Marine Solar Panels, Complete Solar Systems, and Lithium Iron Batteries
  • Home
  • Marine Solar Panels
    • Marine Solar Panels
    • Flexible Marine Solar Panels
    • Semi-Rigid Walk On Marine Solar Panels
    • Rigid Marine Solar Panels
    • Stern Rail Mounted Solar Panels
    • Kits - Solar System Kits
    • Van Solar Panels
    • Portable Solar Panels
  • Kits&Electronics
    • Kits - Solar System Kits >
      • Flexible Solar Panel Kits
      • Semi-rigid Solar Panel Kits
      • Rigid Solar Panel Kits
      • Auxiliary Solar Panel Kit
      • Portable Solar Panels
    • Solar Controllers & Electrical >
      • MPPT DuoRacer Dual Output Series
      • MPPT Tracer Series
      • MPPT Victron Smart Solar Series
      • MPPT Xtra-N Series
      • PWM Duo Dual Output Controller
      • Electrical Components
    • Mounting Systems >
      • Flexible Panel Mounting Systems
      • Semi-rigid Panel Mounting System
      • Rigid Panel Mounting System - Top Of Pole
    • Inverters
    • Outboard Motor Lifting Crane
    • Solar Water Heating System For Boats
    • Visit Our Store
  • Lithium Batteries
    • LiFePO4 Lithium Batteries
    • Portable Power Stations
  • Reviews & Installations
    • Reviews/Customer Comments
    • Gallery of Installations
  • System Design
  • Support
    • FAQ
    • Solar System Design & Installation
    • Manuals & Information
    • Solar System Installation Pointers
    • Troubleshooting
    • Contact Us
    • Solar System Installers
    • Battery Exchange Plus
    • Handy Products We Don't Carry
    • Freight Forwarders for International Shipping
    • About us
    • Call (248) 705-8337
    • Return Policy
    • Shipping Rates
    • Marine Solar Panel Sizing Calculator Tool
  • Blog

Results from Testing the 175 Watt Solar Panel During a 6 Week Cruise

9/4/2018

0 Comments

 
sailboat with top of pole mount rigid marine solar panel
This year we tested our new 175 Watt SunPower cell solar panel with our integrated water heating system on a 6 week cruise in Northern Lake Huron at a latitude of about 46 degrees.  We used an EP Xtra-N 20 amp MPPT Controller.  The 175 watt panel provided plenty of power to meet our 70 amp hour per day requirements.  The 175 watt panel was mounted using our CMP pole mounting system so I could tilt and rotate the panel to achieve optimum sun angle.  I set the sun angle once and rotated the panel three times a day (morning, midday, evening) and estimate we got about 30% more performance over a fixed horizontally mounted panel.

Operating statistics:

Our power usage averaged approximately 70 amp hours or 850 watt hours in a 24 hour period.  Our current draw was from a refrigerator/freezer running 24/7, our LED lights in the evening, cell phone chargers, laptop computer several hours a day and our radios and instruments during the day.  Our windlass is only run when the engine is running so we don't include it in our power consumption calculation as the alternator quickly makes up for its power usage.  We have a 75 amp Balmar alternator with a smart regulator.  We changed our battery system this year by installing two 100 amp hour CMP LiFePo4 batteries for our house bank and one for our starting battery.  I will post more about these batteries and our exciting findings soon.  We started the engine to move anchorages about every three days.

Results and findings:

1. Our battery bank was fully charged by 1 PM most sunny or mostly sunny days when at anchor.  This is about the same charging time that we experienced last year with the 160 watt solar panel.
2. The EP Xtra-N MPPT controller with the remote display proved to be an outstanding piece of equipment.  It was simple to program, easy to read, collected the appropriate data and was very efficient.  It was exciting (I get excited about these things) to see 6 to 10 amps being poured into the battery bank in the morning.  It would be frustrating to see it only outputting and amp or two in the afternoon in full sun but then you realize it is doing its job.  It fully charged the batteries in the morning and was in float mode topping off the battery bank in the afternoon.
3. Because we have excess power in the afternoon on sunny days, we installed an inverter and purchased an ice maker.  This turned out to be worthwhile purchase.  Ice for drinks was a free luxury (power wise) that we really enjoyed.
4. Rotating the panel during the day, especially in the morning, significantly increased the power generation of the panel.
5. The data gathered confirmed that this panel configuration supplied all the power we needed and had excess capacity to catch up on battery charge after a string of cloudy days.
6. The panel was affected by shading as would be expected.  Occasionally the panel was shaded by the back stay or the mast.  While the shading was minimal, it degraded the performance by up to 40%.
7. We installed a new larger heat exchanger on the back of the panel for our water heating system  This worked well on those sunny days so we had warm water for showers and dish washing.  Power consumption of this system was minimal.

Data:

 175 Watt Solar Panel                    At anchor   Motor         Sunny to         Cloudy to
                                                                                        Mostly Sunny  Mostly Cloudy

Average watt hrs per day                    750        480              900                  435
Average amp hours per day                     58          37                69                   33
​Maximum watt output in 24 hours   1,280        750           1,280                 570
Maximum amp hours in 24 hours            98          58                 98                   44
​

​

160 Watt Solar Panel                    At anchor   Motor         Sunny to         Cloudy to
                                                                                        Mostly Sunny  Mostly Cloudy

Average watt hrs per day                    660         480             700                 400
Average amp hours per day                     51          37               54                   31
​Maximum watt output in 24 hours   1,210        770           1,210                 770
Maximum amp hours in 24 hours             93          59                93                  59
​
Observations:
1. The minimum watt hour output doesn't mean much because it is dependent on both the cloud cover and the state of charge of the bank as a result of alternator charging,
2. The maximum watt hours per day of 1,280 is not the maximum output capacity of the system in a 24 hour period because the batteries were charged by 1 PM so the controller shut down the charge from the panel.  A higher drain on the house battery bank would have resulted in this number being higher.
3. Average amp hours per day is computed by dividing the watt hours by 13 volts.  This is a ballpark calculation.
4. This configuration proved to have plenty of capacity for our cruising needs even without using an auxiliary flexible solar panel we store under a bunk.  We did not use shore power to charge our battery bank for the entire summer.

Solar Water Heater:

We installed our new solar water heating system.  It consists of a heat collector or heat exchanger mounted on the back of the solar panel, and a circulating pump.  See our earlier blog for design considerations.  The pump circulates water from the water heater through the heat exchanger on the panel.  We used the same configuration on our 120 watt panel last year.

Results:

On sunny days at anchor we had warm water for showers and dish washing.  The water temperature in our 6 gallon hot water tank would warm from 60 degrees to about 105 degrees in 2-3 hours on a sunny calm day.  As expected, we confirmed that strong winds tend to cool the panel and reduce the heating efficiency as do clouds.  Overall, the water heating system cools the surface of the panel by at least 20 degrees.  This increases the efficiency of the panel since solar panel performance degrades as they are heated by the sun. Insulating the tubing running between the heat exchanger and the water heater significantly increased the efficiency of the system.  In conclusion, the radiant energy water heating system works well on sunny days with both our larger and our standard sized panels. See our product section or read our earlier blog for details.

0 Comments

Test Results for the 160 Watt SunPower Cell Panel on a Pole

10/7/2017

1 Comment

 
This year we tested our new 160 Watt SunPower cell solar panel with our integrated water heating system on a 6 week cruise in Northern Lake Huron at a latitude of about 46 degrees.  We used an EP Tracer BN 20 amp MPPT Controller.  The 160 watt panel provided plenty of power to meet our 70 amp hour per day requirements.  The 160 watt panel was mounted using our CMP pole mounting system so I could tilt and rotate the panel to achieve optimum sun angle.  I set the sun angle once and rotated the panel three times a day (morning, midday, evening) and figure I got about 30% more performance over a fixed horizontally mounted panel.

Operating statistics:

Our power usage averaged approximately 70 amp hours or 850 watt hours in a 24 hour period.  Our current draw was from a refrigerator/freezer running 24/7, our LED lights in the evening, cell phone chargers, laptop computer several hours a day and our radios and instruments during the day.  Our windlass is only run when the engine is running so we don't include it in our power consumption calculation as the alternator quickly makes up for its power usage.  We have a 75 amp Balmar alternator with a smart regulator.  Our house bank consists of 3 flooded cell batteries giving us a total capacity of 330 amp hours.  We started the engine to move anchorages about every three days.

Results and findings:

1. Our battery bank was fully charged by 1 PM most sunny or mostly sunny days when at anchor.  This is in contrast to 2 PM in last year using our 120 watt panel on a pole.
2. The EP Tracer BN MPPT controller with the remote display proved to be an outstanding piece of equipment.  It was simple to program, easy to read, collected the appropriate data and was very efficient.  It was exciting (I get excited about these things) to see 9+ amps being poured into the battery bank in the morning.  It would be frustrating to see it only outputting and amp or two in the afternoon in full sun but then you realize it is doing its job.  It fully charged the batteries in the morning and was in float mode topping off the battery bank in the afternoon.
3. Rotating the panel during the day, especially in the morning, significantly increased the power generation of the panel.
4. The data gathered confirmed that this panel configuration supplied all the power we needed and has excess capacity to catch up on battery charge from a string of cloudy days.
65. The panel was affected by shading as would be expected.  Occasionally the panel was shaded by the back stay or the mast.  While the shading was minimal, it degraded the performance by up to 40%.

Data:
                                                        At anchor   Motor         Sunny to         Cloudy to
                                                                                        Mostly Sunny  Mostly Cloudy

Average watt hrs per day                  1,047        645            700                 220
Average amp hours per day                     55          40               60                   40
​Maximum watt output in 24 hours   1,210        770           1,210                770
Maximum amp hours in 24 hours          100          64               100                  64
​
Observations:
1. The minimum watt hour output doesn't mean much because it is dependent on both the cloud cover and the state of charge of the bank as a result of alternator charging,
2. The maximum watt hours per day of 1,210 is not the maximum output capacity of the system in a 24 hour period because the batteries were charged by 1 PM so the controller shut down the charge from the panel.  A higher drain on the house battery bank would have resulted in this number being higher.
3. Average amp hours per day is computed by dividing the watt hours by 12 volts.  This is a ballpark calculation.
4. This configuration proved to have plenty of capacity for our cruising needs even without using an auxiliary flexible solar panel we store under a bunk.  We did not use shore power to charge our battery bank for the entire summer.

Solar Water Heater:

We installed our new solar water heating system.  It consists of a heat collector or heat exchanger mounted on the back of the solar panel, and a circulating pump.  See our earlier blog for design considerations.  The pump circulates water from the water heater through the heat exchanger on the panel.  We used the same configuration on our 120 watt panel last year.

Results:

On sunny days at anchor we had warm water for showers and dish washing.  The water temperature in our 6 gallon hot water tank would warm from 60 degrees to about 105 degrees in 2-31-2 hours on a sunny calm day.  As expected, we confirmed that strong winds tend to cool the panel and reduce the heating efficiency as do clouds.  Overall, the water heating system cools the surface of the panel by at least 20 degrees.  This increases the efficiency of the panel since solar panel performance degrades as they are heated by the sun. Insulating the tubing running between the heat exchanger and the water heater significantly increased the efficiency of the system.  In conclusion, the radiant energy water heating system works well on sunny days with both our larger and our standard sized panels. See our product section or read our earlier blog for details.
1 Comment

Performance of Our 120 Watt Solar Panel with Pole Mount

8/25/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture120 Watt Solar Panel on a Pole Mounting System with Water Heater and Crane Options
This year we tested our new 120 Watt SunPower cell solar panel with our integrated water heating system on a 5 week cruise in Northern Lake Huron at a latitude of about 46 degrees.  We used an EP 20 amp MPPT Controller.  A 10 amp controller would have been sufficient but we wanted extra capacity so we could plug in an auxiliary 100 watt semi-flexible panel as a backup if we needed additional power because of a series of cloudy days. Plugging in an extra panel is simple using the MC4 connectors and an MC4 T-branch connector. We had mostly sunny days so we didn't need additional power beyond what the 120 watt panel provided.  The weather was awesome!  The 120 watt panel was mounted using our CMP pole mounting system so I could tilt and rotate the panel to achieve optimum sun angle.  I set the sun angle once and rotated the panel three times a day (morning, midday, evening) and figure I got about 30% more performance over a fixed horizontally mounted panel.

Operating statistics:

Our power usage averaged approximately 70 amp hours or 850 watt hours in a 24 hour period.  Our current draw was from a refrigerator/freezer running 24/7, our LED lights in the evening, cell phone chargers, laptop computer several hours a day and our radios and instruments during the day.  Our windlass is only run when the engine is running so we don't include it in our power consumption calculation as the alternator quickly makes up for its power usage.  We have a 75 amp Balmar alternator with a smart regulator.  Our house bank consists of 3 flooded cell batteries giving us a total capacity of 330 amp hours.  We started the engine to move anchorages about every three days.

Results and findings:

1. Our battery bank was fully charged by 2 PM most sunny or mostly sunny days when at anchor.  This is in contrast to 12-1 PM in past years using our 150 or 160 watt panels on poles.
2. The EP Tracer BN MPPT controller with the remote display proved to be an outstanding piece of equipment.  It was simple to program, easy to read, collected the appropriate data and was very efficient.  It was exciting (I get excited about these things) to see 8+ amps being poured into the battery bank in the morning.  It would be frustrating to see it only outputting and amp or two in the afternoon in full sun but then you realize it is doing its job.  It fully charged the batteries in the morning and was in float mode topping off the battery bank in the afternoon.
3. Rotating the panel during the day, especially in the morning, significantly increased the power generation of the panel.
4. Our weather was so sunny and the panel performed so well we had no reason to plug in the auxiliary 100 watt flexible panel using an MC4 T-branch for extra charging power.  I plugged it in one morning just to confirm the configuration would work and was easy to do.  It worked well and brought the charging amps to well over 12 amps.
5. The data gathered confirmed that this panel configuration supplied all the power we needed and has excess capacity to catch up on battery charge from a string of cloudy days.
6. The panel was affected by shading as would be expected.  Occasionally the panel was shaded by the back stay or the mast.  While the shading was minimal, it degraded the performance by up to 40%.

Data:
                                                  At anchor   Motor         Sunny to         Cloudy to
                                                                                 Mostly Sunny  Mostly Cloudy

Average watt hrs per day                  740        540             650                 290
Average amp hours per day                 57          45               50                   22
​Maximum watt output in 24 hours    960        630             960                 540
Minimum watt output in 24 hours        200         200             420                 170

Observations:
1. The minimum watt hour output doesn't mean much because it is dependent on both the cloud cover and the state of charge of the bank as a result of alternator charging,
2. The maximum watt hours per day of 960 is not the maximum output capacity of the system in a 24 hour period because the batteries were charged by 2 PM so the controller shut down the charge from the panel.  A higher drain on the house battery bank would have resulted in this number being higher.
3. Average amp hours per day is computed by dividing the watt hours by 13 volts.  This is a ballpark calculation.
4. This configuration proved to have plenty of capacity for our cruising needs even without using the auxiliary solar panel.  We have not used shore power to charge our battery bank for the entire summer.

Solar Water Heater:

We installed our new solar water heating system.  It consists of a heat collector or heat exchanger mounted on the back of the solar panel, and a circulating pump.  See our earlier blog for design considerations.  The pump circulates water from the water heater through the heat exchanger on the panel.  We used the same configuration on our 150 watt panel last year.

Results:

On sunny days at anchor we had warm water for showers and dish washing.  The water temperature in our 8 gallon hot water tank would warm from 60 degrees to about 105 degrees in 2-3 hours on a sunny calm day.  This was slower than the system we tested last year on our larger panel but it was perfectly adequate to meet our needs.  As expected, we confirmed that strong winds tend to cool the panel and reduce the heating efficiency as do clouds.  Overall, the water heating system cools the surface of the panel by at least 20 degrees.  This increases the efficiency of the panel since solar panel performance degrades as they are heated by the sun. Insulating the tubing running between the heat exchanger and the water heater significantly increased the efficiency of the system.  In conclusion, the radiant energy water heating system works well on sunny days with both our larger and our standard sized panels. See our product section or read our earlier blog for details.

0 Comments

Solar Panel Mount Design Considerations

3/20/2009

4 Comments

 

Top-of-Pole Mount

The top-of-pole mount offers excellent functionality for getting the maximum performance out of your solar panel.  The closer the surface of the panel is to being perpendicular to the rays of the sun the higher the performance (amps output).  Thus, the panel needs to be both tilted and rotated.  I have found that adjusting an 85 watt panel 3-4 times a day will achieve power generation of up to 40 amp-hours on a clear day on the Great Lakes.

A panel mount should be adjustable easily without the use of tools.  Our panel mount provides 13 tilt positions by simply pulling a pin, tilting the panel and replacing the pin.  The panel, which is atop our crane pole can be rotated 360 degrees.  We provide a pole locking mechanism to keep the pole from rotating on a windy day and have found that using the mechanism as a brake to limit free rotation of the pole works well.

As shown in the picture, our pole is mounted to the stern rail away from the boom so there is nothing to cast a shadow on the panel.  Shadows can significantly reduce the efficiency of a solar panel.  The pole is mounted high enough to clear the bimini yet easy enough to reach to adjust the angle to the sun.

My sense is that the 120 watt solar panel is about the maximum size
(31" X 48") to mount on the top of a pole such as ours.  The limiting factor is the strength of the stern rails that stabilize the pole.  A larger panel would require bracing struts from the pole to the deck.  Clearly this is possible but I would recommend mounting larger panels to a frame above the bimini, on dinghy davits or directly to the stern rail.

Pro and Cons:

Top of pole mount
Pros: Easily adjusted for best sun angle, clear of shadows, out of the way.
Cons: Limited size of panel that can be pole mounted.

Bimini frame panel mount
Pros: Can mount large panels, out of the way.
Cons: Cannot easily adjust for best sun angle, often have shadows cast by the boom, back stay or topping lift.


4 Comments

    Categories

    All
    130 Watt Solar Panel
    140 Watt Solar Panel
    150 Watt Solar Panel
    160 Watt Solar Panel
    Choosing A Solar Panel
    Crane
    Flexible Solar Panel
    Hoist
    Led Cabin Lighting
    Lifepo4 Marine Batteries
    Lift
    Lifting Davit
    Magnet Mounts
    Marine Led Lamps
    Marine Solar Panel
    Pole Mount
    Selecting The Right Leds
    Solar Controller
    Solar Generation
    Solar Generation Worksheet
    Solar Panel
    Solar Panel Controller
    Solar Panel Electrical
    Solar Panel Mount
    Solar Panel Mounting Kit
    Solar Panel Output
    Solar Panel Performance
    Solar Panel Pole Mount
    Solar Panels
    Solar Panel Size
    Solar Panel Wind Resistance
    Solar Water Heating System
    Top Of Pole Solar Panel
    Top-of-pole Solar Panel
    Top-of-pole Solar Panel Mount
    Wiring A Marine Solar System
    Wiring For A Solar Panel

    Author

    Thomas Trimmer has been cruising with his Ericson 38 sailboat on the Great Lakes for over 20 years.  He has pioneered the use of solar energy for wilderness cruising.  He is continually designing and building equipment to simplify and enhance the cruising experience.

    Archives

    March 2022
    November 2021
    April 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    October 2019
    August 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    October 2014
    May 2014
    October 2013
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    December 2010
    October 2010
    August 2010
    August 2009
    March 2009
    January 2009

    RSS Feed

Efficiently Powering Your Vessel/Van. Call/email/chat any time, we're happy to help you work through designing your solar system.
Home Page  Solar Panels  Mounting Kits   Product Page  Marine Solar Systems   Gallery of Installations    Customer Comments    Contact Us
Call 248 705-8337 or email [email protected]
Article On How To Size Your Solar Panels For Your Boat
Customer Reviews   ​Return Policy  Privacy Policy Shipping Times/Rates
  • Home
  • Marine Solar Panels
    • Marine Solar Panels
    • Flexible Marine Solar Panels
    • Semi-Rigid Walk On Marine Solar Panels
    • Rigid Marine Solar Panels
    • Stern Rail Mounted Solar Panels
    • Kits - Solar System Kits
    • Van Solar Panels
    • Portable Solar Panels
  • Kits&Electronics
    • Kits - Solar System Kits >
      • Flexible Solar Panel Kits
      • Semi-rigid Solar Panel Kits
      • Rigid Solar Panel Kits
      • Auxiliary Solar Panel Kit
      • Portable Solar Panels
    • Solar Controllers & Electrical >
      • MPPT DuoRacer Dual Output Series
      • MPPT Tracer Series
      • MPPT Victron Smart Solar Series
      • MPPT Xtra-N Series
      • PWM Duo Dual Output Controller
      • Electrical Components
    • Mounting Systems >
      • Flexible Panel Mounting Systems
      • Semi-rigid Panel Mounting System
      • Rigid Panel Mounting System - Top Of Pole
    • Inverters
    • Outboard Motor Lifting Crane
    • Solar Water Heating System For Boats
    • Visit Our Store
  • Lithium Batteries
    • LiFePO4 Lithium Batteries
    • Portable Power Stations
  • Reviews & Installations
    • Reviews/Customer Comments
    • Gallery of Installations
  • System Design
  • Support
    • FAQ
    • Solar System Design & Installation
    • Manuals & Information
    • Solar System Installation Pointers
    • Troubleshooting
    • Contact Us
    • Solar System Installers
    • Battery Exchange Plus
    • Handy Products We Don't Carry
    • Freight Forwarders for International Shipping
    • About us
    • Call (248) 705-8337
    • Return Policy
    • Shipping Rates
    • Marine Solar Panel Sizing Calculator Tool
  • Blog