inexpensive panels

pianotuna wrote:
Hi all,

I've often thought of using panels as awnings. Nothing to avoid except the fridge air intake, water heater, and furnace.

At 40+ lbs for 250W panels, it would take a substantially heavy duty frame to do that as a cantilever..

I certainly would not want to be under them when they crash down so a lot of heavy duty aluminum framing and lots of reinforcement to roof and even your side walls where they hang out over (think triangle frame)..

Got to get them up there and even if you did get them up there, you would have to swing or fold them back onto the roof for the times you are going to be mobile. Folding them over the roof will make them upside down so no solar charging happens while in storage mode, not to mention exposing the back most likely will not be good for them..

Even if you set them up on some sort of slide out (think slide rails) it will take a considerably more money in materials (have to upsize frame rail materials to handle the weight loads on the cantilever), your time in designing, engineering and construction and installation than simply buying a bunch of smaller 100W 12V panels and strategically placing them on the space you have available..

Lots-o-things to go wrong.

Go with the K.I.S.S. method.. (Keep It SIMPLE Silly) Plant them solid to the roof and be done with it (IE no moving parts).

The more moving parts and more complex you make it, the better the odds of failure will happen.

One needs to ask the question, is the hassle really worth it?