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diy solar

Best solar panels for PNW winters.

RVBounder

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Sep 28, 2019
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Hi, I live near Mt. Rainier in Ashford, wa.
I'm a fulltime RV'er and I'm hoping someone could guide me in the right direction for low light, high efficiency solar panels.
Thanks
 
I don't know if there are specifically low light panels. I would put as many in series as possible to raise voltage during low light. This is only if they all get equal light and no shading.
 
I was looking into this recently myself. I'm in Eastern WA, and get plenty of sun, most days in the summer, but some of the land is deep woods, so I was also looking into lower light efficiency options. When I first got started, I read that mono cells were the most efficient, and MPPT charging helps handle some aspects of partial panel shading, so I've been kind of a snob about only buying mono panels. Then I found Will's youtube chanel, and seeing the results of his tests with poly panels, it kinda seems like it doesn't make a huge difference. I still think it's important to use an MPPT charge controller though.
 
Renogy makes good panels and sells them on Amazon. A 100 watt panel for about $120, which makes the cost $1.20 per watt. You also have to make sure the panels are pointing south and have the correct angle with the ground, which would be about 43 degrees. And make sure they are clean and snow-free for best results. And don't have expectations for generating power if it's cloudy, overcast, or rainy.

I live in Michigan an in our winters, we can have 10 consecutive cloudy days where virtually no power will be generated, or no useful power anyway. A few mah doesn't really count for me. :)

Here is a list of cloudiest cities in the US: https://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/cloudiest-cities.php
Detroit is #9.
 
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Hi, I live near Mt. Rainier in Ashford, wa.
I'm a fulltime RV'er and I'm hoping someone could guide me in the right direction for low light, high efficiency solar panels.
Thanks
Hi @RVBounder
Much will depend on your RV model & how you "camp" (Boondock, Wal-Mart's, long stays, resorts, or frequent moving.)
When sizing for a RV roof you must consider both power production & the need to walk the roof to perform routine inspections & maintenance. (Even if the maintenance is hired out.)
 
I lived in E. W. As a youth, and the western mountains handle most of the rain, I didn’t live as far north as you, but I have fond memories of the farm. Cheeney was where we lived. 700acres... it was nice. Wind power was the norm there. Steel windmills churning water all the time.
Anyway, RV tends to need flat angle panels, and shading from the trees isn’t going to be in your favor.
what kind of low light are you dealing with?
 
I am up in central Washington. I think more important to your situation is going to be how you wire them for low light performance and keeping them out of shade. If you mostly park in the same place, you can place panels and wire them for better performance. If you have a large RV, place panels in pairs closer together and wire them in series. This will keep a pair of panels in the sun together and performing better.

You will need an MPPT charge controller. I agree with the advice above. Try to wire panels in series for higher voltage and therefore more production at low light.

2 Panels - Wire in Series
3 Panels - Wire in Series
4 Panels - Wire pairs in series and then parallel.
 
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