One for solar geeks

[Chiara’s slave]

We have 6 times that on the roof at home, and here in uk we’ll make about the same on a moderately sunny day near the winter solstice. Sun is in very short supply.

 

[Sea Change]

"Analysis without numbers is opinion" - Akin's first law.

Stick your location in here:
https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/tools.html
and you can see the estimated PV output for each month of the year. It will tell you the optimum angle and orientation for your array, and your can play around with different angles and see what the effect is.

 

[geem]

It does require some well planned systems, but it is not impossible.

We spent a couple of winters at anchor during COVID in Scotland.

Not with our electrical cooking. We would need to charge the lithium with the generator. Living aboard in a UK winter, I really would be happy not to have gas for cooking as it adds to the general humidity so maybe running the generator for an hour every other day wouldn't be so bad

 

[geem]

You want LFP to reach full, or very nearly, in order to allow the cells to balance. But it doesn't have to happen very often. A couple of times a month should generally be sufficient.

We have been running out of uses for the solar. Baked bread, made muffins, cooking meals, pots of tea, ran the watermaker and the immersion heater and as you can see, we have still gone into float rather a lot
Better to have too much capacity than not enough

 

[Sea Change]

We have been running out of uses for the solar. Baked bread, made muffins, cooking meals, pots of tea, ran the watermaker and the immersion heater and as you can see, we have still gone into float rather a lot
Better to have too much capacity than not enough

Get a Torqueedo?
Maybe not ideal for foiling practice...

 

[geem]

Get a Torqueedo?
Maybe not ideal for foiling practice...

I couldn't ever get used to going that slow in my dinghy

 

[noelex]

Not with our electrical cooking. We would need to charge the lithium with the generator. Living aboard in a UK winter, I really would be happy not to have gas for cooking as it adds to the general humidity so maybe running the generator for an hour every other day wouldn't be so bad

Agreed, without a generator, or plugging into shore power frequently, electric cooking is generally not viable even in areas with moderately poor solar insulation. In Scotland during winter there is no hope.

Most of our cooking and water heating when we wintered in Scotland was done on top of a Reflex diesel heater which is the ideal solution. No moisture problems or dependency on a generator. As it does not consume any electricity it was also helpful in saving our limited solar power compared to other forms of heat.

 

[noelex]

You were presumably cooking on gas?

See above.

We used the Reflex heater for most of our cooking (so burning diesel directly). We did still occasionally use some gas for items that did not cook well on the Reflex.

The combination of three inches of insulation, the diesel heater, and good ventilation keeps our boat very dry, so the gas cooking did not create any moisture issues for us, but it would be a concern for some boats, especially if this was the sole means of heating food.

 

[geem]

Agreed, without a generator, or plugging into shore power frequently, electric cooking is generally not viable even in areas with moderately poor solar insulation. In Scotland during winter there is no hope.

Most of our cooking and water heating when we wintered in Scotland was done on top of a Reflex diesel heater which is the ideal solution. No moisture problems or dependency on a generator. As it does not consume any electricity it was also helpful in saving our limited solar power compared to other forms of heat.

We have a Webasto hydronic for heating and hot water. The heating is of no use here in the Caribbean but the hot water heating can be very useful. 5.2kw of hot water heating instead of 850w from our immersion heater is very quick. We normally use the immersion heater and imverter when we have sufficient solar

 

[Sea Change]

See above.

We used the Reflex heater for most of our cooking (so burning diesel directly). We did still occasionally use some gas for items that did not cook well on the Reflex.

The combination of three inches of insulation, the diesel heater, and good ventilation keeps our boat very dry, so the gas cooking did not create any moisture issues for us, but it would be a concern for some boats, especially if this was the sole means of heating food.

I do admire your grit, living over winter at anchor in Scotland.
I've lived here all my life (minus the time spent bluewater) and I'll confess that I have absolutely no desire to spend a winter afloat in this climate.

 

[noelex]

I do admire your grit, living over winter at anchor in Scotland.
I've lived here all my life (minus the time spent bluewater) and I'll confess that I have absolutely no desire to spend a winter afloat in this climate.

We spent two winters there during Covid. Our options to sail to other countries were limited, but we really enjoyed the Hebrides. The scenery and wildlife were spectacular, and it made it special that there were no other boats.

The drawbacks were frequent gales and storms and the short daylight hours.

 

[lustyd]

I do admire your grit, living over winter at anchor in Scotland.
I've lived here all my life (minus the time spent bluewater) and I'll confess that I have absolutely no desire to spend a winter afloat in this climate.

If it makes you feel any better we ran from Scotland in September and we’re drowning in the Plymouth rain! Probably slightly warmer, and we have real well stocked chandleries, but I’m not convinced the weather is better.

 

[Sea Change]

If it makes you feel any better we ran from Scotland in September and we’re drowning in the Plymouth rain! Probably slightly warmer, and we have real well stocked chandleries, but I’m not convinced the weather is better.

Much better for solar though

 

[lustyd]

Much better for solar though

I’ll let you know if we ever see the sun again

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’ll let you know if we ever see the sun again

We’ve had it here, 130 miles east of you. We made 3.85Kw today.

 

[geem]

We’ve had it here, 130 miles east of you. We made 3.85Kw today.

Is that your house or your boat?
We area few thousand miles south and west of you and we made over 5kWh

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Is that your house or your boat?
We area few thousand miles south and west of you and we made over 5kWh

That’s the house, with 2 x 3Kw arrays. We had unbroken sunshine. At this time of year they are partially shaded til 11.30, sunset is at 4pm. The battery is what saves us money in winter. We have 16kw of storage, Xmas cooking is covered. Cheap rate charging at 7p/Kwh for 6 hours.