- Joined
- Mar 17, 2012
- Messages
- 4,407
- Location
- Australia
- Vessel Name
- Insequent
- Vessel Make
- Ocean Alexander 50 Mk I
I modified my solar set-up in July, and a few days later set off northwards for a cruise. So I thought it might be of value to summarize the performance of the new system over the 3 month period under normal or real life conditions.
But first, my old configuration was 7 x 260W Suniva panels, 2 x Outback FlexMax 80 charge controllers and a house bank of 1284 Ah, AGM batteries. The main issue was that several of the panels suffered from shading quite often, and I seldom achieved 500Ah power generation even on good days.
I changed three things. I swapped over to 6 x 345W Sunpower panels, and reconfigured the panel placement to significantly reduce shading issues. I also added an Outback Mate 3 to ensure each FlexMax achieved the most it could from the 3 panels they were connected to, without ‘fighting’ with the other charge controller. The shading aspect was quite a task as I needed to relocate a satellite dish, airhorns and two GPS antennae. I removed a motor driven searchlight as well that is yet to be re-installed. Increased performance is partly due to higher installed total wattage as well as shading avoidance. And perhaps panel brand performance.
I am delighted with the results. Maximum charge amperage to date is 171.3A (@ 12V nominal), which was surprising given that the FlexMax controllers are each limited to 80A. I guess they can tolerate higher output for a short period. At that current, power output was 2300W, which for a nominal 2070W of installed capacity is also surprising. After all, the panels are mounted flat and not at the optimum angle. Maximum power generation achieved in one day was 734Ah.
The graph attached shows that high daily Ah generation is not uncommon. Surprisingly it usually doesn’t occur on days when the instantaneous output is very high. The days when very high current/power maximum occurred were invariably when it rained in the morning but there was a period of sunlight near the middle of the day, or during the few days following some rainy weather. It seems that rain clears the lower atmosphere of fine particulates, and much better power generation is then possible. It is probably 30% more, at least when there are gaps in the cloud cover.
Some figures are as follows:
Total time period 94 days.
Days at dock on shore power – 23. Power generation on those days was typically 100 – 300 Ah.
Of the remaining 71 days, 44 were steaming for at least 2 hours and 27 were anchored with no engine time at all.
I should also note that my only generator is a Honda 2000, which I used twice on the trip for a total run-time of 5 hours.
For the 94 days I averaged 423Ah per day from solar. Taking out the days at the dock when the solar charge controllers are at ‘Float’ for extended periods the average daily output increases to 483Ah.
Of the 71 days steaming or at anchor the house bank went into float on 33 days. Typically this was when steaming, but it also occurred at anchor, particularly if I had been steaming the day before. If I ignore days where there was any period of ‘float’, the average daily solar output was 500Ah.
I still get some shading. The hardtop can shade the lower 2 panels when my bow has a southerly orientation. Also at that bow orientation, and particularly early morning or late afternoon, the mast and its conglomeration of antennae and other devices will partly shade some of the 4 upper panels. As well, the 20’ VHF antennae, one on either side of the hardtop, will cause a narrow strip of shading. I can lower them to alleviate that, but seldom did so. The attached pic shows panel layout. It was taken from the 13th floor of an apartment for sale, and demonstrates how the lower panels can still be partly shaded.
My conclusion after the ‘3 month test’ is that the new Sunpower panels are performing brilliantly.
But first, my old configuration was 7 x 260W Suniva panels, 2 x Outback FlexMax 80 charge controllers and a house bank of 1284 Ah, AGM batteries. The main issue was that several of the panels suffered from shading quite often, and I seldom achieved 500Ah power generation even on good days.
I changed three things. I swapped over to 6 x 345W Sunpower panels, and reconfigured the panel placement to significantly reduce shading issues. I also added an Outback Mate 3 to ensure each FlexMax achieved the most it could from the 3 panels they were connected to, without ‘fighting’ with the other charge controller. The shading aspect was quite a task as I needed to relocate a satellite dish, airhorns and two GPS antennae. I removed a motor driven searchlight as well that is yet to be re-installed. Increased performance is partly due to higher installed total wattage as well as shading avoidance. And perhaps panel brand performance.
I am delighted with the results. Maximum charge amperage to date is 171.3A (@ 12V nominal), which was surprising given that the FlexMax controllers are each limited to 80A. I guess they can tolerate higher output for a short period. At that current, power output was 2300W, which for a nominal 2070W of installed capacity is also surprising. After all, the panels are mounted flat and not at the optimum angle. Maximum power generation achieved in one day was 734Ah.
The graph attached shows that high daily Ah generation is not uncommon. Surprisingly it usually doesn’t occur on days when the instantaneous output is very high. The days when very high current/power maximum occurred were invariably when it rained in the morning but there was a period of sunlight near the middle of the day, or during the few days following some rainy weather. It seems that rain clears the lower atmosphere of fine particulates, and much better power generation is then possible. It is probably 30% more, at least when there are gaps in the cloud cover.
Some figures are as follows:
Total time period 94 days.
Days at dock on shore power – 23. Power generation on those days was typically 100 – 300 Ah.
Of the remaining 71 days, 44 were steaming for at least 2 hours and 27 were anchored with no engine time at all.
I should also note that my only generator is a Honda 2000, which I used twice on the trip for a total run-time of 5 hours.
For the 94 days I averaged 423Ah per day from solar. Taking out the days at the dock when the solar charge controllers are at ‘Float’ for extended periods the average daily output increases to 483Ah.
Of the 71 days steaming or at anchor the house bank went into float on 33 days. Typically this was when steaming, but it also occurred at anchor, particularly if I had been steaming the day before. If I ignore days where there was any period of ‘float’, the average daily solar output was 500Ah.
I still get some shading. The hardtop can shade the lower 2 panels when my bow has a southerly orientation. Also at that bow orientation, and particularly early morning or late afternoon, the mast and its conglomeration of antennae and other devices will partly shade some of the 4 upper panels. As well, the 20’ VHF antennae, one on either side of the hardtop, will cause a narrow strip of shading. I can lower them to alleviate that, but seldom did so. The attached pic shows panel layout. It was taken from the 13th floor of an apartment for sale, and demonstrates how the lower panels can still be partly shaded.
My conclusion after the ‘3 month test’ is that the new Sunpower panels are performing brilliantly.
