Jump to content

photo electric panels

popeye

By popeye
in General Boating

 Share

Featured Posts

Mike Gongoozler

Mike

Posted
Posted
can anyone provide me with any practical information about photo electric panels, are they any good, can you be self sufficient using this method of charging batteries? has anyone fitted these,

many thanks

28409[/snapback]

 

You really need to go to the Pewsey (K&A) area and talk to Nikki & Adrian Softley who are living on a nb until their new boat fitting out is finished, probably by the end of this year. The new boat is 68 feet by 13 and is covered in a kilowatt of solar cells which power the electric propulsion motor. He told me he took it up to Hungerford using only solar power but needed to start his generator just once to get back. Not bad for such a massive boat. It is a replica of a K&A working boat and dwarfs everything else in the canal.

 

Mike H.

Stargazer

Link to comment
Share on other sites
westjes Explorer

westjes

Posted
Posted
can anyone provide me with any practical information about photo electric panels, are they any good, can you be self sufficient using this method of charging batteries? has anyone fitted these,

many thanks

28409[/snapback]

 

Haven't got any experience myself, but am in the process of gathering info as we are thinking of buying a new boat (shell) and having a full solar system put in - it feels a bit of a leap of faith though, as don't know anyone who's got one.

 

Here's a link anyway

 

http://www.solarboat.co.uk/

 

I've got more info, if you want more.

 

Pat

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alastair Rising Star

Alastair

Posted
Posted

I lived for over 18months using solar for my lighting and water pumps. A lot depends on the area you are in. I'm in York, very overcast throughout winter. I used a 64W tri-junction panel, and very, very low power lighting - a mixture of LED fittings and 5W halogen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
arlow11 Contributor

arlow11

Posted
Posted

they seem expencive but how much would these work out on fuel saving and cheaper licence (possibly),would it be cheaper to make one for a live aboard which moves less often and the power is mainly for on board equipment..................................... what is the definiton on an electric boat(considering the licence fee discount) would a diesel genarator which supplies batteries which drives an electric engine be classed as an electric boat? :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Orentas Veteran II

John Orentas

Posted
Posted

This topic keeps on cropping up and every time people say that they will take proper measurements of the power which is collected. "A kilowatt of power" means nothing, that is no doubt a theoretical, optimistic idea of output of a sunny day in July and transfered into print for a sales catalogue.

 

What we need are hourly readings taken over many weeks, from that we can get a realistic idea of how much power these things can contribute.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Orentas Veteran II

John Orentas

Posted
Posted
Ok

 

I have 4 solar panels, two 64 watt and two 60 watt but I'm upgrading my controller to one that will tell me just how much power I'm getting off of the sun.

28520[/snapback]

 

 

Paul.

 

Can you give us an idea how much power you actually get from one of your panels, a 60 watt panel should of course output 5 amps @ 12 volts in ideal conditions.

 

What few people realise is that our eyes are such clever things that light levels can vary by a factor of 100 and we barely notice. I used to use a light meter as part of my job, it is remarkable that your eyes can function on a bright sunny day and yet will still perform in conditions a 100,000th as bright, what other instruments can do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alastair Rising Star

Alastair

Posted
Posted

I have a digital controller, and John is absolutely right.

 

My 64W panel outputs about 4Amp in normal sunlight in summer.

 

In winter, even angling the panel towards the sun, without cloud cover, the panel outputs about 2.5Amp.

 

If completely overcast with grey skies, the current drops to around 0.5Amp.

 

To talk of "how much will they produce" is a futile question - it depends so much on local conditions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

I have no experience of solar panels. I am quite impressed by some of these results. A huge factor in light reduction and yet about one tenth of the full output. With time I feel solar panels will be very efficient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
popeye Gongoozler

popeye

Posted
  • Author
Posted

thanks for everyones input, i have just started to research photo cells for the charging of leisure batteries when away from the marina, it seems that the best are poly crystaline with toughened glass. these are smaller and more efficient than other types, the highest power output i have seen to date is 125 watt costing about £500 including a voltage regulator they have a 20 year gurantee on power output and measure approx 1.3m X .600m, theres someone selling various sizes on e bay,

:unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alastair Rising Star

Alastair

Posted
Posted

Efficiency doesn't always mean the highest output in real-world situations.

 

Make sure that whatever you get, it is multi-wavelength (otherwise it won't work at all on an overcast day), and that you fit a controller or regulator (or you will 'cook' your batteries).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John Orentas Veteran II

John Orentas

Posted
Posted
what do you mean by multi-wavelength?

28920[/snapback]

 

 

Some of the later generation types are effective in a much wider range of the light spectrum (or wavelength). If they are sensitive further towards the red end they can generate power even in cloudy conditions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Breals Proficient

Breals

Posted
Posted (edited)

A question for Paul, or any other solar power authorities out there!

 

I'm thinking of starting off my system with an Elecsol battery with a 64 watt tri-junction solar panel. I appreciate I'll still need to use the engine to charge the battery sometimes with this arrangement, but how easy is it to add more panels in the future? Would it be advisable to add another battery for each additional panel, or should I start with a higher capacity battery to allow for more power storage?

 

I'd also like a wind gen for additional power during the winter.

 

Would all the different power generators require their individual charge controllers, or one large one with multiple inputs?

 

Its asking a lot, but if someone could outline a charging config. that would allow upgrading as I go along, it would be enormously helpful!

Edited by Breals
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alastair Rising Star

Alastair

Posted
Posted

The charge controllers usually have a maximum current capacity. For example, mine is 10A. The solar panels can be connected in series, and 2 64W panels will provide a maximum of 4.88A each. So I can use 2 64W panels.

 

With regard to batteries, their life is much greater if they are only discharged a bit, rather than below 70%. So you may be better off buying more, cheaper batteries, than buying one high-quality one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Breals Proficient

Breals

Posted
Posted (edited)

The Elecsol's are supposed to be deep cycle (I think that's the term) designed for uses like mobility scooters etc, so should in theory work well, but your right more batteries does make sense, not least because any excess power would be stored rather than wasted.

 

With regard to the power regulators, apparently some of these can be connected in series, so I should be able to upgrade the system as I go along.

Edited by Breals
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.