efficient than Sunpower cells and cost about 25% less. These modified conventional cells produce 6 to 12 percent more energy than conventional monocrystalline solar cells. Premium PERC solar cells have an extra layer within the back side of the cell. This allows some of the sun’s rays to reflect back into the solar cell, increasing the amount of energy produced resulting in a conversion efficiency of up to 22.5%. (Our new HJT cells currently in production are up to 24% efficient) This enables us to provide the same high quality at a lower price per watt.

Mounting Semi-rigid Walk On Marine Solar Panels

There are at least three ways to mount the semi-rigid solar panels on a rigid surface:

• ✅ They can be screwed down directly to the deck surface at each corner. We recommend a stainless screw with an oversized washer.
• ✅ They can be taped down directly to the deck with double-sided Very High Bond (VHB) tape. Because the back side of the panel has a pebbled surface like the front side for air circulation, the tape must have a foam core of at least 1/8 inch to secure the panel.
• ✅ The third method is our preferred method. We have assembled a mounting kit consisting of two 'J' shaped aluminum extrusions. Buy the 1" VHB tape from Amazon on your own . The extrusions are mounted on each side of the long sides of the panel and adhered to the deck surface with the tape. If the deck surface is not conducive to adhering the tape, the 'J' extrusions can be screwed to the deck and the panel slid into position. This mounting method allows for the panel to be slid out of the extrusion for removal and cleaning of the deck surface. See pictures below.