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Solar panels, worth the expense?


AllanC

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So, as in the title, are they really worth the expense?

Does anyone have an idea of how much they save on electrical generation over a year compared to running the engine or generator. Approx how long would it take to recoup the cost of purchase and installation.

Obviously I understand the perceived benefit, but it is really worth it.

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I am not a live aboard but I think I have extended the life of my batteries greatly by having solar panels, from a cost point of view, what is 3 hours without the noise of an engine running worth, to me its a lot. I hate nothing more than to be moored up with an engine running.

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Hmm, IMHO they are worth it for exactly the reasons given above. We live aboard and I fitted our previous boat with 500w worth of panels, that was over 10 years ago and on our present boat I fitted 300w of panels. Don't expect them to do much in the winter months but they do come into their own once the days become longer and the sun is higher in the sky.

Phil

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well worth it in the summer if only for the peace of not having to charge batts or move, i travel most weeks summer and winter and last year saved around £500 in diesel by not having to run the engine, i can also run the washing machine off the panels in summer and make hot water via the immersion heater.

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Also as a liveaboard it is something that I've yet to be convinced of. The view I have of it (a personal view, I wouldn't discourage people from getting panels, nor would i encourage them, it is a personal choice) is that at the time of year I would most like an additional power generating source (winter) I'm unlikely to get much out of an array of panels so will still be running the engine. At the time of year when I would be able to get the most out of panels (summer) I have little use for them since the batteries get fully charged by the fact that I tend to move a lot more during the longer days. I am generally quite a fan of solar panels since I have them fitted to a land based address I still hold, but with that I reckon I will have got a 100% ROI in about 10 years, everything after that will be profit. With the boat it is a bit more difficult to calculate the ROI. I use something like £750 worth of fuel a year but that covers everything from moving around to heating the water and recharging the batteries. If solar panels were to make a significant dent in that figure I would expect the taxman to alter the propulsion/domestic split when buying red diesel but that doesn't seem to happenunsure.png

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well worth it in the summer if only for the peace of not having to charge batts or move, i travel most weeks summer and winter and last year saved around £500 in diesel by not having to run the engine, i can also run the washing machine off the panels in summer and make hot water via the immersion heater.

Just a query, if you saved £500 in diesel, how much do you actually use? I only used £750 in total and that was to cover about 950 miles. If I could do 950 miles on £250 of fuel I'd be amazed

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I fitted 500w 4 years ago. Cruising for the six warmer months then back to mooring (with shorepower) for the beer months. I reckon they paid for themselves within two seasons in diesel saved - effectively every day I didn't move saved me £2-3 in fuel.

 

The past year I've given up my mooring and been offgrid through the winter; the panels are pants in Nov,Dec & Jan, but now I'm seeing them start to power up again.

 

Apart from the monetary saving, there's the peace of mind of just letting them do their stuff and not having to worry about running the engine with the noise and air pollution associated with that.

 

Downside is being horribly judgemental when some sod without panels parks within earshot....

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Just a query, if you saved £500 in diesel, how much do you actually use? I only used £750 in total and that was to cover about 950 miles. If I could do 950 miles on £250 of fuel I'd be amazed

i did 400+ miles last year and spent about £600 on diesel/gas genny, that £600 included winter and running the jenny

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Solar panels are going to be useless for some people and great for others, depending on lots of factors.

 

At one extreme would be a boat kept mostly, particularly in winter, on a shoreline in a marina, and moving for hours each day when in use. That sort of pattern would keep the batteries charged well anyway, unless too much gets taken out. It's why my brother's never wanted solar panels, and why I've never seen them on a hire boat. You also wouldn't want solar panels on a historic boat, it really wouldn't be right.

 

At the other would be an off-grid liveaboard, or a boat regularly left on a towpath for a week or two at a time. Especially if a CC'er likes to take it easy in the summer and move about more in the quieter months when the system is less crowded. But it's quite possible to be very frugal with electricity use on a boat in winter, e.g. by having a gas fridge or just turning an electric fridge off and managing without it.

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Last year I didn't run my engine for electric only between Feb 6th and Oct 16th. I generally stay for 14 days in any one location due to work. A few long cruises when holidays strike.

Not having to think about running the engine makes them absolutely fantastic in my eyes, along with the fact that I can charge my power tools, laptop, everyone's phones and not count the cost.

540w

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If liveaboard then yes most likely, if a weekend boater or the 2 weeks a year take the boat out type then no . Biggest yes or no is decided by your power usage I am a big power guzzler so it is a yes for me whereas some use such a small amount that they do not need to run engine for days.

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"Are they worth the cost?" is the wrong question to be asking, I think.

 

  • You start with how much power you use.
  • Then you look at how you will replace that power.
  • Will you be cruising enough to replace all the used power on a daily or bi-daily basis? If yes, then you don't need solar.
  • Will you be plugged into a shore line long enough daily or bi-daily to replace the power? If yes, then you don't need solar.
  • If either of the above are "No" then what other means do I have to replace the power? THIS is when you consider solar.

 

Tony

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Unless you cruise pretty much every day April to September, or are on shoreline, I certainly think they are worth it. As liveaboards/cc'ers for six months of the year and heavy electric users, with our 680 watts we can moor up for days on end and rarely need to think about running the engine or genny. That is a direct saving of at least £3 a day in diesel, to say nothing of wear and tear, noise, vibration and pollution.

Ken

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So it seems that solar panels are definitely worth it if not on shore power. I do agree with that, and even more so considering the potential to disturb the peace and quiet by running the engine for hours when I might be just chilling. It also occurs to me now that the reduced engine use will not only save on fuel, but also on servicing costs, so the ROI would not take that many years.

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Are solar panels 'worth it ?'

 

Possibly, possibly not it depends on your circumstances.

Is a bit like a washing machine - is it worth it ? - probably not but it is convenient

Its a bit like a TV - is it worth it ? probably not but it is convenient.

 

There are always alternatives, you can

run the generator

wash your clothes by hand

listen to the radio / read a book

 

It is all a matter of what is important to you, and / or could you spend the money better elsewhere ?

 

The latest "we buy any car" adverts sum it up quite well,

 

"You could probably get more by selling your car privately but can you be arsed putting up with all the tyre kickers, the ones that don't show up, the ones that make you stupid offers, just make your life easy and sell it to We-Buy-Any-Car"

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Are solar panels 'worth it ?'

 

Possibly, possibly not it depends on your circumstances.

Is a bit like a washing machine - is it worth it ? - probably not but it is convenient

Its a bit like a TV - is it worth it ? probably not but it is convenient.

 

There are always alternatives, you can

run the generator

wash your clothes by hand

listen to the radio / read a book

 

It is all a matter of what is important to you, and / or could you spend the money better elsewhere ?

 

The latest "we buy any car" adverts sum it up quite well,

 

"You could probably get more by selling your car privately but can you be arsed putting up with all the tyre kickers, the ones that don't show up, the ones that make you stupid offers, just make your life easy and sell it to We-Buy-Any-Car"

 

We decided on our 3 x 100w panels not primarily for cost savings because we are connected to land power for much of the year. But when we go out for a few months in the summer we often stay in places for a few days and it's great not to have to worry about running the engine to keep the batteries charged.

 

This is especially so on days when we are away from the boat for 8+ hours exploring the area. We are rather power hungry with a large inverter and a 240v fridge/ freezer, so even when away from the boat the batteries are being hammered a bit. Having the panels saves us the worry about needing to get back to the boat to run the engine.

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We decided on our 3 x 100w panels not primarily for cost savings because we are connected to land power for much of the year. But when we go out for a few months in the summer we often stay in places for a few days and it's great not to have to worry about running the engine to keep the batteries charged.

 

This is especially so on days when we are away from the boat for 8+ hours exploring the area. We are rather power hungry with a large inverter and a 240v fridge/ freezer, so even when away from the boat the batteries are being hammered a bit. Having the panels saves us the worry about needing to get back to the boat to run the engine.

 

We have 'solar' and what I find absolutely fascinating is getting up, looking at the meters and seeing I have more electrickery 'in stock' than I had when I went to bed*. (despite the 12v fridge and 220v freezer being on all night)

 

Its magic !!

 

*I guess I had better add 'in the Summer when it is light at 4:00 am', before someone tells me that their panels don't put out anything before they get-up (in the Winter)

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We are not live aboard but go to the boat for three or four days most weeks. This used to mean that when we left the boat the batteries were less than fully charged. For much of the year the panel will top up the batteries giving that long tail charge that is so difficult to do if using the engine or generator. It is only a 100W panel but the installation, done six years ago, has more than paid for itself through increasing the useful life of the batteries, let alone the cost of diesel and engine use. Panels are a lot cheaper now so if I did it again I would probably fit more panels.

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We have 'solar' and what I find absolutely fascinating is getting up, looking at the meters and seeing I have more electrickery 'in stock' than I had when I went to bed*. (despite the 12v fridge and 220v freezer being on all night)

 

Its magic !!

 

*I guess I had better add 'in the Summer when it is light at 4:00 am', before someone tells me that their panels don't put out anything before they get-up (in the Winter)

I am glad I am not the only one obsessed with solar input, still fascinated by the 'magic' 10 years later.

 

Yes to the OP, solar panels are very much worth it if you live aboard. Big savings on diesel spring to autumn and battery conditioning in to the bargain.

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At this time of year we still get very little unless it's a sunny day. On sunny days though we're back up to nearly 100%.

 

At Christmas we were able to visit family for 3-4 days, and come back to batteries at 100% even with the fridge/freezer left on. That is with 1kw of solar though, but that alone makes it worth the expense for us.

 

If I was to guess I'd say taking all expenses into account, including wear and tear on engine/generator, our solar setup paid for itself in 12-18 months. We did get good deal on the panels though - about £100 or so each (4×250w).

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We bought our solar when it was at about £3 per watt for the panels & about £800 (the Outback FM80 controller is £600ish) for all the other bits to go with it.

 

I did a full calc on costs of the solar, power produced & savings made re not running the genny.

 

Using 3kWh per day (aprox 250ah) it took 4 years to repay the full install costs.

 

If we had mains elec it would have taken more like 20 years.

 

With current costs closer to 50p per watt a year would do it even using the FM80.

 

Most boats would use a much cheaper controller but also use less energy per day.

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