Any experience with the new high capacity 400W plus solar panels?

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

46% is the best I can find:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_...rev150806).jpg

You gotta read the X files but it's more likely I grasp things that are 1/2 as big as I think they are.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Guy

Oh they have high performance panels. Satellites have much more high performance panels and they last. I'm grasping here but their panels are like 80% efficient and the old style you refer to are 20% at best.

AKAIK, no one has yet managed to break 50% efficiency.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by StuM

AKAIK, no one has yet managed to break 50% efficiency.

We're improving, Paul was at 46% now Stu is at 50%.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Guy

We're improving, Paul was at 46% now Stu is at 50%.

Nope, I said "AFAIK, no one has managed to break the 50%". That doesn't mean that they have reached it.

Last I heard was Soitec/Fraunhofer getting to 46%. That was about a year ago. Over the last few years they seem to have been edging up by about 1 - 1.5% each year which is why I hedged my bet.

[model 10]

After looking into things further I see when it's a few hundred degrees below 0, solar panels work much better. Space is way different than down here.
With global warming things will get worse and worse, down here too.

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by Guy

After looking into things further I see when it's a few hundred degrees below 0, solar panels work much better. Space is way different than down here.
With global warming things will get worse and worse, down here too.

I thought overt political/religious statements are prohibited on CF?

It is not proper to be espousing ones fanatical global warming religious hysteria I would think.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by Going Walkabout

Im wondering if anyone has experience using the new high capacity 400 W and above solar panels. Much of what I have read on this site deals with the lower powered and older panels. The posts on this forum have been fantastic and it has been a tremendous help in learning all of the inns and outs of configuring an efficient and workable solar solution for boats. I want to thank the solar boating pioneers for the hard work in trail blazing in this field. Being one who likes to learn from those who have already experimented rather than learning the hard way it would be highly instructive to learn about use of the latest hardware in particular the higher powered panels and why we are about it any thoughts and info on the latest controllers and other new interfaces would be appreciated.

I know a lot of people are using older gear with 100W panels. What I want to do is configure the baddest most powerful solar array on the cat as can be humanly possible. And then capture as much of that juice as humanly possible without turning my boat into a flaming inferno.

Efficiency is similar to existing options. Watts / surface area will be similar.

There is some interesting research on low reflectivity glass. This is where the next jump in panel efficiency will come from. Probably 5 - 10%.

Solar panels are now approaching a consumer item in terms of cost and supply. There is little incentive to radically improve roof mounted solar panels, the largest market.

We have spent the last year reducing consumption. Getting rid of inefficient household AC devices has reduced our consumption by half.

Much cheaper to focus on consumption efficiency than panel efficiency. If you're intent on maximising capture then I'd focus on panel orientation and minimizing shading.

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[Canibul]

Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout

I thought overt political/religious statements are prohibited on CF?

It is not proper to be espousing ones fanatical global warming religious hysteria I would think.

ditto. A scam is a scam, and that one is a doozy.

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by leftbrainstuff

Solar panels are now approaching a consumer item in terms of cost and supply. There is little incentive to radically improve roof mounted solar panels, the largest market.

Billions (literally) of dollars in R&D disagree with you. The biggest energy consumers in many markets are air conditioners (another 'AC' acronym) and more societies are expecting that comfort (you can even see that in cruisers, look at how many threads we have about AC on boats - 20 years ago?). While lighting and other household energy usage goes down, overall household usage is increasing (except in a very few places that were profligate already). Witness Italy, where three years ago summer electrical usage overtook winter usage for the first time. Used to be there was a fair amount of winter electrical heating that drove peak demand, now summer AC use drives peak electrical demand.

Many residential roof top areas are too small to generate the entire household usage with current PV efficiencies, so there is a large push to bring up efficiency. If you can get 3kW instead of 2kW from the same area you come that much closer to offsetting the entire household's usage. And with storage coming online you'll need even more capacity from the roof, to offset poor production days and allow a fully off-grid capability.

All good things for us boaters with limited space.

[transmitterdan]

On a sailboat what the heck is the "north-south" direction? Do they mean fore and aft?


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[model 10]

Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout

I thought overt political/religious statements are prohibited on CF?

It is not proper to be espousing ones fanatical global warming religious hysteria I would think.

Oh no I was talking about the temp rise will make panels less efficient. I'm not going to live long enough to worry myself.

[newhaul]

The panels I installed although only 100 watts each are on the hard dodger oriented fore and aft they are made by windy nation using sunforce monocrystalline cells.

[Paul Elliott]

Temperatures of solar panels on satellites are usually fairly close to what we see on earth. Space is cold, but vacuum is a very poor conductor of heat. The sun shines on the panels (this is good!), and this heats them up. Here is a chart of satellite temperature design ranges:

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

Temperatures of solar panels on satellites are usually fairly close to what we see on earth. Space is cold, but vacuum is a very poor conductor of heat. The sun shines on the panels (this is good!), and this heats them up. Here is a chart of satellite temperature design ranges:

What does that mean? The chart says panels operate at -100-125 C. Way colder than down here

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by Guy

What does that mean? The chart says panels operate at -100-125 C. Way colder than down here

+125 C is hotter than boiling water (at sea level). When the panels aren't exposed to the sun they get very cold, but when exposed they heat up. These numbers are temperature range requirements (I think) but they illustrate the issue.