Wind generator and Solar Panels

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by mcarling

I've thought about tilting panels a lot and made various calculations in the context of a solar powered boat, such as Sun21 or Planet Solar. In my opinion, tilting panels are not worth the trouble.

Shows calculations are up themselves.

I put a small 70 watt panel on the foredeck against the mast at 45 degrees to pick up the morning sun.
Boy-oh-boy the damn thing would fill half the bank before breakfast!

I now have half my panels tilting, but only aft to get the afternoon sun .



Sent from a stupid phone that replaces words with weird stuff.

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Shows calculations are up themselves.

Data always trumps theory.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by mcarling

I've thought about tilting panels a lot and made various calculations in the context of a solar powered boat, such as Sun21 or Planet Solar. In my opinion, tilting panels are not worth the trouble.

I have a few customers whom I have done "tiltable" panels for and they are invariable forgetting to move them rather often when the boat swings or they go home and leave it on the mooring.. The net result is they quite often suffer worse than if they had just been left flat.

This past summer I went on-board and flattened a customers Solar-Stik panels at least 5 times.. He had come back to the mooring and left the boat forgetting to put them back flat again.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by mcarling

I've thought about tilting panels a lot and made various calculations in the context of a solar powered boat, such as Sun21 or Planet Solar. In my opinion, tilting panels are not worth the trouble.

Unless you can rotate either the boat or panels to face the right direction as well as tilting them, then tilting them can actually decrease their performance.