Voltage drop from solar panel Voc to MPPT under load
- Thread starter jimcalf
- Start date
RCinFLA
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2020
- Messages
- 3,565
Some folks build a bi-directional side to side adjustable tilt mount. Have to be secured flat to roof during driving down the express way.
Once you get parked, with preferably a little parking direction tweek, you can tilt panels to improve results. The charts will tell you what you might gain. Double the output is possible with tilt adjustments. If you have not already figured it out, in top most fixed tilt data group, '90' means 90 degs, flat to ground and 0 degs is like mounted against a vertical wall. It is statistical data collected over years so a given period of time results will vary based mostly on given weather.
Once you get parked, with preferably a little parking direction tweek, you can tilt panels to improve results. The charts will tell you what you might gain. Double the output is possible with tilt adjustments. If you have not already figured it out, in top most fixed tilt data group, '90' means 90 degs, flat to ground and 0 degs is like mounted against a vertical wall. It is statistical data collected over years so a given period of time results will vary based mostly on given weather.
Are your panels tilted towards the sun or lying flat? That's really good output. I saw as high as 685W on Feb 1st if I tilted the panels perfectly at the sun. Tilting definitely makes a huge difference. Especially in the winter.
I considered tilt mounts, but so much of my camping is east of the Mississippi and limited to pulling into a designated camp site. Even when dry camping I rarely get to choose the orientation of my trailer. When talking to others, they noted that initially they tried to always tilt, but found it didn't work out very often. If I was out west and could park as I wanted on BLM land, then absolutely yes, I'd have tilt mounts. It makes a huge difference in production.
I had them pointed at the sun.
Sojourner1
Itinerant
Depending on what or how much you want to run from solar, tilting isn't a crucial factor with the exception of the late fall to early spring or atleast that's my experience. I do try to point the 5th wheel nose towards the rising sun during those periods of time and let the sun arc sweep the door side of the trailer so not to get shading on the panels in winter shorter daylight hours. 580w on the nose and the 700w balance running the doorside of trailer.
