[C320-list] Re Solar Panels

[Jeff Hare]

I'll, of course, defer to others who have already installed panels.  

But something quite important to consider and maybe not at all obvious, is how the actual panel itself was designed to be used.  Specifically, you could take 4 differently designed 100w panels and see vastly different outputs from them depending on how the cells are wired and whether there are electronics built in to handle the effect of partial shading.

For purposes of illustration: you might have a panel that is designed for use in full sun.  It'll put out rated watts with optimal sun but shade 1/4 of the panel, or even a couple of cells and you might find that panel produces almost nothing.  Shade a different 1/4 of the panel and you might get half power out.  It's like having a bunch of battery cells wired in series or series/parallel. If you have a dead cell (shaded), it affect the rest of the cells in that string.  So, really good solar panels can do things to mitigate any cells that get shaded and still use the others, while less sophisticated panels might not be able to do that at all or are better for applications where it is never partially shaded. 

So, consider the design of the panel and how it deals with patches of shadow before you buy the panel.  https://www.wholesalesolar.com/blog/effect-shade-solar-panels/

I'm not an expert but did quite a bit of research at one point on solar.

Cheers!
-Jeff Hare

-----Original Message-----
From: C320-list <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com> On Behalf Of Tom Grass
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2019 9:24 PM
To: C320-List at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Re Solar Panels

Need advice on solar panels and regulators.  We are thinking of installing some panels on Bucket List.  How many watts did you install?  Did the install integrate well with your inverter?  Where did you mount the
panels?   Was the wiring a problem?  Any advise is appreciated.  Tom Grass
 SV Bucket List. 2008 Catalina 320 MK II. #1135.

On Sun, Jun 9, 2019, 11:51 AM Jack Brennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net>
wrote:

> Well, I’m finally done with replacing the cabin sole with Lonseal teak 
> and holly laminate. It was a success, but I have to say it was the 
> most meticulous, unforgiving project I’ve taken on in three major 
> refits of sailboats.
>
> Some notes for anyone contemplating this project:
>
> • If I had to do it over again, I would choose the solid teak pattern.
> Lining up the holly stripes is extremely difficult and time consuming.
> Remember, there are five hatch covers for the bilge and six separate 
> floor sections in the cabin … • Thickened West System epoxy worked 
> great. I mixed four separate batches to keep it from hardening. First 
> the V berth floor, then the forward cabin area, followed by the large 
> port and starboard sections in the rest of the cabin.
> • An expensive, really sharp utility knife is your friend. With a 
> little practice, you can cut extremely accurate lines in the laminate 
> if you take your time.
> • Even if you plan on cutting a new underlayment for the laminate, be 
> careful to protect the old stuff when you remove it. Making your own 
> pattern without them would be very time consuming.
> • On my 320, small screws through the laminate hold the floor 
> underlayment to the subfloor. I chose to continue doing this, and it 
> made it much easier to cut and glue down the laminate. I would take up 
> a couple of screws, lay down the glue and rescrew the laminate down to the subfloor.
> • Lonseal comes in six-foot-wide sections. Ten feet, costing about 
> $400, is plenty.
> • Lastly, if you have a fat bank account, this really is a project 
> left to a floor professional. I did it myself to stretch my boat 
> budget and because I’m retired with plenty of time. My guess is that 
> it would cost 3K or so, based on $800 in material and $2,200 in labor.
>
> Jack Brennan
> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320, no. 528
> Tierra Verde, Fl. Dolphin Cruising Club of Tampa Bay.
>
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
>