Help Needed: Mitigating Early Morning Shadows on My Solar Panels

[Fahmula]

Hello everyone,

I'm seeking advice on how to mitigate early morning shadows affecting my solar panels on the south side of my roof. The issue I'm facing is that shadows from the attic impact the panels until about 10 AM.

I have attached pictures showing the shadow pattern at different times and also of PV watts comparing north vs south performance.

System specs:
Inverter: Deye SUN-8k-SG01LP1-US
Panels: 8KW, 5.6 South (7S2P), 2.4 East (6S).
CanadianSolar CS1U-400
Voc: 53.4 V
Isc: 9.60 A
Vmp: 44.1 V
Imp: 9.08 A


Solutions I'm Considering:

Power Optimizers: I've read that installing these can help each panel operate independently, reducing the impact of shading on the entire array.

Adding More Panels: Adding about 3KW of panels on the north side and ultimately paralleling it with the east. According to PV watts, if I have the same 3KW of panels on the south, the north will produce about 84% of the south energy and also produce more energy in the summer months, which is when the 8KW isn't enough to cover the usage.

Any advice, insights, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[AntronX]

Leave it as is. There is not much energy generated until 10am anyway so your shading loss is small compared to expense of knocking down that attic window.

 

[chrisski]

I don’t know optimizers well. I’d consider putting that roof with panels in parallel. I see 14, so 7 the most in the shade with the other 7.

I’d also consider mini inverters.

Leave it as is. There is not much energy generated until 10am anyway so your shading loss is small compared to expense of knocking down that attic window.

On my system, it’s 20 % of production, 10 kWh on a 50:kWh day. How much of this 20% is lost by the shade, my guess is lots if all in series, perhaps 50% if panels are placed right. Whether that 5 kWh per day would make a real difference, not sure. I could use that to offset the AC that’s running non stop in summer.

 

[Fahmula]

Leave it as is. There is not much energy generated until 10am anyway so your shading loss is small compared to expense of knocking down that attic window.

Well I wasn't going to knock the attic window down but you're right that it's probably not much lost.

 

[Fahmula]

I don’t know optimizers well. I’d consider putting that roof with panels in parallel. I see 14, so 7 the most in the shade with the other 7.

I’d also consider mini inverters.

On my system, it’s 20 % of production, 10 kWh on a 50:kWh day. How much of this 20% is lost by the shade, my guess is lots if all in series, perhaps 50% if panels are placed right. Whether that 5 kWh per day would make a real difference, not sure. I could use that to offset the AC that’s running non stop in summer.

I update my post. Yes it's 14 panels, (7S2P) I just wish I know how much of an impact the shadow is causing.

 

[chrisski]

(7S2P) I just wish I know how much of an impact the shadow is causing.

Where does the series start and end>?
If the panels are split in 7 already in either of these two ways, its about as good as it will get.
View attachment 218087View attachment 218088

 

[Fahmula]

Where does the series start and end>?
If the panels are split in 7 already in either of these two ways, its about as good as it will get.
View attachment 218087View attachment 218088

I have no idea. I wasn't there when the panels were being installed but I will check it myself and re do it if I have to.

 

[chrisski]

The more I think about this, I think its best to see how many kWh you are making and compare that to what PV watts says. The cost of electricity is approximately $20 per 100 kWh in my area, and any loss probably won't be worth climbing up on the roof to fix anything.

I have no idea. I wasn't there when the panels were being installed but I will check it myself and re do it if I have to.

Is the data from post 1 from your panels, or is it a yearly solar calculator like PV Watts?

Might be best to measure May's results from your inverter and compare this to the amount from the May Data for a solar calculator like PV Watts. That would give me data to go decide. You can go back several months if you want.

I have a "gabled" roof like you have. I have 24 panels set up in with 12 panels going to 1 inverter. Each inverter has its panels set up 4S3P or 3S4P, forget which. It effects my production, but never measured how much.

 

[Fahmula]

The more I think about this, I think its best to see how many kWh you are making and compare that to what PV watts says. The cost of electricity is approximately $20 per 100 kWh in my area, and any loss probably won't be worth climbing up on the roof to fix anything.

Is the data from post 1 from your panels, or is it a yearly solar calculator like PV Watts?

Might be best to measure May's results from your inverter and compare this to the amount from the May Data for a solar calculator like PV Watts. That would give me data to go decide. You can go back several months if you want.

I have a "gabled" roof like you have. I have 24 panels set up in with 12 panels going to 1 inverter. Each inverter has its panels set up 4S3P or 3S4P, forget which. It effects my production, but never measured how much.

The data is from PV watts. I just wanted to see if it was worth getting panels facing north. Comparing my actual production with PV Watts unfortunately won't be accurate since I don't sell at all to the grid so my panels won't always produce the maximum.