Tilting Solar Panel Ideas?

[Tim Good]

I'm having a new Solar panel Array being built and rather than just put them flat I'm toying with ways to tilt them. Initially I came up with this but curious if there are other ideas out there? This version only allows tilting forward and aft.

 

[Foolish Muse]

The idea is good, but any mechanical devices like your drawings would have a very tough time holding up to the rigors of ocean sailing. I figure that everything on my boat must be able to withstand me standing, kneeling or falling on it. Your brackets would break if you even leaned on them slightly.
The number one piece of advice for solar panels is to make sure there are no shadows (from a radar, bimini, etc) on any part of the panel. Covering even 1/4 of the panel eliminates all charging.

 

[Tim Good]

The idea is good, but any mechanical devices like your drawings would have a very tough time holding up to the rigors of ocean sailing. I figure that everything on my boat must be able to withstand me standing, kneeling or falling on it. Your brackets would break if you even leaned on them slightly.
The number one piece of advice for solar panels is to make sure there are no shadows (from a radar, bimini, etc) on any part of the panel. Covering even 1/4 of the panel eliminates all charging.

I was intending to have lock small bits to lock them down when conditions get up. A lot of the tilting would be done at anchor I think. Not much I can do about the shading to be fair but being off the back it should be minimised.

 

[Kelpie]

I take it these will be mounted above your bimini?
Personally I wouldn't bother with the complication of making them tilting. It would be a lot of hassle with the size of panels I am assuming you are having.

I have a relatively small 50w panel myself, which is just held down using using bungees tied through holes in the frame. It takes a few seconds to unclip these and then you can position the panel wherever you like, propped up with the boathook. I wouldn't fancy doing it with a bigger panel though.

 

[Tradewinds]

Way over-complicated IMO.

Simple friction rail mounts on stainless tube which can be tilted.

In any case, I think you'll find that you might end up leaving them almost horizontal 90% of the time like me (lazy).

My arrangement on 1" S/S tube (OK not the same no. of panels) was 1st put up in the Caribbean 20 years ago and it still works well today.

I agree about the rigours of ocean sailing. My arrangement has stood up to some pretty strong conditions both wind and sea (note: it is braced by cord stays which are attached to a cleat on the S/S tube and adjustable to any angle).

Anyhow, just my 2p worth

 

[GrahamM376]

Very simple fore and aft tilt, the bolts have enough friction to hold it where I want but can pin it if necessary.

View attachment 56060

 

[Russ the Diver]

I'm having a new Solar panel Array being built and rather than just put them flat I'm toying with ways to tilt them. Initially I came up with this but curious if there are other ideas out there? This version only allows tilting forward and aft.

I have two mounted side by side that are on pivots, Ill try and take some photo's at the weekend and post for you.
They work really well
Russ

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

Why tilt them?
If they were solar water heaters then, yes, tilting them according to the latitude would make sense. However, photo-voltaic cells depend on the light that falls on them, not the heat from the sun. I would say that leaving the panels horizontally would be just as efficient as tilting them.
The only advantage that I can see for tilting them (on land) is to allow for hosing down of bird droppings or other dirt.

 

[TQA]

Why tilt them?
If they were solar water heaters then, yes, tilting them according to the latitude would make sense. However, photo-voltaic cells depend on the light that falls on them, not the heat from the sun. I would say that leaving the panels horizontally would be just as efficient as tilting them.
The only advantage that I can see for tilting them (on land) is to allow for hosing down of bird droppings or other dirt.

NOPE It is definitely worth tilting them to follow the sun. About 70% more energy in my experience.

 

[Tim Good]

Why tilt them? . I would say that leaving the panels horizontally would be just as efficient as tilting them.

Not so. Even a sun low in the sky can produce a good amount of amps if you can tilt your panels. My current setup allows tilting backwards only and when I get the chance to tilt them it certainly does make a difference. We'll be living aboard soon and long term I think the tilt will pay dividends.

 

[William_H]

I would think that a permanent tilt of 30 degrees would be excellent. However then more critical is the direction they face.
So really you need them on a turntable or rotating base so they can be aligned to the south (for northern hemisphere) and preferably swung to the east and later in the day west to keep sun perpendicular to the panel surface. This all is important for a swing mooring or at anchor. If you have a mooring where the boat is always fixed in one direction you just set the panels up with tilt to face south.
So much depends on the space you have for panels as it may be cheaper/easier to buy excess panel capacity and have panels flat for all directions of sun. If you have room. good luck olewill

 

[Kelpie]

It depends on what latitude you are at.
In the Tropics, horizontal may be just fine. Up here a bit of an angle can give a real boost.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Why tilt them?
If they were solar water heaters then, yes, tilting them according to the latitude would make sense. However, photo-voltaic cells depend on the light that falls on them, not the heat from the sun. I would say that leaving the panels horizontally would be just as efficient as tilting them.
The only advantage that I can see for tilting them (on land) is to allow for hosing down of bird droppings or other dirt.

NOPE It is definitely worth tilting them to follow the sun. About 70% more energy in my experience.

Yes. I have a domestic array, and the slope of the roof was a factor in computing the expected output. Fortunately, in the UK the slant of a roof is quite close to the average tilt for best performance! Of course, flat is actually nearer the optimum for tropical climes.

In an ideal world, we'd have tracking mounts so the panel remained perpendicular to the sun's rays at all times. However, that really is a complication too far, even for commercial arrays out in the fenland fields!

 

[macd]

Why tilt them?
If they were solar water heaters then, yes, tilting them according to the latitude would make sense. However, photo-voltaic cells depend on the light that falls on them, not the heat from the sun. I would say that leaving the panels horizontally would be just as efficient as tilting them.
The only advantage that I can see for tilting them (on land) is to allow for hosing down of bird droppings or other dirt.

Euclid wouldn't have known much about solar panels, but he'd have spotted that for poppycock. A panel tilted towards the sun intercepts more of its rays than one at an acute angle. Simple.

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

I think that I would do something more like a pan and tilt head on a scissor car jack

 

[Billjratt]

Nobody has mentioned the gale yet...
So, make sure they are secure. Then probably tilted to the mean of sun's altitude (which means a slope- good for rain/hose cleaning of hawkshyte) and, if you have a marina berth, facing the noon Sun (N or S). If you're at anchor you accept the loss unless you track the rays -impractical.
Any shadow breaking the serial sequence of the cells * will have a detrimental effect, so your mast and boom ( and your neighbours!) have to be taken into consideration in a static (marina)situation. Probably the best thing you can do to reduce the load on them (in my experiance) is to make sure the fridge is as efficient as possible. Happy G&Ts.

Note * these panels usually consist of several rows each with nine cells in series. The rows themselves are in parallel, so your panel will probably have 9 x ? cells.
Any cell in the dark breaks the 'chain' of a serial circuit, so a relatively thin shadow across all rows is catastrophically undesirable, whereas just one serial row disabled could give a 20 -25 percent drop in output. Think shadows and enjoy your driftin'

 

[macd]

Then probably tilted to the mean of sun's altitude (which means a slope- good for rain/hose cleaning of hawkshyte) and, if you have a marina berth, facing the noon Sun (N or S). If you're at anchor you accept the loss unless you track the rays -impractical.

The OP's started several threads about kitting his boat for, I think, a circumnavigation, including periods well south of the equator. So whatever system he comes up with, it will need to be versatile.

 

[Tradewinds]

Nobody has mentioned the gale yet...
So, make sure they are secure.

See #5

 

[KAM]

When I looked at tilting my panels the cost of even a home made mechanism exceeded the cost and weight of the panels. I just bought more panels and spread them about the boat. Gives some redundancy and helps with shadows. The panels do have a tilt but this is so water flows off and does not wick into the panel edges.

 

[ghostlymoron]

It depends on what latitude you are at.
In the Tropics, horizontal may be just fine. Up here a bit of an angle can give a real boost.

But it makes a difference which way you are travelling/facing. A 30° tilt benefits if its towards the sun but reduces input if the boat turns in the opposite direction. I, on my swinging mooring, have always had panels at a slight angle to shed water but accept that they will not be at the optimum angle. The position had partial shading at times but didn't seem to affect the overall output much.
Unless you have a motorised tilt/swivel system, or are continually adjusting them, you have to accept that a fixed position is a compromise but still produces valuable output.