Jacob Scoville
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2020
- Messages
- 23
So I finally decided to dive into solar this summer now that my power uses are so high (65L fridge/freezer, tons of camera/drone batteries, pressure cooker, 3D printer) and a 100W panel kept up with the 12v fridge uses while I was gone on extended work trips.
I decided to put my 2 200 amp 12v batteries in series instead of parallel for more efficiency and an easier time handling power upgrades everything downstream of the charging output.
That means I can’t use that 100w panel anymore without a boost MPPT. Space is limited and a Victron 75v/10amp MPPT is about all I’d want to devote space for so I would need two panels in series. With winter approaching I’m thinking about just scrapping solar again until spring but I’d really like every bit of charging I can come up with and I’m curious how a tilting panel setup in winter in the northern US may compare to a flat setup in summer.
On a perfect mid summer day I’d get about 700wh with my single rich solar 100w panel. (To note since that could affect output, temps were ranging approx. 60-95F). Based off of the angle of the sun and what wattage I’d get at that angle, I estimated probably 100 wh in winter on a sunny day, so probably averaging 30-50 watts when clouds and rain/snow are factored in. I’m curious if it would be a big improvement to tilt the panels in winter (for instance, 50-60w at midday when the the flat panel may be a theoretical 30w) or if it’s just going to be a mediocre 25-30% increase to tilt the panels like the test videos I see show on what looks like a sunny summer day.
I decided to put my 2 200 amp 12v batteries in series instead of parallel for more efficiency and an easier time handling power upgrades everything downstream of the charging output.
That means I can’t use that 100w panel anymore without a boost MPPT. Space is limited and a Victron 75v/10amp MPPT is about all I’d want to devote space for so I would need two panels in series. With winter approaching I’m thinking about just scrapping solar again until spring but I’d really like every bit of charging I can come up with and I’m curious how a tilting panel setup in winter in the northern US may compare to a flat setup in summer.
On a perfect mid summer day I’d get about 700wh with my single rich solar 100w panel. (To note since that could affect output, temps were ranging approx. 60-95F). Based off of the angle of the sun and what wattage I’d get at that angle, I estimated probably 100 wh in winter on a sunny day, so probably averaging 30-50 watts when clouds and rain/snow are factored in. I’m curious if it would be a big improvement to tilt the panels in winter (for instance, 50-60w at midday when the the flat panel may be a theoretical 30w) or if it’s just going to be a mediocre 25-30% increase to tilt the panels like the test videos I see show on what looks like a sunny summer day.
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