Solar info
I'm intending to add solar to our rig when I get it figured out. Looking to do more than trickle charge my chassis battery. Looking to go off grid completely (and off generator too) for boondocking. A...
Forum Discussion
EsoxLucius wrote:
He (HandyBob) is correct about many things, but it is too painful to wade through his rants to extract the good. And, I have a hard time accepting much from someone who can't figure out a Blue Sky IPN-ProRemote.
If his messages about shading, wire size, and component quality sink in, then it's worth the "pain". I see all sorts of photos of installs here where people have put panels right up against objects that are going to cast shadows.
To the OP, go on your roof and make a sketch of it all. Measure the height of all objects in their raised/operating positions. Then transfer the sketch to scale on graph paper. Mark off the no-go areas, which means anything closer to an object than the object is tall. If a vent lid sticks up 12", stay 12" away from it. If your TV antenna sticks up 36", stay 36" away. Etc. Once you've marked the no-go areas, what you have left is where you can put panels.
If you have to put panels in places where they will be shaded, you might be better off using somewhat smaller panels and more of them, and wire them in parallel. That way only the particular panel that is shaded at a given time will be diminished. OTOH if you wire in series so you can use MPPT, you cannot afford any shading.
