Panel
A panel (Low German and Dutch for "panel", English panel ) is in the original sense a wooden panel or a veneered plate for wall and ceiling cladding . Both the individual board and the entire cladding is referred to as a panel or panels. In a more general sense, however, many large-area cladding panels are now called panels, including those made of non-wooden materials such as hard PVC or coated sheet steel .
Classic wooden panels are available in a large selection in 2D optics, now there is the 3D panel.
A special type of construction is the sandwich panel , which consists of several layers of different materials. The different layers fulfill various purposes, for example sound or heat insulation , improvement of the mechanical load capacity or weather resistance. Special surface coatings allow the use of panels as ceiling and wall cladding in rooms with special hygiene requirements , such as the food industry. Special interlocking structures enable panels to be used as roof surfaces.
The term is also used synonymously with larger solar modules called solar panels.
