How much solar do you have?

[Refueler]

I guess no fridge then

Most boaters on forums like this are not long distance guys ... basically short dist to next pontoon - next port etc. So no need for large output panels ....

But in saying that - the 38 I have - the panel ahead of mast is estimated 40W - maybe 50W max ... its not new - has signs of age at corners ... serves 3 Lead Acids ... and according to previous owner - with reasonable up to 2 - 3 day sensible use - the domestics + solar maintains the fridge and general.

That I suggest is what many would look at ... but of course once the demand and lack of shore power comes in ... the output req'd shoots up dramatically.

When I saw the panel - I casually said to seller ... no fridge then ? His answer : Yes of course there's a fridge - whats' problem ?

 

[geem]

Most boaters on forums like this are not long distance guys ... basically short dist to next pontoon - next port etc. So no need for large output panels ....

But in saying that - the 38 I have - the panel ahead of mast is estimated 40W - maybe 50W max ... its not new - has signs of age at corners ... serves 3 Lead Acids ... and according to previous owner - with reasonable up to 2 - 3 day sensible use - the domestics + solar maintains the fridge and general.

That I suggest is what many would look at ... but of course once the demand and lack of shore power comes in ... the output req'd shoots up dramatically.

When I saw the panel - I casually said to seller ... no fridge then ? His answer : Yes of course there's a fridge - whats' problem ?

My first 27ft boat had a pair of 35w panels. That was 27 years ago. We weren't sailing long distance in those days.

 

[Refueler]

Seems my point flies over their heads again ...

 

[B27]

Most boaters on forums like this are not long distance guys ... basically short dist to next pontoon - next port etc. So no need for large output panels ....

But in saying that - the 38 I have - the panel ahead of mast is estimated 40W - maybe 50W max ... its not new - has signs of age at corners ... serves 3 Lead Acids ... and according to previous owner - with reasonable up to 2 - 3 day sensible use - the domestics + solar maintains the fridge and general.

That I suggest is what many would look at ... but of course once the demand and lack of shore power comes in ... the output req'd shoots up dramatically.

When I saw the panel - I casually said to seller ... no fridge then ? His answer : Yes of course there's a fridge - whats' problem ?

A decent, small, efficeint fridge can run on 25Ah per day.
Typical poorly insulated fridge in a last century production boat might be 100Ah per day.
Three big lead acids can therefore run even an inefficient frdige for a couple of days, if you are willing to discharge fairly deeply.
Many people planning a trip of 3 days or so would either start with some motoring while the fridge is on, or pre-load the frdige with cold/frozen food and some ice blocks.

I think that fridges being commonly fitted in cruiser racers probably started with higher end boats in the 80s? Such boats would be kept in marinas when newer, so start a long weekend with fully charged batteries and don't mind finishing the cruise with well discharged house bank. Non-racing cruisers would probably more often have generators and expect to use them if the fridge was needed.
Certainly when I started sailing yachts, it was quite normal for the use of the fridge to be restricted by the constraints of the house battery when a 'cruiser racer' did its summer cruise.
Off season there would be various antics involving taking batteries home to charge. The boat I crewed on in the 90s acquired a small solar panel, probably about 10 or 15W in about 1992 and it was a moderately costly thing of great wonder, keeping the batteries topped up when the boat was idle.

Also back then, red diesel was cheaper than chips, giving the motor a run to charge the batteries was common practice. I think lead-acid batteries may have been cheaper than today in real terms?, they normally had shorter lives in cars too, and if you could afford a yacht, buying a new house battery every year was just another bill.

 

[noelex]

I don’t see why a thread such as this cannot discuss large and small solar arrays. These both have their place. It seems a little pointless to argue which is more popular.

Small solar arrays are very easily fitted. They do not present the practical challenges associated with the larger systems on boats that have a high electrical consumption. It is therefore not surprising that solving these challenges features heavily in the forum posts.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I don’t see why a thread such as this cannot discuss large and small solar arrays. These both have their place. It seems a little pointless to argue which is more popular.

Small solar arrays are very easily fitted. They do not present the practical challenges associated with the larger systems on boats that have a high electrical consumption. It is therefore not surprising that solving these challenges features heavily in the forum posts.

Agreed. It’s much more about horses for courses than willy waving over the amount of Solar you’ve got or are planning to fit.

 

[Refueler]

I don’t see why a thread such as this cannot discuss large and small solar arrays. These both have their place. It seems a little pointless to argue which is more popular.

Small solar arrays are very easily fitted. They do not present the practical challenges associated with the larger systems on boats that have a high electrical consumption. It is therefore not surprising that solving these challenges features heavily in the forum posts.

No-ones arguing ... just reminding that there are small - medium and large setups ... not to forget they have relevance all ...

 

[Refueler]

Agreed. It’s much more about horses for courses than willy waving over the amount of Solar you’ve got or are planning to fit.

There's only one (or two) who are 'willy waving' on this thread ...

Only bit of your post that is fact : horses for courses ... rest is just words.

 

[geem]

Agreed. It’s much more about horses for courses than willy waving over the amount of Solar you’ve got or are planning to fit.

Solar should suit your load and use. No point in having solar you can't or won't use.
My first boat was very simple. A 27ft boat used for weekend sailing and summer hols. It was kept on a mooring and the solar ensured the batteries were full when we arrived on a .Friday night . We would go home on the Sunday with depleted batteries but they were charging all week. A tiny fridge gave us fresh stuff to eat. We didn't need any more. No we liveaboard we have very different requirements. We spend more time on our boat than in our house by a considerable margin. Having some of the comforts of home that a large solar array provides us is very pleasant

 

[Pete7]

We also started small with 45w of second hand solar which worked and kept the batteries topped up on mooring with no power. However, the revelation came when we installed 300w and an inverter. That enabled the use of a small electric kettle and induction hob which more than halved our gas usage, brilliant

Next came concerns of our then 33 year old gas Atlantic cooker. The grill was rusty and the oven rubbish. Since the only thing holding the gas inside was probably some o rings and worn brass valve components we replaced it with a new gas hob and grill. Then discovered a Remoska, bought second hand for £60. Memsahib turned her nose up at it, that was until I cooked a full roast dinner with it, then suddenly it became the best widget ever. We even bought another for use at home.

Some how we melted our shore power cable, only discovered on arrival in Bembridge for a long weekend. Okay lets go pure electric cooking for 3 days and see what happens. Well, 300w wasn't quite enough but we coped and the batteries took the strain meeting all our needs. Last winter we increased the solar to 590w and added a second LFP battery. Took out the gas grill and added a double induction hob, which works really well in conjunction with the Remoska.

We consider this very much a science project to see what can be achieved on a 31ft yacht. It won't be for everyone, but even some solar and an inverter enables a mix of gas and electric, even if its just using the electric kettle and the reduction in gas means less faffing around changing cylinders.

Roast chicken cooking on sunshine?

 

[Neeves]

As I'm testing a solar panel (for which the controversial power cable was to be used) and needing to use some amps we have turned off our second fridge, at home, and are using our 80l icebox to chill the fruit and veg run off the folding solar panel and setting the icebox to 4 deg C.

Jonathan

 

[Pete7]

As I'm testing a solar panel (for which the controversial power cable was to be used) and needing to use some amps we have turned off our second fridge, at home, and are using our 80l icebox to chill the fruit and veg run off the folding solar panel and setting the icebox to 4 deg C.

Jonathan

You might add a fridge / freezer thermometer. Our second portable fridge / freezer is way off temp so needs a bit of manual adjustment to get 4'c. That or one of those laser temperature guns, also very useful on board.

 

[Refueler]

You might add a fridge / freezer thermometer. Our second portable fridge / freezer is way off temp so needs a bit of manual adjustment to get 4'c. That or one of those laser temperature guns, also very useful on board.

Plenty of Internal / External Temp displays ... I used one on my Peltier box for obvious reasons ... useless at cold stuff ...

 

[Genoa]

Fit the maximum number of watts you reasonably can, but realise that in shaded locations the output will be much less. Try to maximise electrical efficiency as much as possible. This makes a significant difference. Back ups such as propane/diesel cooking provide redundancy, but also mean there are options if cruising in areas with poor solar insolation.

Hi,
Any tips on doing this? What are the quick wins/max attention areas, to get this right?

 

[B27]

Hi,
Any tips on doing this? What are the quick wins/max attention areas, to get this right?

The big wins are the things which use the most energy in a typical day.
For us, that's the fridge, android chartplotter, nav lights (sometimes).
For someone cooking or heating water by electricity, it will be those loads and the systems which supply them.

 

[jac]

Hi,
Any tips on doing this? What are the quick wins/max attention areas, to get this right?

Quick wins are replacing things like incandescent / halogen bulbs with good quality LED. Somewhere like boatlamps.co,uk should help. Other quick wins are things like checking the thermostat on the fridge, cleaning the cooling fins on the fridge compressor and improving air flow over them and turning down the brightness of any MFDs.

Max attention is really on high usage items mainly fridges. if you can improve the insulation around it it will help. Other items there is not much one can do - they use whatever power they do so shop round wisely when replacing anything.

Other side is charging efficiency, so do you have a smart regulator on the alternator for when the engine is in use, reduce shade on solar panels and also clean them regularly/ replace if they get crazed ( flexible panels)

 

[patrickza]

I suspect I'm not in the target market for the question, but I have 3200W of solar, but it moves the boat through the two electric motors (over 200NM one particularly busy week), makes water, heats water, cooks food, runs the washing machine, charges the dingy electric outboard, runs the Starlink, two laptops and even my wife's hairdryer when she needs it. Spent one month unbroken at anchor and even when in marinas I haven't plugged in once this season. And before I get accused of being a brilliant sailor, I haven't been able to use the sails yet, as I couldn't get a rigger to raise the boom in July, and I didn't want to miss the sailing season.

My feeling is to always add as much solar power as you practically can. Your batteries shouldn't run anything on the boat, they're there as a buffer for when there's no sun.

 

[Genoa]

The big wins are the things which use the most energy in a typical day.
For us, that's the fridge, android chartplotter, nav lights (sometimes).
For someone cooking or heating water by electricity, it will be those loads and the systems which supply them.

Quick wins are replacing things like incandescent / halogen bulbs with good quality LED. Somewhere like boatlamps.co,uk should help. Other quick wins are things like checking the thermostat on the fridge, cleaning the cooling fins on the fridge compressor and improving air flow over them and turning down the brightness of any MFDs.

Max attention is really on high usage items mainly fridges. if you can improve the insulation around it it will help. Other items there is not much one can do - they use whatever power they do so shop round wisely when replacing anything.

Other side is charging efficiency, so do you have a smart regulator on the alternator for when the engine is in use, reduce shade on solar panels and also clean them regularly/ replace if they get crazed ( flexible panels)

thank you both.
I was wondering also about cable sizing and connection types when fitting a replacement/upgrade set of panels.
if you are on shorepower as well, what is the best way of prioritising your solar input over shorepower input?

 

[Kelpie]

thank you both.
I was wondering also about cable sizing and connection types when fitting a replacement/upgrade set of panels.

It's easy to lose a lot of power through bad connections and undersized cables. It's worth keeping an eye on your system and if it seems to be underperforming, inspect the cabling and connections for loose wires or corrosion.

One major advantage of bigger panels is that they operate at ~32v which provides much better efficiency without having to use ridiculous cable sizes.

 

[lustyd]

One major advantage of bigger panels is that they operate at ~32v which provides much better efficiency without having to use ridiculous cable sizes.

putting small panels in series achieves the same. Larger panels just add more strings of cells in series.