Panel Tilt angle ??

Humor me guys, I do not have solar yet but I am hoping to have one in the real near future. I will be getting a portable system since I camp mostly in the southeast, lots of trees.

Now to my comment considering the subject. Why not adjust the panel angle for the highest voltage reading? I understand there are premium times of day for the best performance, say noon time, set the angle at noon and then the performance would average out between daylight and evening. Just curious.

That 53 degrees is interesting. (IMO RJ should not use that though)

High noon tilt angle is your Latitude and your Declination. Then you compromise when Dec is North by lowering the panel a bit for all day best results for AH haul.

Declination goes from zero 21 Sep to about 23.5S on 21 December and back up to zero 21 Mar. Macslab uses its "winter" angle from 7 Oct to 5 March, which is longer than 1/4 the year, notice. The middle of that period would be around 6 Jan. Declination then is only two weeks after max on 21 Dec or about 4 degrees worth (very approx.) so maybe 19S ?

So at 32N tilt then would be 32 + 19 = 51. Macslab says 32 x 0.89 and add 24, which is 52.48 for high noon.

So there is no allowance for shoulder hours really, which makes sense because the sun can't get behind the panel in the winter like it can in the summer.

However, if you are planning to be at 32N from now till mid March, what to pick? Declination goes from 23.5S back up to maybe 2S so half way is say 11 degrees so tilt would be 32 + 11 = 43

RJ is seeing the other guys there now with tilts all a bit different so maybe they are staying different lengths of time and so their middle time average tilts are all different. Of course they have all done their math on this. :)

But in any case, based on all that, RJ should pick something less than 53. IMO 45 degrees would be a pretty good number depending on how long he is staying.

Snowman9000 wrote:
From horizontal?

yes

red31 wrote:
53 degrees

From horizontal?

53 degrees

There is a website from Macslab on "optimum tilt" that explains it. You need your Latitude.

http://www.solarpaneltilt.com/

If you also move a portable or use your twirler, it has a different routine from just aiming it South all day.

With a twirler you want higher tilt earlier and later than at mid-day, but with a fixed tilt, you want it to be lower then than the correct angle for mid-day, to capture some shoulder hours better. Macslab has it all worked out what is the optimum compromise for that by season.

The correct tilt angle for high noon changes with Declination at about 8 degrees a month, so if you stay in the one place very long, you might want to change the tilt angle or pick an angle for the middle of the time you will be there and not for the first day you get there.