30+ amps from solar panels!

[schoonerdog]

ID, Nanosolar is sold out for the next year or two, they are coming out with some sort of home integration system in the future as well. They are much cheaper (many times cheaper), I think they are rigid, but less in weight. They will not however be as efficient (probably 10% efficient). I had the option of putting these solar panels on as a hardtop and ended up not doing that because they would tend to be shaded by the boom. The configuration should allow me to never need a genset, though I do have high output alternators on the engine for emergencies.

Originally Posted by Intentional Drifter

Thanks, Schoonerdog. We're hoping to put much less time on the genset next year. Part of me is also hoping that Nanosolar won't be another unfulfilled promise. I'd love to have both cheaper and flexible solar panels available. With how they describe their new panels, it seems like it would be possible to cover the bimini with them.

ID

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Fishspearit

Maybe some of you guys with battery monitors could post how many amp-hours a day your solar panels are putting out. I'm looking at a flat installation that I won't be able to adjust, and wondering what the thumbrule is. 1/3 of the wattage in amp-hours? I know it varies by location and time of year.

I did this measurement this past weekend. Two sunny days, 41*N latitude, 4 120W Kyocera panels mounted flat on a bimini, conventional PWM regulator. 135Ah the first day and 150Ah the second day. The regulator throttled the panels back on both days due to the batteries being full. I intentionally used a lot of electricity on the second day trying to keep the regulator at full load, but it still shut the panels down in the afternoon. Seems the 1/3 rule of thumb applied here.

Mark

[Whimsical]

From my understanding of how the solar panels are usually connected, to the load side of the shunt, a battery monitor will only measure how much goes into and out of the batts. Funny thats probably why they call them battery monitors. The battery monitor wont count any amps that go direct from the panels to a consumer.

Mike

[colemj]

My Trace 40 solar panel regulator counts the amp-hours generated by the panels. The measurements weren't taken from the battery monitor.

Mark

[Whimsical]

Originally Posted by colemj

My Trace 40 solar panel regulator counts the amp-hours generated by the panels. The measurements weren't taken from the battery monitor.

Mark

Thats whats needed
Given it stopped early 1/3 does seem right. Coupled to a mppt controller you may even get 1/2 especially if at a more friendly lattitude
I think 500W is what I will be installing

Mike