First Solar Harvest

[CA_Traveler]

Comments appreciated

3x250W serial connected panels, flat mounted (4 degree slope), no shadows on 12/24/14 in Oceanside, CA (33.2117° N) and MS MPPT 60 controller. There were high clouds by 10am and variable clouds for the remainder of the day. Batteries were fully charged at the start so DC loads were added that exceeded the controller output during the day.

Solar harvest was 113 AH for the day. Does this seem like a ball park harvest considering the short days, low sun elevation and clouds?

Controller Amps Output


Panel Specs

[mchero]

OK, you guys are giving me the incentive to start ordering my panels!
h

[CA_Traveler]

MrWizard wrote:
Great yield ..
more than double what i got today
I assume you were testing, throwing a heavy load on them
should handle your needs very well .. when camping

Some load but less than on the 24th. Plus the batteries were discharged enough in the morning such that I believe the controller was in maximum output throughout the day.

[brulaz]

MrWizard wrote:
I'd say you did well
My 505w got me 67.23 ah , yesterday and I don't have to add extra load as my fridge and pc etc..draw enough power
You have 50% more watts and got 68% more amp hrs

:S

And I've been jotting down watt-hours, which with the varying charging voltages makes it impossible to convert to amp-hours. And of course amp-hours is what you want to compare to your battery bank's capacity.

Anyway, do know that I got 870 W-hr which is surely over 50 ah on a sunny day boondocking in Everglades N.P. a couple of weeks ago. Really only about 4-5 hours of un-obstructed sunshine before the tall pines cut into it. We were using power all day so the Rogue could have been in MPPT mode all the time. 380W of fixed, slightly tilted panels.

[MrWizard]

Great yield ..
more than double what i got today
I assume you were testing, throwing a heavy load on them
should handle your needs very well .. when camping

[big_buford]

Bam! Now your up and rolling! :B

[CA_Traveler]

12/26/14 clear sky and the harvest was 173 AH. The highest battery current was 29.8A.

[MrWizard]

I'd say you did well
My 505w got me 67.23 ah , yesterday and I don't have to add extra load as my fridge and pc etc..draw enough power
You have 50% more watts and got 68% more amp hrs

[time2roll]

30 amps peak to the battery seems about right for December. You will do good to get 45/50 amps on a cool sunny day late in June.

[BFL13]

I can give you an idea what you should get at 49.3N in mid-May sunny all day 🙂

750/130 x 56AH = 323AH + 10% for MPPT = 356AH Flat. - Expected amps at high noon approx. 46 amps
750/130 x 70AH = 404AH + 10% = 444AH Tilted South- Expected amps at high noon approx. 53 amps

To get same AH flat as 2 panels tilted would be 2 x 444/356 = 2.5 panels flat but that is at 49.3N mid May. With the sun higher, the difference between flat and tilted is less. (I can't see what series or parallel has to do with that)

[2oldman]

CA Traveler wrote:
I'm planning on power from 3 flat panels to be equivalent to 2 tilted panels.

My experience is that isn't going to happen. Especially in series.

[CA_Traveler]

It would be "nice" to validate the solar output with someone in the same area with a flat install. Next summer the "sun till tilt" and be closer to aligning itself with my panels. I'm tracking several other variable that I can make available if that is helpful.

I'm planning on power from 3 flat panels to be equivalent to 2 tilted panels.

As I've posted before the average person tilts their panels 7 times. My average will be 0 times.

Requested that the installation thread be moved to this forum.

[2oldman]

CA Traveler wrote:
Batteries were fully charged at the start so DC loads were added that exceeded the controller output during the day.

Solar harvest was 113 AH for the day. Does this seem like a ball park harvest considering the short days, low sun elevation and clouds?

If the batteries were fully charged at the start, wouldn't that significantly decrease the need for amps, hence the very low 113ah?

[BFL13]

It is hard to tell what you should be getting to see if your set-up has any "issues" unless it is clear blue at high noon. And then the panels have to be pointed at the sun, not flat, to use your panel ratings for your "expected amps."

At least your curve is the right shape, so that's a good sign.

Your installation photos would look good in this forum instead of the other one 🙂 Probably go in the forum library thread with the others too.

[big_buford]

As you pointed out, a lot of variables to this solar stuff.

I have 710w, 2 8d batts and run a unline icemaker about 16 hrs a day threw a 2 k inverter. Daily harvest averages 160-215ah while out camping. Heading to Salton sea all next week. Will post some averages when I get back.

Congrats on your solar your gona love it!