Solar Advantage

5 Plastic or Metal? There was a time when metal rivaled available plastics in withstanding the harsh conditions delivered by Mother Nature. Today, however, we're making highly sophisticated plastics for the most extreme industrial applications, including heavy equipment, military, aerospace – and yes, solar. Which is better depends on your application and, just as important, your supplier. Metal offers long service life, and so do the engineered plastics HellermannTyton makes for solar. Metal is conductive, and plastic is not. If a cable becomes nicked by the fastener, metal can cause a short. Our metal fasteners have coined edges to reduce the chances of this happening. Plastic is softer than metal and less likely to slice through a cable jacket. When opting for plastic, controlling O&M costs requires choosing a material engineered for tough solar conditions. Climate and site conditions will determine which products make the most sense for a given application. How Our Materials Compare Consider the environmental factors working against the wire management in a PV system. Temperatures alone routinely reach 150° F at the module – and 170° F at the racking. Fasteners must be able to consistently withstand exposure to UV light, moisture, chemicals and more, and only those engineered for the harshest weather will suffice. Extreme cold also takes its toll on wire management products. Fasteners can become brittle and dry, leading to premature failure. UV exposure can be an issue even on the back of a panel. Up to 40 percent of the sunlight hitting the front of the panel can be deflected off the ground, especially where there is bright sand, soil or or a lack of vegetation. PA66HIRHSUV As a base material, PA66 is a weak UV resistant material. HellermannTyton's unique blend includes an added UV stabilizer, high-impact resin and heat stabilizers. This material offers excellent cost savings while withstanding the everyday wear and tear in most solar applications POMUV Also known as Polyacetal, a crystalline copolymer. With added UV stabilizers, this material delivers predictable, long-term performance over a wide range of temperatures. It has good chemical resistance with increased strength and rigidity Nylon 12 This material absorbs minimal moisture, even in environments with frequent humidity cycling. Basic PA12 provides strong resistance to chemicals, oils and salts, while providing excellent UV resistance. We add UV and heat stabilizers to enhance strength and durability PVDF Our fluoropolymer-based material provides some of the highest UV, chemical and thermal resistance of any plastic resin. Tough and extraordinarily long lasting, PVDF is designed to virtually eliminate wire management failure over the life of a PV system. 5 4 2 1 0 3 5 4 2 1 0 3 5 4 2 1 0 3 5 4 2 1 0 3 Moisture Resistance UV Resistance Chemical Resistance Cost Temperature Range Featured Solar Tie Material PA66 Black Cable Tie Download our white paper at www.HellermannTyton.us/SolarWhitePaper

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