Mounting solar panel on the coach roof

tiempo2010 · Apr 11, 2012

That is not a good choice of location because of shading. The output will
be only a fraction of what it should be if shaded.

timoheikkinen · Apr 11, 2012

On 11.4.2012 18:51, Brian Stannard wrote:

j.hunter9999 · Apr 11, 2012

Hi Mikko,

I have a 60 Watt panel mounted to our pushpit with two homemade mounts that will allow me to rotate it fore and aft (not port to starboard). However, the panels/mounts at Atom Voyages - The Solar-Tracker (Sold Out Nov 2012) look appealing. I'm not sure how much they would cost to buy or build...but might be worth a look.

My brother in law has a rather large rig with 4 smaller panels (not sure of the wattage). His setup allows him to follow the sun, which greatly improves his power generation.

Hope that helps generate some ideas.

Jack
Bella - V2620

n4lbl · Apr 13, 2012

BTW, at the Annapolis Boat Show in October there was a vendor selling PV
panels claiming much diminished effects from shadows. If anyone is
interested I can go thru the junk I took home to identify the vendor. I
don't know how true their claims were.

Alan

dougpol1 · Apr 13, 2012

My guess would be 1 to 3% . It just don't seem likly that if the sun is
not shining on the panel that you can do much about it except move it
into the sunlight?? Having said that, i am sure some panels are more
efficient than others. Doug

n4lbl · Apr 13, 2012

The issue is the effect of shadows. *Making numbers up*, one panel might
lose 30% of it's power output when 5% of it is in shadow while another
(differently engineered) panel might lose 50% with 5% in shadow. I'd bet
that the exact shape/orientation of the shadow matters too.

Alan

timoheikkinen · Apr 13, 2012

On 13.4.2012 21:59, Douglas Pollard wrote:

jbergman888 · Apr 13, 2012

Alan,I would be interested, as my panels are currently mounted on the roof. Thanks.BruceCygnet

To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
From: alan.schulman@...
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:41:22 -0600
Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Re: Mounting solar panel on the coach roof

BTW, at the Annapolis Boat Show in October there was a vendor selling PV

panels claiming much diminished effects from shadows. If anyone is

interested I can go thru the junk I took home to identify the vendor. I

don't know how true their claims were.
Alan

tiempo2010 · Apr 13, 2012

I just installed a 90 watt panel on a 40' boat this morning. It was
installed on a crossbeam of the davits but the same method works well on a
rail. I bolted 2 pieces of aluminum (1/4" x 2") across the short side of
the panel and installed rail clamps in the middle. Total install from
arrival to charging including the controller was 3 hours.

The same method would work well on a rail or pushpit. I would add the same
type of crossbars and mount the rail clamps near one edge. I used basic
bolted rail clamps but the best way is the lever clamps that are sold for
rail mount bbq's. Here is what I am referring to
Buy Magma BBQ Mount Single Horizontal in Canada Binnacle.com They allow easy
adjustment for angle.

n6ric · Apr 15, 2012

I saw some new style solar panels at one of the boat shows here in California that are now being carried by Defender.com. They are called Ganz-e, they're semi-flexible, fully weatherproof, with an unbreakable plastic film coating. They are thinner and mounted to a thin aluminum back and are much lighter than other panels. The largest they come in is 55 watts, but are worth checking out. They are also supposed to have only minimal impact by shadows. Defender only lists up to the 40 Watt size ( http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|328|49497|1485045&id=1802161 ), but I'll bet they can get the larger.

ric
s/v Blue Max
#2692
www.ric-maxfield.com

tiempo2010 · Apr 15, 2012

They look to be a lot more expensive than a conventional panel of the same
wattage - about twice as much.

n6ric · Apr 15, 2012

Yes they're more expensive, but the 40 watt panel only weighs in at just over 5 pounds, has no glass to break and is about a half an inch thick. I'm planning on putting them on top of an arch, so the weight savings is a big advantage.

tiempo2010 · Apr 15, 2012

Yes, it is an advantage, but conventional panels aren't very heavy. I
installed a 90 watt BP panel the other day - it weighs 17 lbs. The BP 50
watt panel weighs 13 lbs. Depending on the arch design the Ganz will need
support because it is flexible - a conventional panel doesn't. The 90 watt
I installed was on a tube that ran athwartships between 2 davits that was
already there. The mount I made only added about 2 lbs to the panel.
The Ganz 40 watt panel sells for more than the BP 90 watt panel.

tim_klynn · Apr 15, 2012

I've got just a small 20w panel on a rail mounted gimbal. Any small shadow has a big effect on output.
Tilting the panel to face the sun boosts output quite a bit.
When I got the mount, I thought "cheap plastic will break in a year". But so far it has lasted several years and survived

60mph + winds. Here's a link to it on amazon: Amazon.com : Sunsei Solar Grip Mounting Kit For SE-400 and SE-500 Solar Panels 10555 : Garden & Outdoor
I think I paid $20-30 for mine, so shop around.I've got the panel on a plug, so I can move it to where it gets the best sun.

It is obviously much to small for a big panel. -Tim

________________________________
From: Timo Heikkinen timo.heikkinen@...
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Douglas Pollard dougpol1@...
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2012 1:08 PM
Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Re: Mounting solar panel on the coach roof

johnadenney · Apr 17, 2012

I have bought a fairly large panel (60W from maplin) and have searched
everywhere for an adjustable mounting system. I ended up buying one
made by NOA. I am very impressed with the quality although it was
quite expensive at ?180. The fittings are excellent and it is very
sturdy and is also easy to adjust and turn the panel to the sun.
Some pics at..

farmer boy

Explore farmer boy’s 444 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

........ nearly done now! I may have a massive clean up tomorrow and
think about the most vital equipment of all - a decent sound system!

John

tomfentonvega2977beowulf · Apr 18, 2012

Thanks for the photo of the solar panel mounting. How is it secured? I noted that Matt Rutherford's wind generator pile is very well secured by stays to the top of pole. Have you done a wind tunnel test on your rig?

We have a similar sized panel. At present we stow it below when sailing. I was thinking of lashing it on top of our dinghy on the coach roof for this summer's cruising.

Tom Fenton

johnadenney · Apr 18, 2012

Hi Tom, It is attached to the rail at the top and it is bolted to the
transom at the bottom. I will take a pic which will help explain. It
is very solid and the company assure me it will be suitable for that
size/weight of panel.... but I will remove it if the weather is a bit
dodgy!!! It is easy to remove - just slacken the big plastic knob and
it pulls up out of the mount. I really did not want to have anything
else hanging off the back of the boat but it seemed to be better of
two evils! We shall see.... truth is I am hoping to be in fine sunny
weather 100% of the time. (eternal optimist!))

groundhogyh · Apr 18, 2012

I just uploaded to the photo album Good Things, a picture of my solar panel mount. It involves square aluminum tube, plywood, two stainless shakespear antenna mounts that adjust angle, and two flanges found in the plumbing section of the harware store.

Its an 85 watt panel with a morning star PWM charge controller.

groundhog