Recommendation for Solar Panels

[hellosailor]

And considering the costs, look at WARRANTY. Some are still warrantied for 25 years IN MARINE USE while others are not warrantied for use at sea at all.

[Cruisingdad]

Maybe many of the same panels are manufactured through contract mfgs (that does not surprise me), but there obviously are differences. If not, I would wonder why the real-world output (STC vs PTC) differs between many panels. On some of them, it was considerable. THere was a web site (done from California IIRC) that rated all the panels PTC.

I chose Kyocera 130's. These were the panels reccomended to me at the time by Northern Arizona Solar and Wind (http://www.windsun.com/). I found them a very good resource for both products and installation.

I personally am not a fan of installing the panels on the bimini on most boats as they will get shaded. It does not take much shading before a panel is worthless. Keep that in mind before you purchase or install.

I chose to have an arch built for my panels. I used the Outback MX60 MPPT. It has performed flawlessly. My four 130's will put out about 200-210 ah/day in good conditions. I am based in South Florida and spent a lot of time in Texas, so we get a lot more rays than many of you up north do.

Here are some pics of my install. If you have any questions on the matter, feel free to ask and I will give you my opinions.

Brian

[sailingdog]

Of course, CD's boat does resemble SKYLAB in many ways...

[eherlihy]

Speaking of Skylab (and given the forum's past debate I hesitate to point you in this direction but) if mounting space is a concern, you may want to check out the Solar Stik.

To my knowledge they only available with two 50 Watt panels, but they do have a well built mounting system, and they offer a completely designed and built marine solar packages.

[sailingdog]

They're awfully expensive and their claims are a bit unrealistic IMHO... we did have a long post on them a while back... Solidly built though.

Originally Posted by eherlihy

Speaking of Skylab (and given the forum's past debate I hesitate to point you in this direction but) if mounting space is a concern, you may want to check out the Solar Stik.

To my knowledge they only available with two 50 Watt panels, but they do have a well built mounting system, and they offer a completely designed and built marine solar packages.

[eherlihy]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

we did have a long post on them a while back...

To refer to that as "long" would be an understatement (33 pages!). I will never forget that xort started that infamous thread - back when he was a newbie to SailNet noless!

[sailingdog]

Was that really Xort's fault. I thought it was ConchyJoe's fault.

[hellosailor]

"They're awfully expensive and their claims are a bit unrealistic IMHO..."
SD, they clarified their claims long long ago. And enlightened more than a few of us, in terms of how PWM systems charge more effectively, and panels that track the sun put out significantly more power. As documented by Sandia National Labs and other arguably objective sources. The total could be 10% more for the PWM (MPPT) charging system plus 20% for the properly aligned panels, easily 25% more power from the panels per day. Assuming you are there, onboard, to move the panels every hour or tack.

As to being expensive, well, sure, but you could say that YOUR BOAT IS EXPENSIVE, too. Surely, there's a reason you wouldn't sell your boat for $25,000, isn't there?

Would I write a check for a solarstik? Nah, not me, not now. Haven't bought a Ferrari lately, either. But if a wanted a bulletproof mount that could be installed clear outboard of the cockpit and left out in the worst of weather...I might scramble for that checkbook. I KNOW what top-quality welding costs, and there's a lot of very expensive work in that system. I doubt you could have a local shop fab one up to the same standard, at the same price.

A budget-buster for some folks, but a nice "did it once, won't have to do it again" solution for others.

[nickmerc]

CD,

One big difference is the technology used to make the wafers and cells which directly effects the efficiency of the panel. No long ago 15% efficiency for cells was world class. Now that is at the lower end of the spectrum. When comparing apples to apples between brands the differences diminish rapidly.
________
Chantal

[Lux]

1. sailingdad is right-- even one or two percent shading will make your panel useless. take location very seriously.
2. top-of-the line monocrystalline panels brag 18.5% efficienct right now; lowest grade amorphous are around 11%
3. theres a new kind of panel called "monocrystalline seeded amorphous" which brings up the efficiency of amorphous panels to about on par with polycrystalline (15-16%), with the added benefit of being flexible. they are great because they aren't as delicate as traditional glazed panels, and cheaper too. no idea about marine application of that type, though-- anyone else?