Understanding battery usage and capacity
Sometimes I get a brain fart and just can't get out of my own way. What does battery AH ratings vs usage mean? I have (2) 6vdc gf batteries with 230ah each which means I have 230ah's to use if I...
Forum Discussion
johnm1 wrote:
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Will solar work in shade? I know it will generate power but is it worth it? Meaning, what could I maybe expect in shade with dappled sunlight with a 100w panel? Would it double if I went 200? triple for 3 panels, etc.?
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Last summer we camped in shade under mature maple trees on the longest day of the year in Algonquin Park ON. I guess you could call it "dappled". All our solar, 700W, mono, is fixed, close to horizontal on the roof.
We got a peak of 342W and harvested ~58Ah over the whole day. The solar controller remained in bulk mppt mode all day.
I've considered portable solar, and we've been at other sites where portable would have been helpful, but there were no full-sun, open spots available at this site.
EDIT: Another example this time in Ocala NF, Florida around 1 Mar. Partially shaded site, unexpectedly so because of the early Spring leaf-out. Harvested 60-88 Ah per day. Here, a portable solar system would have been useful as there were more sunny spots close by. But as our 437Ah battery bank never dipped below 79% SOC, there's no rush.
