Illustrated Guide to Solar Installations on Boats

[Lukim Yu]

Here is our schematic for our solar and estimated budget. We didn't end up adding new batteries. Our 600 amph were enough.

We also change to the Victron Colour Controller.

All prices are in AUD.

[Joel E Felt]

excellent thread !! I am just starting with the basics. and with a 25 ft boat the challenge is how and where to put the configuration. My problem is not knowing much about wiring. But all of this helps, thanks from frozen Michigan everyone.


joel

[antoha]

I went with a like of the cheap Chinese flexible step on panels found on ebay these days, sized 41"x22", 100w nominal, at $200; bought from a fellow member here a few years back. Used a Morningstar pwm controller - which was the only one I could find that charges two banks, I didn't want the complications of echo chargers or combiners at the time. Given we mostly use the boat on weekends, this 100w is more than enough as a maintainer; the banks are 2x group 27 for house + 1x group 24 for start.

The considerations were not to spoil the looks too much, play with the available space, and not make complicated mounting arrangements; we didn't have a Bimini at the time. The only mounting piece i had to make was a little plywood "lip" as the panel extended over the companionway cover hood.

Here are a couple of photos of this installation. Will likely upgrade to an mppt controller (currently maxing out at 80 watts), but maybe with a switch to go back and forth between the existing pwm duo controller as a maintainer and the more efficient mppt for when we are using the boat more actively?

Anton

[David B]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Goal of this thread:
Show multiple photos of solar panel installations on boats (sail or power) along with some descriptive text to identify the type of installation, location, effectiveness, and costs and benefits of the products chosen. This thread is intended to show or illustrate how solar is being installed on a wide variety of boats. Small or large or very large solar installations are encouraged to be shown.

My hope is that this thread will be populated by many photos (and text answering the questions up above) from many different boats.[/B]

I believe that "Pictures tell a story" and they can be informative and inspirational and helpful.

When we are back on board, I will take some updated photos. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see others.

All I will say for now is that our panels bend to follow the curvature of the arch, are designed for maintaining the batteries while away rather than keeping us powered up while on board (only have room for 120W of panels without intruding on the aesthetics), but an extra 6-8 amps feeding in during a nice sunny day of sailing is better than nothing, and at least covers the auto-pilot, and some instruments.
The big concern was leaving the boat for 9-10 months and someone not charging every month as asked to.

For our main power requirements when at anchor rather than docked, we just run the 6kVA generator for an hour or so in the morning and evening. At the same time that gives us hot water (230V water heating) and the opportunity to run the desalinator in it's most productive mode (230V rather than 12V).

[txg]

Attached a picture that is probably not the best one ever but you can get the idea of the solar placement...

Boat is a 1978 Dufour 35.

There are two 140Wp Panels on the Bimini, made by German company Offgridtec, they use Sunpower cells. In good sun we get up to 19A from them.

Each panel is 1,49x0,56m.

Location is on the Bimini, and on our Boat there is no shading of the boom as it ends at the forward end of the cockpit. Only thing that shades when the sun is coming from a 90deg angle is the backstay, and else it's the sails if the sun is lower and in front of the boat. No problems with windage or anything else.

Panels are not specified for marine, but as they are flexible they are also not meant for domestic use.

Cost: Two panels 700€, changes to the bimini 200€, two MPPT Controllers 300€, so thats 1200€ all in all.

Efficiency is good, we are getting up to 10Amps even with clouds between sun and boat.

No problems with damage, we installed the system in August 2016 and sailed it to the Caribbean. Worked fine until now, but we did not experience winds in excess of 50kts.

So far we like it as it is, but i'm thinking of adding another 140W to the dodger. On very cloudy days we're not able to get our battery bank to full.

More Info on our Boat on www.milasailing.com

[JeffBurnes]

Hey Epiic - Awesome set up :-)

[JeffBurnes]

Originally Posted by Lukim Yu

Type and model and size of boat.

Lagoon 380S2

Total Panel Output (How much power can be generated?)

1,200 watts - 7kwh/p/day

Panel Size: How big are the panels?

1,650 mm X 1,000 mm each

Individual? Total area required?

3,300 mm X 2,000 mm

Age of Panels: When did you install the panels?

4 weeks old - LG 320 watt X 4 domestic panels

Panel Location: Where is the panel located and does it cause problems there?

On a stainless steel structure above the davits. This has not caused any problems. In fact, it provides great shade.

Does it cause problems with any other gear or while sailing? Does it cause windage problems? Has shading of the panels been a problem due to location of the panels and surrounding rigging or equipment?

No problems of any kind thus far.

Type and Brand of Panel: Who made the panel? What type of panel is it? Marine or Domestic (land) panel? Origin?

LG 320 watt X 4 domestic panels. All the marine products I investigated had less power for more than double the money. The glass panes have anodised aluminium surrounds. What more would you want for a marine application?

Total Cost: How much did it cost to build the system? How much was each panel?

Panels $1,200 AUD
Victron 100 amp (at 12volts) Solar Controller, shunt BNV 702, colour display. $2,040 AUD
Stainless steel fabrication $6,500 AUD
Misc $500
Install - $0 By a friend who is an electrician and solar expert, Dave Boyle from Solar South. $0 (plus beer and a week at sea)

Total Efficiency: Do you consider the installation efficient? Please any comments that may help another improve efficiency, based on your experience.

It has exceeded my expectations. We never need to run the engines to charge the batteries. Yesterday we had rain and it was overcast all day and the batteries were fully charged by 2pm whilst keeping up with our load. Most days when sunny, batteries are fully charged before lunch and the solar controller has to reduce the charge accordingly.

Damage? Has the installation been damaged by wind or corrosion or breakage?

Too early to tell.

What would you do differently next time? Tips? Different type of panel?

Nothing, I love it! (I should have done this year's ago.)

Any problems? Disappointments? Surprises? Disatisfaction? Issues? Weaknesses of gear or system?

None.

How has adding the solar affected your sailing or cruising?

Peaceful bliss. With my excess power, I'm going to get an ice maker. Drinks all round.

A big thank you to my mate, Dave Boyle from Solar South in Adelaide, who flew up to Airlie beach to help us out.

I'd also like to thank Paul Rogers from Moor R & R who kindly provided a schematic of his system, for which I based ours. (The diagram was so professional I suspect Kathy Roper's graphic design skills may have been used? If not, bloody good effort Paul).

Hi There, thanks for sharing - it looks like an amazing set up. Am I correct in reading that you spent $6,500 on just the SS frame? (seems like a lot just for the fabrication of the frame?)

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by GILow

I for one can't wait to see photos. I would love to see how you have managed to fit so much solar on a mono of a similar size to ours.

Me too. I put 390 watts over the bimini with a little room for more, but not much, on a 42ft mono. I couldn't ft a KW unless I hung panels on the death lines.

Edit: Now I've seen the pix.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Short Note to ALL:
I am very glad to see this topic has caught the attention and participation of several members who have posted very good, informative and ILLUSTRATED posts showing their Solar Installations.

Each is different. And that is good to see.
I learned something from each post, whether understanding more about choice of products, or how it looks when assembled on the boat (which I think is very important).

I truly appreciate everyone's participation so far, especially when they took the time to answer the OP questions and provided good answers and multiple photos.

I hope more members will also participate too, as there is something to be learned by the installations on boats big and small, old and new, mono or cat, etc.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Sort of a garage for the dinghy, dinghy is slightly larger but not by much.
This is three 250 W panels, I have added a fourth since this photo, it covers the center of the Bimini, it is attached to the middle panel and to a Bimini bow with two dg clamps

Very nice, I've been thinking along very similar lines, having an almost identical dinghy/davit setup on the stern of my Morgan. You wouldn't happen to have any more details or pictures of the support structure, would you?

Regards,
David

[Luther]

Many panel installations leave the underside exposed to strong winds.

The picture was taken after Mathew hit with the worst wind coming from the port side.
The Bimini had been removed. The frame remained virtually intact but the glass solar panel blew out of the frame and was hanging by the cables (glass shards everywhere!)

It was a 90 x 45 inch 420W good quality panel. I am replacing with two 320W panels.

Point is: Assess how exposed the underside of the panels are in high beam winds. I’m considering attaching thin ply/aluminum covers to much of the underneath side for when I next have to remove the Bimini for hurricane prep.

Note: not such a concern for smaller panels.

[kas_1611]

Originally Posted by Luther

Many panel installations leave the underside exposed to strong winds.

The picture was taken after Mathew hit with the worst wind coming from the port side.
The Bimini had been removed. The frame remained virtually intact but the glass solar panel blew out of the frame and was hanging by the cables (glass shards everywhere!)

It was a 90 x 45 inch 420W good quality panel. I am replacing with two 320W panels.

Point is: Assess how exposed the underside of the panels are in high beam winds. I’m considering attaching thin ply/aluminum covers to much of the underneath side for when I next have to remove the Bimini for hurricane prep.

Note: not such a concern for smaller panels.

Luther,
Would it plausible to make these kind of panels "storm removable"? I was thinking along the lines of using "quick disconnect" electrical connectors on the wiring and wing nuts to fix the panels in place.
Just a thought but be interested to get your thoughts
Keiron

[Lukim Yu]

Originally Posted by JeffBurnes

Hi There, thanks for sharing - it looks like an amazing set up. Am I correct in reading that you spent $6,500 on just the SS frame? (seems like a lot just for the fabrication of the frame?)

Yes, I agree. As we worked through the quoting process I needed oxygenated to sit down. $6,500 AUD is a lot! It was by far the most expensive part. It is also the only part of the project we could buy at cost or complete ourselves.
The challenge was we wanted the structure to be at the same height as our canopy. As such, you can imagine the force as 100kg of panels wanting to move in a heavy sea way can create. The greater the height, the more leverage and force created. The other challenge is the boats location. There is limited choice for good SS fabricators in Airlie Beach QLD to barter with. However, having now spent the money, I'm really happy with their SS work and the outcome.

[Pelagic]

Thanks Steady for creating a perfect Solar Primer.

2 gems already
1..The series vs parallel video test stops all arguments if you can choose a high voltage panel.

2 ... Thanks Luther for sharing Concerns of panel blowout in typhoon .this needs to be studied, but what are industry standards??

I have my system installed and will be wired in the next few weeks.

Promise to give full report on performance but some photos and thoughts to add.

Bought 4 x Sunpower 327w high voltage panels to connect in parallel to Outback 80



Two on either side, so that when sail is furled to mast, aft boom sits in between, offering no shading.

For each side I made an alloy frame that can pivot outboard with the camber, but is really their to facilitie removal when the Bimini cover is still on.

You can see the curved pivot tangs outboard to allow a flat panel and ventilation under panel when vinyl Bimini cover is on

I then modified the inboard Bimini frame (with handholds) to have a flat bar with welded studs so that with vinyl cover is on, it forms a watertight gasket


I will post more photos of this.

[Pelagic]

Best advice I can give is even after you draw out installation make full size mockup to check clearances and boom tackle swing

My schooner rig has minimal clearance above Bimini, so with these large panels it meant flush on inboard end opening up as Bimini cambers to outside
I wasn't prepared to accept loosing a waterproof coverso this is how I constructed the alloy frame