Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicone-based technology and innovation, has just announced the launch of EE-3200, a product solution designed especially for the solar power industry. EE-3200, available now from Ellsworth Adhesives Europe, has been carefully engineered to enhance the performance and durability of solar micro-inverters, power optimizers and other high value components.
EE-3200 Low-Stress Silicone Encapsulant from Dow Corning exemplifies the materials innovation needed to drive down solar inverter system costs, enhancing overall performance and helping solar technology become ever more competitive with traditional energy sources.
Offering a tailored balance of low viscosity, room-temperature cure, low hardness and good thermal conductivity, EE-3200 Low-Stress Silicone Encapsulant is a two-part silicone formulation that helps minimize processing costs compared to competitive polyurethane encapsulant materials. Unlike polyurethanes, which often require pre-heating before application, Dow Corning’s advanced silicone formulation eliminates the pre-heating step – with its associated costs – and enables electronic assemblies to be filled more quickly. Additionally, where polyurethane encapsulants generally take 90 minutes to cure, EE-3200 Low-Stress Silicone Encapsulant offers simple room-temperature cure with the option to reduce cure time to 20 minutes at temperatures of 50° C, further minimizing processing costs.
Dow Corning’s advanced low-stress encapsulant protects sensitive electronic components against mechanical strain caused by thermal cycling while also providing mechanical adhesion to prevent corrosion from moisture ingress. Reliability and durability are improved, and therefore the value of solar micro-inverters. The components in electronic modules encapsulated with EE-3200 Low-Stress Silicone Encapsulant were exposed to 60 percent less stress in accelerated aging tests, compared to components in modules encapsulated with polyurethane. This indicates that Dow Corning’s new material can help extend the lifetime of solar installations even under harsh conditions. Its dielectric properties and low viscosity also make it ideally suited for use in today’s smaller designs where traditional encapsulants can entrap voids or experience property changes with exposure to humidity.
In addition to the new EE-3200, Ellsworth Adhesives sells an extensive range of Dow Corning products including Sylgard, Silastic, Elastoplastic, 732 Sealant, 3140 Conformal Coating and 3145 Silicone brands. Browse the full Dow Corning range on our website.
