Solar panel shading
With 1,280 watts of solar I don't worry to much about getting enough solar. This time of the year with the days getting shorter and we're in the national forest boondocking catching light shadows fro...
Forum Discussion
Itinerant1 wrote:
... battery bank normally gets back to 95-100% even after a couple/ few days of playing catch up but in this location it's been getting to 70% (350ah) by sundown ...
That's what seemed odd to me that I wasn't gaining back the lost power after a couple days of heavy overcast and snow. The way I'm parked and the path of the sun is enough for the antenna shadow to stay on the panels a fair amount of the day.
Hard to tell why it couldn't catch up to 95% when changing the location. Antenna shade could've contributed, or this location had some trees/mountains blocking the early sun when you needed it the most, or there is less sun in late October than it was in August :). Or you changed the time pattern of loads. Increased current is needed only until you get to Absorb, then you can get by with very little charging current - until you turn some heavy loads on. If battery can't catch up past 70% - change the way you run loads, avoid running heavy loads after sunset.
Most solar systems require a fair amount of self-discipline, charging all the tools and running other loads is better in daytime - especially after the battery went to Float. Then you could use the energy from the sun directly, rather then discharging the battery. Battery stays in Float, sun runs your devices.
