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Solar Panels


Titania

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For some time now, I have been considering solar panels.

Since the rain stopped and the sun came out, I've been thinking about it again. I've surfed the tinternet but there are so many types out there and so many different prices, its all a bit confusing.

 

Any advice ??

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For some time now, I have been considering solar panels.

Since the rain stopped and the sun came out, I've been thinking about it again. I've surfed the tinternet but there are so many types out there and so many different prices, its all a bit confusing.

 

Any advice ??

[/quote

 

All I can say is that I went through this over the last couple of years, Finally, at Crick, I bought a single 60 watt panel from A R Butt. I chose this one because it is long and thin so you can walk up the roof on either side of it. I also have some reservations about the rate of efficiency loss as the Unisolar ones age.

 

This is coupled with one of the "expensive" Stecca controllers that is supposed to do an equalisation charge.

 

The only purposes of installing this was to keep the domestic bank fully charged over the winter and to re-charge (hopefully to a greater extent than on the alternator) when we left the boat and went home.

 

Then panel is mounted horizontally on the roof which I know will reduce its efficiency, but it is far more difficult to steal when fitted in that way.

 

Into a 295Ah bank with 2 suspect 110 batteries.

 

During "normal" cruising, running the engine for between 3 and 6 hours a day: - between 20 and 30 amp hours per sunny day.

 

Ditto on "wet Friday":- about 5 Ah.

 

Typical charge this summer say 20 Ah per day.

 

Highest noted midday (GMT) input - 3.4 amps

Lowest noted midday input:- 0.5 amps

 

Maximum output at 16.30 BST in June:- 1.9 amps

Typical output at about 08.00 BST in July:- 0.8 amps

 

Battery voltage when returning to the boat after a week or so away:- 13.6 volts dropping to about 12.7 when it gets dark with fridge on.

 

Typical battery voltage at 08.00 BST in June with Shoreline fridge on and Alde on, but all radiators turned off . Both over night:- 12.5 volts.

 

I think it is doing what I want. I believe a 120 watt installation will supply a boat with a compressor electric fridge and not much else during the summer months.

 

I do not think solar is economic for supplying anything but a simple, gas fridge boat during the winter months.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Tony Brooks

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Even though we sell the stuff I have to agree with Tony on this one, the dream and the hype out weigh there usefulness.

 

If you are very frugal with your electrical consumption or very green orientated then they might make some sense but on the boats we build (Which aren't that much different spec from most!) the amount of charge provided wouldn't really be worth the effort let alone the initial outlay.

 

Anyway that's my view based on the way I would want to live on a boat others with different lifestyles will probably have a different one! :)

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How about a couple of 5W panels from Maplins for £30 each.

 

These will keep your batteries topped up whilst away from the boat, depending how long you use the boat for!!!!!

 

If you are a live-aboard please disregard my ramblings, as these would be neither use nor ornament. You will need to spend at least a grand to get anything worthwhile!!

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For some time now, I have been considering solar panels.

Since the rain stopped and the sun came out, I've been thinking about it again. I've surfed the tinternet but there are so many types out there and so many different prices, its all a bit confusing.

 

Any advice ??

 

Hi. I have 2 Kyrocera panels. Both are 85W and, unlike many panels, are not sourced from China (important if you care about human rights). I got mine through Rumi Mohideen, based in Oxford, but can get stuff delivered to you. (I'll find his website and add it on at the end).

(I've posted some installation pics on my blog on this forum).

I can only speak for my own experience and I fall into that category mentioned of low-usage (don't have a telly and only run the fridge when it's hot, cos I don't need it for meat/dairy), but my panels have been the best buy I've made since getting the boat. I run my laptop off them in the summer, without running the engine. Can't do that in the winter, though you still get enough lecky for lights, music, phone-charging in winter. If I stop for a few days, I don't run the engine at all. It depends what kind of life you want to live on your boat, I guess. I like the frugality of boat life! I don't want it to be the same as a house! If I needed more power, I could get a wind turbine and generator, but I don't. Hope that helps!

 

www.sustainable-systems.co.uk

Edited by Carrie
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How about a couple of 5W panels from Maplins for £30 each.

 

These will keep your batteries topped up whilst away from the boat, depending how long you use the boat for!!!!!

 

If you are a live-aboard please disregard my ramblings, as these would be neither use nor ornament. You will need to spend at least a grand to get anything worthwhile!!

 

 

I expect 10w of panels would keep the a modest battery bank topped up, but with a typical sunny day output (based on my figures) of about 3.5 Ah and less than 1 Ah under cloud I can not see them making any sort of significant progress to wards recharging partially discharged batteries over the 4 days between Sunday and the next Friday.

 

I expect they would do gradually recharge the bank over the winter, but which has the major effect first - the charging or the sulphation is open to question. However they will be better than nothing.

 

The object of my test with the 60w panel is to see if it prevents the battery bank deterioration to such an extent it really should be changed every 2.5 to 3 years. If successful the installation will have paid for itself over a comparative short time span and also make it economic to buy expensive batteries than should last even longer.

 

Tony Brooks

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Solar panels are great, they are virtually maintenance free, silent power with no requirement for fuels of any kind, you can charge your mobile phone on top of a mountain.

 

In terms of power per pound (£) however they are very poor indeed. Watching a BBC 2 type programme a bloke was explaining the economics of a power station, whether conventional or nuclear. To compete, he said you would need to be able to produce metre square solar panels, fully installed for £1 each.

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Some neighbours of mine have recently installed a big (approx 120w?) panel on their roof. They reckon it'll be able to supply all their consumption needs when they go cruising including inverter powered appliances, even without engine recharging. I've no idea whether they can achieve this or not, but my only observation is that if it were the case then why haven't they just unplugged their shore power while at the mooring?

Edited by blackrose
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In terms of power per pound (£) however they are very poor indeed. Watching a BBC 2 type programme a bloke was explaining the economics of a power station, whether conventional or nuclear. To compete, he said you would need to be able to produce metre square solar panels, fully installed for £1 each.

 

Well let's hope they soon become much cheaper, because at the moment they seem to be a bit of a lifestyle choice which in purely economic terms can take decades to pay for themselves (if they last that long). Even in environmental terms, as far as I understand it's still unclear whether the panels can produce as much power over their lifespan as has gone into their production & distribution.

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I'd say most people I know who get them, have them for environmental reasons, it's true you don't really recoup the cost. But I do think we'll see the price of panels plummet. We've seen it happen with laptops, digital cameras etc.....

 

My brother told me theres been some kind of technological breakthrough recently.

 

I think this is it: new technology.

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Well, I've said it before and I've said it again...

We bought our 2x64w Unisolar panels in January for £490. We used to run the engine for around an hour a day. Now we don't run it at all. I worked out that they will pay for themselves with two years in terms of diesel, minus a bit because of saved engine wear. Worth their weight in gold I reckon.

Plus I've just installed our new solar panel for the hot water. Will let y'all know how it goes...

:)

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Well, I've said it before and I've said it again...

We bought our 2x64w Unisolar panels in January for £490. We used to run the engine for around an hour a day. Now we don't run it at all. I worked out that they will pay for themselves with two years in terms of diesel, minus a bit because of saved engine wear. Worth their weight in gold I reckon.

Plus I've just installed our new solar panel for the hot water. Will let y'all know how it goes...

:)

 

 

And if you add to that the fact that they can spend long periods dealing with that last 5% of discharge that has been mentioned on other threads you may well be able to factor in fewer battery purchases - especially if you do not have shoreline charging.

 

Tony Brooks

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Well, I've said it before and I've said it again...

We bought our 2x64w Unisolar panels in January for £490. We used to run the engine for around an hour a day. Now we don't run it at all. I worked out that they will pay for themselves with two years in terms of diesel, minus a bit because of saved engine wear. Worth their weight in gold I reckon.

Plus I've just installed our new solar panel for the hot water. Will let y'all know how it goes...

:)

 

 

... Please do! I'm thinking of getting a water heating panel instead of a 3rd solar panel as the main drawback of being self-sufficient with solar PV is a lack of hot water. The're A LOT cheaper and more efficient too. I'd love to know how it's mounted. A bit of a pain I imagine what with all the pipe work, especially if you want to be able to reposition the panel.

 

Does it feed a coil in your calorifier, or does it store water in a tank above the panel? Do you need a pump or is it fed by convection?

 

PS. Don't worry about your panels being nicked by some chavvy from your roof. It only cost me an extra fiver a year to insure £1100 worth of panels from theft.

 

Oh, and also I have a Ledgard Bridge boat and all the latest power-hungry gizmos and I am self sufficient (on a sunny day). No electric kettle, but you can get away with a toaster and a hair dryer if the weather is good!

 

Solar panels generate as much energy as is used in their manufacture in 3 years, and should pay for themselves in 8 - 10 years. Well maintained good-quality panels should last 30 years, by maintenance I mean cleaning them and making sure the glass seals are in good nick.

 

I'd would love to have a nuclear powered boat, a fuel pellet the size of a sheeps poo would power my boat for a year, but untill I can lay my hands on a decomissioned Russian Sub I think Solar and wind will have to do.

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I'd would love to have a nuclear powered boat, a fuel pellet the size of a sheeps poo would power my boat for a year, but untill I can lay my hands on a decomissioned Russian Sub I think Solar and wind will have to do.

 

Get a decent sized sea-searcher magnet and I'm sure you'll find one somewhere! :)

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Hi. I have 2 Kyrocera panels. Both are 85W and, unlike many panels, are not sourced from China (important if you care about human rights). I got mine through Rumi Mohideen, based in Oxford, but can get stuff delivered to you. (I'll find his website and add it on at the end).

(I've posted some installation pics on my blog on this forum).

I can only speak for my own experience and I fall into that category mentioned of low-usage (don't have a telly and only run the fridge when it's hot, cos I don't need it for meat/dairy), but my panels have been the best buy I've made since getting the boat. I run my laptop off them in the summer, without running the engine. Can't do that in the winter, though you still get enough lecky for lights, music, phone-charging in winter. If I stop for a few days, I don't run the engine at all. It depends what kind of life you want to live on your boat, I guess. I like the frugality of boat life! I don't want it to be the same as a house! If I needed more power, I could get a wind turbine and generator, but I don't. Hope that helps!

 

www.sustainable-systems.co.uk

 

 

I have one of the above panels and am delighted with it. It runs my fridge in summer and my lights etc, I too am of the low-usage electrical category. I bought them from the same place as Carrie and was delighted with the delivery and the process of ordering (Rumi was very helpful indeed) and the advice on installing them is also available if it is required.

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there's a place for everything ..........if you need a constant supply of power in a remote mountain-top instrument station, or to power a warning sign on a remote rural road, then solar power is the answer. But it seems a bit premature to think it could provide a viable alternative to alternators or mains shore power.Having said that, I am arranging a 5W unit just to keep my engine battery topped up when I am away.

...................... not sourced from China (important if you care about human rights).
:) I never quite understand the logic of this viewpoint. Would the working children or the poorly paid adults in China be better or worse off if we didn't buy their goods? Having worked in places like India and Burma (Myanmar) I would only consider boycotting goods if I knew the labour was actually forced to work for low on no wages, but not if it was simply market forces that kept their wages low. I am not aware if true forced labour happens in 'private industry' China, are you? Edited by chris polley
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I fitted a 30Watt BP Solar Panel flat onto Jannock's roof several years ago. As we only weekend around the system the panel does a great job of keeping the cabin batteries (3 x 110a/h) topped up so we can arrive on a Friday night and survive without flattening the batteries during the first night. It also makes up for the couple of items on board that constantly draw current when we are not cruising. We have also found that we do not need to run the engine so often when moored up at rallies etc. even with the fridge on 24h/day. The panel was 2nd hand when I obtained it and worth every penny. :)

 

Graham

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We have two Unisolar ES62 Panels feeding a 360 AH battery bank and find that they generally keep pace with fridge, pumps, lights, telly etc. They certainly allow us to moor up without running the engine for several days, but we are not heavy users of electricity. In the winter obviously they are much less productive but then the fridge takes less power too.

 

I'm not sure of the economical payback. Main advantage as others have said is providing enough power to avoid running the engine when moored up for a few days, and also keeping the batteries fully charged when away from the boat, even in winter.

 

I'm told that these panels use Triple Junction Technology. No idea what that means in technical terms, but its supposed to be better for the UK climate giving higher output than other panels in overcast conditions. I've seen our two panels produce 6 amps in slightly overcast conditions and 9 amps in full sunlight at midday, but only of course with appropriate load or depleted batteries to take that sort of output. Panels are mounted flat, although the curve of the roof gives them a slight lift (assuming that we moor the right way round...).

 

My verdict - wouldn't be without them. Well worth the £500 ish for panels and controller. But if you're the type of boater who wants to use an automatic washer and a microwave through a huge inverter then they won't do much for you.

 

John Stevens MV Sara.

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I bought a 40W panel from AB Butt 2 years a go and fitted it bolted horizontally to the roof. This feeds into a regulator then 3x110ah cabin batteries and then via a trickle charge also topping up the engine start battery when the voltage on this drop below the cabin voltage.

 

I also fall into the low electrical useage category but I do find it helps keep the battery topped up.

 

More importantly for us it also means that it keeps our batteries topped up when we have to leave the boat so that when we can take it out again the batteries are fully charged without using a land line connection.

 

Financially it does not yet make sense but for ease of use and the end result it works for us. My next step will be to add a further 40W panel to give us more power.

 

I also like the idea of the solar powered device which heats up and then blows in air into the boat to stop or reduce condesation forming when the boat is left. I cannot remember the name but will look it out from the press.

 

I like the idea about using the solar powered water heating but not yet sure if that is practical on a boat unless you are static. Please prove me wrong.

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  • 1 month later...
I bought a 13w solar suitcase type panel from Maplins recently, they were doing them half price for £60. It's a fairly cheap way of having a play with solar panels to make your own mind up.

I like mine.

Hi

I use 2 x 15watt X 12volt nominal solar cell panels on my 40 foot narrowboat. (size. approx. 1ft X 3ft)

 

They are connected up in parallel giving nominal currant output of watts= volts X amps so watts divided by volts =amps which in my case =2.5amps.

This charges through a regulator 3 X 156amp lead/acid batteries which run a Halfords 500watt inverter.

I admitt I am a low power user but I have only ever charged these batteries from the sun.

Yes! Solar power is the way to go but be careful on the type of solar cell you buy.

I found 2 types of solar panel ( I bet there are more)

The common type are fine in bright sunshine but in overcast conditions as we find mostly in Great Britain

struggle to meet there nominal voltage. (Less volts lower output amps).

The second type are called Amorphous solar cells which give more output with lower light levels.

Now the down side.

They are not cheap. I bought my panels from Sunshine Solar Ltd for £179.90 + £20.98 for a regulator.

 

You want to use solar power to reduce condensation when the boat is not in use?

Hmm! It might be cheaper to find out what is causing the condensation.

My boat is cruiser style so the engine is outside the living area but my boat is always dry when not in use (all windows shut). I have 5 mushroom roof vents, 1 gas heater vent and large door vents forward and aft, the hull is dry and the shower and window frames are sealed. It is usually cold inside in winter but the air is dry.

 

I hope I have not offended you in any way.

Regards

Stylus

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