Large Solar Panels
I have been looking at maybe using 2 255 watt panels they are big 65"x 38", this would give me more wattage than using 4 100 watt. I know that I need more battery but you have to start somewhere. Any...
Forum Discussion
Salvo wrote:
No need to be facetious. The OP wants to know the pros and cons of huge panels.CJW8 wrote:
Ok, time for wind tunnel testing... on a vibrating platform.
I wasn't being facetious. Impractical maybe. Just trying to inject a little humor. Your point about wind and vibration are valid and not taken lightly. With a lot of the solar installations being done by DIY's, it concerns me how well some of them are fastened down, especially when I am following one on the freeway.
The Bernoulli effect says that wind striking the (usually curved) front of our RV's will tend to hug the smooth surface of a RV roof. This wind will be at a higher velocity and a lower pressure. The problem is, our roofs have a lot of junk up there that breaks up this smooth laminar flow and will reduce any tendency to lift anything. But now you have another problem- Wind induced vibration which is very real and will only add to road vibration. The same thing happen to an airplane wing when the angle of attack becomes too great. The smooth air flow is broken up as the air flow starts to burble, loosing the low pressure area over the wing top and loss of lift. The pilot feels this burble as a vibration in the controls and entire plane.
The only way to prove this is with wind tunnel or road testing with dozens of flow and vibration sensors.
