Sunny Side Up

Redarc’s 190w Sunpower Solar Blanket Put To The Heat.

- Ro​​​​​​​n Moo​​​​​​​n

I HAVE OWNED two solar blankets over the years. One so long ago it would be considered near useless by today’s standards; the second is a little beauty (one of the first amorphous blankets to hit the market in Australia) and I remember raving about it to anyone who cared to listen.

As with all things in life, time and technology has moved on massively and the latest solar blankets from Redarc are not only class-leading but there is a range of four blankets to choose from, featuring two different types of solar cell. These include one amorphous blanket rated at 112W and three SunPower blankets rated from 115W to 190W. Prices range from $1230 to $2026 for the monocrystalline blankets, while the amorphous blanket hits the wallet for $2354.

The SunPower blankets are monocrystalline, so they’re more ridged and heavier than an amorphous blanket of similar output. However, rated watt-for-watt, monocrystalline blankets are much cheaper than amorphous blankets, to the tune of a thousand bucks or so. And while a monocrystalline blanket mightn’t be able to withstand a gunshot (as the amorphous blankets were designed for the military to do), the unique design of the SunPower cell reduces failure from corrosion and breakage. These blankets feature a solid copper backing with thick connectors for higher efficiency, while the face has an anti-reflective, scratch-resistant ETFE coating that has a high melting temperature, is non-stick, self-cleaning, and UV and chemical resistant.