Solar Panel Layout?
Me again....have questions on the best layout and mounting for the panels I bought. Panels = 58.27" x 26.58" x 1.38" (26.4lbs) Roof dimensions are roughly 100" wide by 251" long. This was my ini...
Forum Discussion
mena661 wrote:
It was suggested to me to use mounts that would raise the panels high enough so that shadows would not be an issue. Also, you do want some tilt to them to allow water to run off.
Hmmmm...meaning that panels mounted near an AC unit would have to be raised >14" above the roof height? That sounds scary to me. I have heard the tilt thing - will likely tilt outward on each side.
Homeless by Choice wrote:
I do have a couple of questions that I believe are relevant to your layout.
1) What type of controller are you going to use: PWM? MPPT?
I bought the MorningStar TriStar 60 Amp PWM controller as my (limited) understanding is that with low voltage panels you don't much "bang" from MPPT and you might as well just put your "buck" toward more panels.
2) How are you connecting your panels to the controller? In other words, what is the solar voltage going to the controller?
The panels will be wired in parallel to the CC. Therefore, shade will only affect the output of the one panel affected (series wired panels pass shade affects along). And these are 12V panels (see link in first post), so voltage will be 12V.
3) I have read about the shadow effect has on output performance but I have never seen it stated specifically for a design. Here is the chance for someone to address this issue for this design. Is the total system output less effected by monocrystalline panels when they are partially shadowed? How about when they are connected in series? How about when they are connected in parallel? Is a PWM controller better or not for handling shadows?
I don't know other than the parallel/series note in response to #2.
4) Knowing that there will be shadow issues for this setup, what would be the most beneficial selection of components: mono or poly crystalline panels? Series or parallel or series & parallel solar panel connection to the controller? PWM or MPPT controller?
Same answer as #3.
5) Is it better to have the front of the panels tilted down to put wind pressure on the top of the panels when driving or vice versa? Is it even a design consideration?
This is a question I have relative to if I mount my panels over the sloped area (or more accurately, straddling the flat/sloped area of my roof). I saw one comment on a thread where someone pointed out not to worry about it as the force of the wind pushing down on the panel was more that sufficient to counteract any lift generated by wind being forced up the slope.
I am looking forward to everyone's comments on this thread.
Me, too!! :)
