Solar panel height off roof
Hi All; I saw a picture of CaTraveler's solar panels above a vent fan. First question, for CaTraveler, how high is that? Second question for all is, what would be the max height you could mount solar...
Forum Discussion
Tilted panels have never been too popular. After climbing the roof to tilt them on and off, and doing this several times, you'll become less enthusiastic about it. In summer 3 flat panels will harvest more than 2 perfectly tilted would, and with today's prices adding one more panel is a no-brainer. I've seen some very elegant tilting solutions but you still have to climb 11 ft ladder, walk on the roof and climb down - no matter how good is your design.
I designed my 2*250W panels to be tilted in 2 directions, but by the time I've installed and tested the 1st panel, I realized that didn't need any tilt.
Pins are popular on tilted panels, and they will keep panels less tight than bolts with locknuts on permanently flat panels.
Racking, brackets and anchor screws in the roof become more complicated (and you'll need more of them), if you go for tilted.
Keeping panels as close to the roof as possible - yes, absolutely. Tilting has nothing to do with this. 0.75"-1" should still be left under the frame. Raising panels to clear obstacles - you still might have to do this whether they can be tilted or not. People raise their panels to clear obstacles, not to get more light.
With 1" under the frame the panel surface will be 2.5" above the roof, at this point the only thing that might cast shade is the roof A/C, and raising a panel THAT high is not practical. Keep at least 12-18" from the A/C. If one corner of one of your panels will be shaded by A/C for some time on some campsites - no big deal.
Cut a cardboard template up to scale and move it around on the roof, put a few pieces of 2x4 underneath to get an idea how much shading you'll get with a 1" clearance. 2x4 is 1.5", panel frame is also 1.5", so the cardboard will imitate the panel surface.
I designed my 2*250W panels to be tilted in 2 directions, but by the time I've installed and tested the 1st panel, I realized that didn't need any tilt.
Pins are popular on tilted panels, and they will keep panels less tight than bolts with locknuts on permanently flat panels.
Racking, brackets and anchor screws in the roof become more complicated (and you'll need more of them), if you go for tilted.
Keeping panels as close to the roof as possible - yes, absolutely. Tilting has nothing to do with this. 0.75"-1" should still be left under the frame. Raising panels to clear obstacles - you still might have to do this whether they can be tilted or not. People raise their panels to clear obstacles, not to get more light.
With 1" under the frame the panel surface will be 2.5" above the roof, at this point the only thing that might cast shade is the roof A/C, and raising a panel THAT high is not practical. Keep at least 12-18" from the A/C. If one corner of one of your panels will be shaded by A/C for some time on some campsites - no big deal.
Cut a cardboard template up to scale and move it around on the roof, put a few pieces of 2x4 underneath to get an idea how much shading you'll get with a 1" clearance. 2x4 is 1.5", panel frame is also 1.5", so the cardboard will imitate the panel surface.
