Small fans for the area under the solar panels?
As a side note, my plans are sidelined for bit due to a contract abruptly ending... found permanent work, but that's not until January, pretty much.
However, for a custom solar install which will be used in the Texas heat, I wonder about having a water-resistant, 5V, fan for having air circulation underneath the panels. The Texas summers tend to be hot, humid, and very little in the way of breezes, so having air be directed underneath the panels, so the only real heat transmission between the panels to the rig is via the mounting brackers. Blowing air on the back also reduces the temperature of the panels, increasing efficiency.
There are 12 volt models which push 100 cubic feet per minute... for the cost of 2-3 amps... but hopefully I can find some five volt, water resistant models that can push a fraction of that, for 60-100 milliamps of current use. Since there isn't much air to be moved between the panels, even 6 CFM would move a good amount of air. It might be that the added energy gain by the cooler panels would more than offset the current use by the fans.
When on the road, this isn't an issue, but when parked or the rig is in storage, the airflow should help things.
Think this is worth looking into, or would it not move enough air to help significantly with panel energy gain or cooling?
However, for a custom solar install which will be used in the Texas heat, I wonder about having a water-resistant, 5V, fan for having air circulation underneath the panels. The Texas summers tend to be hot, humid, and very little in the way of breezes, so having air be directed underneath the panels, so the only real heat transmission between the panels to the rig is via the mounting brackers. Blowing air on the back also reduces the temperature of the panels, increasing efficiency.
There are 12 volt models which push 100 cubic feet per minute... for the cost of 2-3 amps... but hopefully I can find some five volt, water resistant models that can push a fraction of that, for 60-100 milliamps of current use. Since there isn't much air to be moved between the panels, even 6 CFM would move a good amount of air. It might be that the added energy gain by the cooler panels would more than offset the current use by the fans.
When on the road, this isn't an issue, but when parked or the rig is in storage, the airflow should help things.
Think this is worth looking into, or would it not move enough air to help significantly with panel energy gain or cooling?
