mmcgady
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2022
- Messages
- 4
I am in the very beginning stages of planning to go off grid. Probably start in 2 or 3 years. As one of the first steps will be to obtain property, I want to determine my constraints for size and shape of the property. I want to build a ground mount structure for solar panels.
I am planning this build to be US - North or South Carolina. I am interested in maximizing (within reason) my ability to generate solar power and be able to rely on it during the entire year. With this in mind, the biggest challenge seems to be how much sunshine can the panels be exposed to on the shortest daylight hours of the year - 12/21. My thinking is that if the system can generate enough energy for my needs on 12/21, the rest of the year should not be a problem. With this in mind, as I search for suitable property, my question is one about the tree line. How far should the ground mount structure be from the tree line and how tall can the trees be (they may not belong to me) for me to feel good about power generation on 12/21?
I have a diagram to illustrate this issue (I know it is a terrible drawing. No skills here. Please excuse this). Please consider the bottom to be geo south and top geo north. Realizing that as the sun will be lowest in the southeast (morning) and southwest (afternoon), the trees should be further from the panel structure in these directions. And when the sun is coming from due south, the trees can be closer. With this in mind the tree line can be a curved shape as shown. The questions are what is the required distance for the south-north arrow, southeast arrow, southwest arrow? Given these answers what is the tallest the trees can be. There must be a calculator out there for this. But I cant find one with the specificity that I want. Any input is appreciated.
I am planning this build to be US - North or South Carolina. I am interested in maximizing (within reason) my ability to generate solar power and be able to rely on it during the entire year. With this in mind, the biggest challenge seems to be how much sunshine can the panels be exposed to on the shortest daylight hours of the year - 12/21. My thinking is that if the system can generate enough energy for my needs on 12/21, the rest of the year should not be a problem. With this in mind, as I search for suitable property, my question is one about the tree line. How far should the ground mount structure be from the tree line and how tall can the trees be (they may not belong to me) for me to feel good about power generation on 12/21?
I have a diagram to illustrate this issue (I know it is a terrible drawing. No skills here. Please excuse this). Please consider the bottom to be geo south and top geo north. Realizing that as the sun will be lowest in the southeast (morning) and southwest (afternoon), the trees should be further from the panel structure in these directions. And when the sun is coming from due south, the trees can be closer. With this in mind the tree line can be a curved shape as shown. The questions are what is the required distance for the south-north arrow, southeast arrow, southwest arrow? Given these answers what is the tallest the trees can be. There must be a calculator out there for this. But I cant find one with the specificity that I want. Any input is appreciated.