panels in a "v" formation

[rancher1913]

i have good sun exposure and saw a panel set up an a berm that curved with the panels facing out of the curve, i assume one side gets early sun and the other side gets late sun with the whole thing getting some sun at noonish. I was thinking to do kind of opposite and have 2 arrays in a v formation so one half gets good early sun and the other side gets good afternoon sun and at noon the whole thing would get some sun. was thinking I could over panel a little and get more usable power for more of the day. anybody been down this road and did it work or are you better just doing a straight set up. basically this would sort of act as like a tracker

 

[OffGridInTheCity]

Using PVWatts - https://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php

Case1 - 12,824kW array in V formation - 50% at 160deg and 50% at 200deg azimuth = 17,325kWh/year
6.412kWh in 160deg aziumuth = 8,665kWh / 6.412kWh in 200deg aziumuth = 8,661 kWh


Case2 - 12,824kw array 100% at 180deg azimuth = 17,460 kWh/year


All things being equal (e.g. panel tilt, system loses, etc), I'm not seeing a big difference by month or year in available PV power

 

[BentleyJ]

It depends somewhat on when your peak usage is going to be and if you plan to have batteries that can be used for self consumption or load shifting. PV arrays that are angled to the West will get more afternoon sun which may be an advantage if your peak air conditioning usage is later in the afternoon like most of us. However the daily production will be reduced as a result of the non ideal angle.
If you don't have batteries and wish to set up 2 PV arrays in a "V" configuration I would suggest using an All in One Inverter that has 2 MPPT inputs, one for each of the arrays. Alternatively, use a separate charge controller for each array.
Ideally, if your budget supports the expenditure, adding batteries to the system gives you back up day or night and the ability for self consumption and or peak load shaving (If the inverter supports these functions). In this case, I would use an online solar calculator and set all the panels for maximum year round production and program the inverter as needed.

 

[burgerking]

Why SE+SW > S panels

 

[timselectric]

i have good sun exposure and saw a panel set up an a berm that curved with the panels facing out of the curve, i assume one side gets early sun and the other side gets late sun with the whole thing getting some sun at noonish. I was thinking to do kind of opposite and have 2 arrays in a v formation so one half gets good early sun and the other side gets good afternoon sun and at noon the whole thing would get some sun. was thinking I could over panel a little and get more usable power for more of the day. anybody been down this road and did it work or are you better just doing a straight set up. basically this would sort of act as like a tracker

I have east and west facing arrays. It works just like you are describing. More production throughout the day.

 

[justgary]

Why SE+SW > S panels

Holy cow, this is why I hate YouTube videos. Twenty minutes to show a few plots. Is TL;DW a thing with anyone else?