SunPower Solar Panels

Hello,
I am looking to install four 327 watt solar panels on my boat. I am looking at the SunPower panels. Anyone else have any experience with SunPower products?

Wow, that's serious power Henry. I only have a 11w (start batt), and a 40w (house batt), solar panels, as I also have a wind genny, and apart from engine running charging, we have no other form of generation, yet we can stay out on the hook more or less indefinitely. But apart from the frig, which is 12v, we have gas cooking, and all lights that matter are now LED, and we run no AC out on the water at all.
What will you be powering when you are out..? You'll need a large batt bank, preferably all AGMs, and very good controllers on them.

Peter,
We draw between 22-30amps consistently. I have a 1500ah battery bank (AGM L-16s). The cooking is electric. Almost all lighting is LED.
Henry

In that case you may well need all that sun power, but I am unable to make comment re that specific panel type. I would expect they are all pretty comparable, as competition in that market is now quite hot. Poor performers are flushed out quite quickly. My only remaining question is why, and why now, when I imagine she has had a generator up to now..? Is it to be able to not use (or replace) the genny, or some more fundamental altruist and green-driven desire..? The latter I can understand...that's what I like about my set-up - less noise, free power, greener. However, I'm not an obsessive greenie, so if I had to reliably pay back a 30amp draw all day long, I suspect I'd use a generator. Besides...not many vessels have enough room on a flat surface for that much panel area, but you do have quite a nice roof area on that pilothouse roof.

HenryD, go for it. I can`t know US brands, they are probably Chinese (your only panel maker went spectacularly broke) just using a name a focus group liked. Compare panels on things like framing quality, connectors, and type; mono crystalline is preferred I think. I bought mine on Ebay, no issues.
Use good digital controllers. Put fuses in the + wire just before the battery. Ensure air space under the panel for cooling. Try for panels 100% unshaded, a tiny shadow has disproportionate effect.
Battery electric cooking sounds a challenge. Good luck

I have been considering semi-flexible solar for the bimini. I did a little research and more is definitly better. By your avitar it looks like you could probably put more panels on your top.
Here is a very informative link from a TF member. mv.VikingStar: A Year with Solar, or is it: “Wait until he figures out what a monumental waste of money that was”. . . . .
I think 600 watts would be what I need. I have room for 8 -100 watt panels

My boat came with 85 watt Kyrocera Panels on the pilothouse roof. While not particularly productive, they were the "truck" of panels. I've cleared my pilothouse roof of all devices and reskinned it for solar use only. I should be able to fit 10 panels with a walkway in the center. Since I can't mate my old Kyrocera's with the higher wattage late models, I figure to replace those too. Sun Power panels are something I haven't heard about, but it's worth investigating. Reubin Trane would probably be the guy to comment on that one.

SunPower seems to have a good rep, but you'll need a battery bank and some other electronics to make use of them.

I'm not a fan of solar power because sunlight only hits the Earth's surface with an energy of about 1kw/square meter.

On the other hand, if your application already HAS a battery bank, and presumably you do, then it's a different story.

My only real suggestion is to figure out if you really need four panels to keep your bank topped off.

Oh wait, there is one other...

I have no idea if they are built for boats, but solar WATER heating is a very effective and mature technology. There are several things you can do with heated water.

For reference, my folks had a 3 panel set of water panels in the 70's and in the dead of winder with overcast skies the water still came down at about 90 degrees. In the summer sun it came down at more than twice that.


I hope there's something in that post that is useful for you.

fryedaze, one aspect the excellent article does not mention is the beneficial effect of constantly well charged batteries. Batteries left undercharged have a shortened lifespan.

There are any number of charge controllers that will work .

IF a shadow can fall on any of the panels be sure to use a charge controller that will allow the rest to function fully.

Home Power mag has loads of this type info, online archives.

Subscribed.

My charge controller is a Pro-30 by Morningstar. It does not do MPPT like the newer charge controllers but is very adequate for my home use.

Not affiliated with Morningstar but they have very good Photovoltaic products.

Guys

Having read the above, reamains a question. If you cannot afford a marina and decide to live on a hook, what system is more reliable to charge your bateries in order to have power for the bilge pumps, the solar pannels or the wind mill? Have in consideration that you plenty of both sources, wind and Sunlight

Thanks

BigJim said:

My charge controller is a Pro-30 by Morningstar. It does not do MPPT like the newer charge controllers but is very adequate for my home use.

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I too have a ProStar-30 by Morningstar. As a bit of data:
275 watts on 3 panels
I'm at the 29th parallel (FL/GA border)
The highest incoming I've seen is 17.01 amps this past summer. This time of year I'm seeing 14.
It's 1715 right now and sunny; the meter shows 3.3 amps incoming.

The Morningstar30 is a strange beast though. When my batteries are full before it goes into HVD (High Voltage Disconnect) it will lessen the amount of amperage going to the batts. When I turn on something the incoming will almost double. Just an aside.

I like that the regulator is visible -- and having a couple extra volt meters wired in (one by my bunk and the other in the galley) allows me to see the state of my batteries with ease. Yes, I've got the BlueStar meter analog but the switch isn't functional. BlueSeas did send a new switch but I've not yet installed it. Such is life.

Janice aboard Seaweed
http://janice142.com

Most boats in the Eastern Caribbean have solar panels. The few trawlers that are down there the majority have panels. My neighbor in a couple of anchorages has six panels on a Nordhavn 46 and hasn't run his generator in years. Another Nordhavn 46 which is now completing a circumnavigation has covered his pilot house roof with panels and has also installed them on the side rails. He survived quite well on solar power.

All three of these trawlers used Kyocera panels.

The nice thing about the hard panels is that you install them and forgot them. They just crank out the amps without maintenance.

Marty

and hasn't run his generator in years.

I hope he followed Da Book before putting it to bed , for years.

Bay Pelican said:

Most boats in the Eastern Caribbean have solar panels. The few trawlers that are down there the majority have panels. My neighbor in a couple of anchorages has six panels on a Nordhavn 46 and hasn't run his generator in years. Another Nordhavn 46 which is now completing a circumnavigation has covered his pilot house roof with panels and has also installed them on the side rails. He survived quite well on solar power.

Marty

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Sure sounds good to me. I'm in favor of doing anything I can to reduce noise-maker usage. Heck, I'm spending big bucks moving my genset into a new veranda hatch now. I'd love to do without it, but the genset gives a level of backup security that I'm not ready to abandon.

janice142 said:

I too have a ProStar-30 by Morningstar. As a bit of data:
275 watts on 3 panels
I'm at the 29th parallel (FL/GA border)
The highest incoming I've seen is 17.01 amps this past summer. This time of year I'm seeing 14.
It's 1715 right now and sunny; the meter shows 3.3 amps incoming.

The Morningstar30 is a strange beast though. When my batteries are full before it goes into HVD (High Voltage Disconnect) it will lessen the amount of amperage going to the batts. When I turn on something the incoming will almost double. Just an aside.

I like that the regulator is visible -- and having a couple extra volt meters wired in (one by my bunk and the other in the galley) allows me to see the state of my batteries with ease. Yes, I've got the BlueStar meter analog but the switch isn't functional. BlueSeas did send a new switch but I've not yet installed it. Such is life.

Janice aboard Seaweed
Janice aboard Seaweed welcomes you to my world...

Click to expand...

Have you seen the ProStar go into equalize mode? Reading the book it indicates it does this every 25 days. I have tried to duplicate this using a power supply as the Solar input, powering it up/down 25 times. No such luck.

I have asked Morningstar how the Algorithm works, no response yet.

healhustler said:

I'd love to do without it, but the genset gives a level of backup security that I'm not ready to abandon.

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That's the whole point, isn't it. I don't have a gen but wish I did. Just for the piece of mind I'd have if I ever get stuck in the Bay and Boat U.S. has cancelled my tow contract.

After multiple emails with tech support at Morningstar with a person who had English as his second language I was informed there is no way to fool a P30 into an equalizing charge mode.

I guess there is a clock chip of some sort that only does an equalize charge every 25 days.
So I have to leave my power supply on until Nov 22. A bad day in history.

Going to be watching this thread. Taking notes....

My digital controllers have auto and manual equalization phase. Without visiting the boat to check the brand, the model is SBC-7108, I`ve seen the controller marketed under several brands. On auto,they equalize every 30 days for 2 hours, manually activated they go for 2 hours.
The (generic) Manual says: "Clean distilled water will need to be added to the battery AFTER the equalization process". Very true.
Phases are: Bulk Charge, Absorb Charge, Float, and Equalize. Standard I think.

BigJim said:

Have you seen the ProStar go into equalize mode? Reading the book it indicates it does this every 25 days. I have tried to duplicate this using a power supply as the Solar input, powering it up/down 25 times. No such luck.

I have asked Morningstar how the Algorithm works, no response yet.

Click to expand...

Hello Big Jim. The way it seems to work (observation versus the guide book) is that when it's sunny AND my refrigerator is shut off, then I pretty much count on several hours of absorption charging.

Normally when I go to bunk the batts are at 12.5 or 12.6, though sometimes I've taken them down to 12.4 .... these are the Walmart $75 car batteries with 115amp hours, though I do have one marine battery. 4 batteries, 450 amps. Roughly.

By morning my voltage meters show 12.3 or 12.4 however by 0900 or so they are back at 12.6 and rise continually during the day. Usually of late I have not been running my little Haier (A/C) reefer as I am just not comfortable with the power it uses and my battery bank capacity. So with the reefer off and voltage increasing about 1300 or so I hit 13.7 or 13.8 and notice the green flashing light (next to the yellow-red) indicating absorption charging.

Specifics: there is a 6' run of 8-gauge wire between the Morningstar ProStar30 and the batteries. The batts are .1 above what shows on my regulator. The flashing green continues and voltage increases until I see 14.01 where it just sits and flashes.

Finally as the sun goes down the flashing stops and the batteries go back to their normal 12.6. This repeats every day when the sun shines.

I've got 275 watts solar at present.
These are observations. The book doesn't tell us much, does it? I'm presuming you have the little paper thing they sent with the regulator. If not, I'd be happy to copy mine for you.

Have you learned anything about the versions? I know when I do a boot-up mine tells me the release number (1.8) ... It works so I'm not fixing it, but I do wonder if perhaps your version/release number is uncooperative.

I will be measuring and planning the panel layout this weekend. My plan is to use the Sunsei glue on mounts. I hope to have final panel quotes next week.

HenryD said:

I will be measuring and planning the panel layout this weekend. My plan is to use the Sunsei glue on mounts. I hope to have final panel quotes next week.

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Hmmm. Glue on mounts would save weight. Are they also sold by SunPower?

Some thoughts.
I used Sikaflex to secure my mounts to the deck to avoid possibly applying uneven loads to the panels if the deck was not 100% even. I`m not familiar with Sunsei glue.
I made brackets from right angle aluminum strip mounted on 20mm thick teak, screwed to two sides of each panel.You can buy nicer mounts, mine work fine.
Panels don`t like heat, air needs to circulate underneath.

Portuguese said:

Guys

Having read the above, reamains a question. If you cannot afford a marina and decide to live on a hook, what system is more reliable to charge your bateries in order to have power for the bilge pumps, the solar pannels or the wind mill? Have in consideration that you plenty of both sources, wind and Sunlight

Thanks

Click to expand...

Port, in the situation you describe, I would recommend both. The wind is also free, and usually it is doing it's job when the sun is not. I have both, so do have some experience here...however, if a wind genny is difficult to mount, then you need more panels.

The Morningstar tech confimed the controller must be powered for 25 days. He did not offer to tell me how the Algorithm worked. I asked him several times. I also asked if the controller had a clock chip in it and he did not respond.

This does not make sense IMO. As the sun sets the controller will not see power on the Solar input input. Perhaps the battery line need to remain connected. That would make more sense.

At any rate I purchased the charger someone recommended in another post. It will be here tomorrow. I think it has a manual equalize mode.

Thanks for the offer on the manual. They are available on their web.

Until this latest glitch with their tech support I was happy with the product. The fact that they won't or cannot describe the Algorithm to me is somewhat upsetting.

I enjoy this post.

BigJim

Bay Pelican said:

The nice thing about the hard panels is that you install them and forgot them. They just crank out the amps without maintenance.

Click to expand...

One thing to be aware of is pollen on the panels, or any sort of splat (think pelicans) so occasionally take a look and rinse them off. I dry mine too and clean with rubbing alcohol -- same thing I use on the windows as it's easy and doesn't streak. [Side note: some rubbing alcohol is 50% by volume -- look for the 90% stuff.]

Pelicans though -- that takes soap and water.
Every week since you don't have anything to do add clean solar panels to the list. This retirement thing takes a lot of time, eh?

janice142 said:

This retirement thing takes a lot of time, eh?

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For those of you that haven't gone to Janice's site yet, it's a real eye opener! Not only is this gal a wonderful example of the pioneering spirit, she's technically savvy too! When I feel a little down, for whatever reason, I think of Janice hauling fresh water back to her boat. Now that's humbling.

How do you like your wind genny? What controller do you use with it?
I assume you generate more power with the wind.
With your little boat and the two DC sources you seem well on your way to being self sufficient.