Panel blockage

[TCharles]

I have an RV with 3 100w panels that are wired in series. When the solar was installed a few years ago the tech re mounted the Over the air TV antenna on one panel causing some partial panel blockage. See pic. I get about 60V off the panels when not connected to Charge controller. Before I remove (relocate) the antenna, I thought I would get some opinions. It was a “professional” install. What do you think?

Thanks

 

[Bob B]

The antenna probably works fine .... but there is nothing "professional" about it. That is going to cause shading on that panel continuously .... With the panels all in series, that is going to cause major problems.

 

[Fred S]

The satellite pro needed some cross training for solar. It's good you're going to relocate it. Like Bob said, the effect is much worse with series panels than if they'd been wired in parallel. While 60v sounds fine for the three 100w panels with no load, under load your amps will be reduced with that shading. Might be fun to check the "before and after" amperage (or watts) if you remove the antenna on a sunny day.

 

[TCharles]

Thanks Bob and Fred, my concern was the shading on solar performance. The TV antenna works fine. The installer was the solar system installer at a dealership. I do intend to relocate the antenna when I have full sun conditions, to note the effect. Some YouTubers have said wattage can be reduced by over 50-75% with a small blockage on series connected PVs. Thanks again.

 

[Bob B]

I wouldn't be having them do any more work for me. Any solar system installer should know better than to pretty much continuously shade a panel ... plus the extra strain on the panel framework.

 

[TCharles]

FYI. I turned the TV ant around (see pic) and saw power from the panels increase from 70 - 85 watts to 140 -158 watts. Nice improvement, but would like to have gotten more off my 300w array on a mid day, full sun in Fla. (Note pic was taken later after some clouds had moved in.) thanks.