Solar Panels - Expensive v Cheap

[B27]

I know a couple of boats with 'full size' panels mounted over the davits.
One is a power cruiser a bit under 40ft, the other is a centre cockpit yacht.

Neeves reckons '330W will hardly allow anyone to live off grid', but different people have different ideas about 'off grid'.
Many people are happy if they can run a fridge and freezer all summer and maybe a microwave now and then.
You can do that with a single panel. Provided that panel is well placed to avoid shade and either horizontal or pointing in a good direction.

Some of the older panels fitted to houses were less than 300W, 16 panels for a 4kW or 3.6kW set was quite common.

 

[Sea Change]

Our domestic size panels are 1.7 x 1m, and two of them form most of the bimini. A further two 100w panels plus a perspex panel fill in the rest. The perspex lets us see the mainsail more easily, and anyway we couldn't find exactly the right combination of solar panel sizes.

A further four 100w dotted about takes us up to 1200w, which is ample for off grid living. We run all of our cooking and other loads from it. No generator, and last plugged in to shore power in the Canaries about 18 months ago.

Our two big panels are quite old and were purchased secondhand. We'd likely get at least another 100w out of the same space today.

 

[dunedin]

Are we talking rigid or semi-flexible panels here? My sense is that rigid panels, of 100w and above, are pretty much a commodity now.
But my sense is that semi-flexible panels (that are better for some on board fitting locations) are more variable in quality and lifespan. Hence we tend to buy these more carefully. Last time the best option was buying from SV4 in Germany and paying the import and delivery charges.

 

[Neeves]

Are we talking rigid or semi-flexible panels here? My sense is that rigid panels, of 100w and above, are pretty much a commodity now.
But my sense is that semi-flexible panels (that are better for some on board fitting locations) are more variable in quality and lifespan. Hence we tend to buy these more carefully. Last time the best option was buying from SV4 in Germany and paying the import and delivery charges.

The thread is about cheap vs expensive, or large fixed inflexible domestic (cheap) or smaller inflexible + flexible (less cheap).

Flexible can largely be located anywhere, but have a reputation for shorter life. As Noelex says large domestic need some form of structure (Bimini?) which might make them less than cheap (and do little for sailing performance) - and for yachts - that's the only location, which might, for some, still be too big for the average yacht.

There is no one size fits all and the pros and cons mean that for many a mix is the best option - which is the route Sea Change has taken.


I note Paul's suggestion of using Google - its a pity he cannot simply take some quick shots of the boats next to him using his phone - to offer real life examples, or even his own boat so that average members here can decide feasibility for their own boat.

Jonathan