Considering going solar

[Patrick4002]

the main problem with solar panales is the space you need to put a large solar area.
Im lucky that i have a 24 m2 or 2400w solar area witch works fine, even on my previous smaler boat a area of 16 m2 or 800W was sufficient for 60% savings on the energy bill, only it took some extra electric to switch automatic to shore when to the battery go low or only switch to solar when using big amps on the 220v system
Im for occupasion a automation design developer with had make if possible to design a specifiv sulution to our needs.

 

[neurodoc]

This is good info. Question: Are there good ways to keep the birds off? I’m looking at solar on our flybridge Bimini - the normal bird repellers would all cast shadows. Wondering if it’d be possible to rig up something with fishing lines or the like to keep them from landing but low profile enough to avoid shading.

Hi there, greetings from Argentina! I have a bird-of-pray decoy (owl) made of plastic I put near to the panels while moored. This scares the s... t out of all the seagulls that used to gather on them. Amazing bio.weapon you can get on ebay for some 15 bucks!

 

[motion30]

In general. Large solar panels are cheaper per watt than smaller panels. I would fit as much solar on your boat as you have room. this is kind of like having too much fun or being too beautiful you cannot have too much

 

[socalrider]

One other idea that I'm using right now (anchored off Catalina with the fam - wonderful!)

I didn't have the time to get a proper solar setup on SEA WOLF, so I got a couple Renogy 100W foldable panels - they fold in half and come with zip-up suitcase covers and kick-stands. They're readily re-sellable to the #vanlife crowd, and cost about $200/ea - you can get them with or without an MPPT charge controller.

As I type these things are powering our whole boat. They're also giving me a good sense of how the sun plays across the boat, where it's realistic to mount panels, and how much energy I can realistically get out of them (there's an A-h counter on the controller).

I think it's definitely worth considering before dumping a ton of money on an installation, particularly if you need something *right now* like I did. Just a thought.

 

[FlyWright]

I installed solar on my boat this month. To get a better overall idea of my boat's electrical needs and my solar system's capabilities, here's a summary of my boat's electrical profile.

Boat: 1977 34 ft Californian, primarily 12V with 30A shore power, no air conditioning, 1000w inverter supplying limited power to microwave, 110V countertop fridge/freezer, and misc fans/chargers. I also have a 5.8cf installed NovaKool fridge/freezer. The typical daily AH budget is 180-200AH. The 2 fridges are by far my biggest load items and when food supplies dwindle on longer trips, the countertop unit, which has the highest demand, can be turned off. With both fridges, I can carry 4-6 weeks of food for one person/2-3 weeks for two.
I typically lose about 60-70 AH/night (~10% SOC) during the dark hours which is included in the 180-200AH daily budget.

Battery: 660AH FLA 6xGolf Cart house bank

Solar System: 4 x 100W Renogy Monocrystalline panels (400W total) on fwd deck rail mounts, 40W MPPT controller (capable of handling 560W) with Bluetooth option which allows system monitoring on any of my devices within BT range. Inline 30A fuse installed +input line at the controller and 30A fuse installed between battery and controller.

Generator: Honda eu2000i portable generator secured and operated on flybridge (aka, my attic with a $1M view).

My goal was to meet most house loads to minimize the gen run time to those times when heating water (when not operating the stbd engine) and for some cooking needs. I also wanted a quiet boat at anchorages in the morning when the house bank is normally at its lowest, allowing me to make breakfast and coffee without bothering the neighbors.

While the final two panel's rail mounts remain to be installed, here's the preliminary results in Northern California summer days on the California Delta.

I'm finding a real world output of my panels is consistently 15-21A during the hours of 1000-1600 with outputs tapering to zero as the sun is lower on the horizon. My typical average house loads are ~8A/hr over the 24 hr day. (180-200AH) My net charge to the house bank runs 7-13A during full sun.

I have designed and will install panel prop rods to provide the ability to adjust the panels for optimum exposure but intend to set them as fixed, as on a rooftop, to see how they produce without the need to "chase the sun" using multiple adjustments through the day. The panels stow by hanging vertically below the fwd rail when docking. If these PVC prototypes work, I plan to use 1" SS pipe for the 'final final' version.

I'll update with photos and more real world results after completing all the final requirements.

 

[mvweebles]

While the final two panel's rail mounts remain to be installed, here's the preliminary results in Northern California summer days on the California Delta.

I'm finding a real world output of my panels is consistently 15-21A during the hours of 1000-1600 with outputs tapering to zero as the sun is lower on the horizon. My typical average house loads are ~8A/hr over the 24 hr day. (180-200AH) My net charge to the house bank runs 7-13A during full sun.

Soooo......what is the average daily production of your 4x100W panels? Enquiring minds want to know......

Peter

 

[FlyWright]

Soooo......what is the average daily production of your 4x100W panels? Enquiring minds want to know......

Peter

I'll report back with actual data when I finish the install and have some more time under my belt with the system.

 

[Lou_tribal]

I installed solar on my boat this month. To get a better overall idea of my boat's electrical needs and my solar system's capabilities, here's a summary of my boat's electrical profile.

Boat: 1977 34 ft Californian, primarily 12V with 30A shore power, no air conditioning, 1000w inverter supplying limited power to microwave, 110V countertop fridge/freezer, and misc fans/chargers. I also have a 5.8cf installed NovaKool fridge/freezer. The typical daily AH budget is 180-200AH. The 2 fridges are by far my biggest load items and when food supplies dwindle on longer trips, the countertop unit, which has the highest demand, can be turned off. With both fridges, I can carry 4-6 weeks of food for one person/2-3 weeks for two.
I typically lose about 60-70 AH/night (~10% SOC) during the dark hours which is included in the 180-200AH daily budget.

Battery: 660AH FLA 6xGolf Cart house bank

Solar System: 4 x 100W Renogy Monocrystalline panels (400W total) on fwd deck rail mounts, 40W MPPT controller (capable of handling 560W) with Bluetooth option which allows system monitoring on any of my devices within BT range. Inline 30A fuse installed +input line at the controller and 30A fuse installed between battery and controller.

Generator: Honda eu2000i portable generator secured and operated on flybridge (aka, my attic with a $1M view).

My goal was to meet most house loads to minimize the gen run time to those times when heating water (when not operating the stbd engine) and for some cooking needs. I also wanted a quiet boat at anchorages in the morning when the house bank is normally at its lowest, allowing me to make breakfast and coffee without bothering the neighbors.

While the final two panel's rail mounts remain to be installed, here's the preliminary results in Northern California summer days on the California Delta.

I'm finding a real world output of my panels is consistently 15-21A during the hours of 1000-1600 with outputs tapering to zero as the sun is lower on the horizon. My typical average house loads are ~8A/hr over the 24 hr day. (180-200AH) My net charge to the house bank runs 7-13A during full sun.

I have designed and will install panel prop rods to provide the ability to adjust the panels for optimum exposure but intend to set them as fixed, as on a rooftop, to see how they produce without the need to "chase the sun" using multiple adjustments through the day. The panels stow by hanging vertically below the fwd rail when docking. If these PVC prototypes work, I plan to use 1" SS pipe for the 'final final' version.

I'll update with photos and more real world results after completing all the final requirements.

Would you have more picture of your setup, I am much interested!

L

 

[FlyWright]

I will when I return to the installation. Real life has interrupted my boating plans for the moment.

These are the mounts I'm using on the 1" rail.

https://sea-dog.com/groups/3604-removable-round-rail-mount-clamps

 

[mvweebles]

I'll report back with actual data when I finish the install and have some more time under my belt with the system.

Please do. I've installed a couple non-marine solar systems, and am having 800 watts installed on my boat as part of a larger refit. I would expect your system to deliver close to 150AH this time of year. Sounds like it's closer to 100AH. Which means my system may be closer to 200AH than 300. Just curious how real world matches up with theory.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Gone Farrell has gone after photon capture/conversion this summer.

My boat is 32/34 foot Barry Farrell sedan trawler. About 30 y.o. boat.

The house bank is US Battery US 2200 XC2, GC2 in a 2 x 2 for 464 amp-hours at 20 hr rate when new, but these batteries are near end of life and aren't anywhere near their original capacity. That was all fine before I converted the Igloo, and I figured on adding solar anyway.

The significant electrical loads are a typical Norcold fridge/freezer under the counter in the galley, and new this season is a Sea Freeze conversion of my large Igloo Marine 162 cooler to a fridge/freezer so I can go farther before running out of food & ice. Works great!

The solar system: a pair of Sunpower 110W flex panels in series to a Victron 100/20 MPPT controller w/bluetooth. That is tied into the ground bus and 12 volt bus on the panel board. 20 amp switchable breakers above/below the MPPT controller.

The panels are mounted on top of my bimini, no shading whatsoever. The key to making that work on my boat is supporting stringers that I built. These are mounted to the SST bimini frame with rubber covered hose/cable clamps.

The stringers are aligned with the grommets on the solar panels and through bolted with 1/4-20 SST fasteners. I drilled down through the panel grommets into the stringers, then added grommets to the bimini.

I added a lateral stringer across the middle that keeps the fabric tensioned to avoid puddling under the panels. This setup has already been through 30+ knot winds here in the San Juans with no problems whatsoever, in fact, the bimini is more solid now than before.

The performance: so far so good! This solar system isn't real big like some others here. I have learned that if I do a early 4 hour run (typical here in San Juans) the alternator lifts the house bank enough that the solar will finish off the battery banks and go into float through mid-day. Seeing 180 watts peak here around solar noon at 48 deg latitude. So my Honda 2000 genny just sits, gas is getting old!

Pics below:
I'm liking the Victron bluetooth app. That's a screen capture of what shows on the phone. Shows that by the 3rd day out I have "learned" how to get the panels to run the batteries to float.

Can't wait for the Canadians to let me motor back north and see if this works with foreign photons!

 

[mvweebles]

The solar system: a pair of Sunpower 110W flex panels in series to a Victron 100/20 MPPT controller w/bluetooth.

So you are getting around 1300wh on two 110w panels? Almost 100AH/day, which is really good. I suppose being at 48-degrees north in summer helps quite a bit, but still, that's a decent amount of power.

Thanks for posting.

Peter

 

[GoneFarrell]

So you are getting around 1300wh on two 110w panels? Almost 100AH/day, which is really good. I suppose being at 48-degrees north in summer helps quite a bit, but still, that's a decent amount of power.

Thanks for posting.

Peter

Peter,
That's what I'm seeing on the blue screen. I don't feel guilty about opening the 'fridge to grab another cold one.

All the solar stuff/hardware came in just under a boat buck; every time I grab another cold one it amortizes out and costs me less to stay hydrated.