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Solar deck instead of solar panels

12K views 34 replies 21 participants last post by  Mantus Anchors 
#1 ·
Ever wanted to have more solar power than you could fit panels? On my 20' trailer sailer there is not room for more than maybe 20 W or so of solar panels, but I wanted to install 12 V A/C, which uses some 300 W or so, so to recharge the batteries for the next night I would need about the same effect from the solar panels. Solar cells give about 150 W per square meter, so I would need 2 square meters of pure cells, not counting the lost space between them. The only way to fit that was to put the cells directly on the deck (which has an area of 3.6 square meters). What I did was to build the panel directly on the white gelcoat, and cover the whole thing in clear gelcoat so one can walk on the deck again (the anti-skid pattern has yet to be added). See photos (the gennaker pole was added in the same rebuild of this 40 years old boat).

Other possible uses of this much power is a water desalinator, and an electric outboard. I'm already looking forward to for ever leaving the gas tank at home.
 

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#9 ·
exactly,also your jib would create a lot of shade,a few days ago someone said that he replaced his lifelines with stainless tubing and mounted solar panels on that,hinged so they could be moved out of harms way in close quarters, that seems like a good alterative,i have a panel bracket mounted on my stern rail but still not enough
 
#17 ·
ulferlingsson

What panels did you use and how did you connect them?
6" x 6" solar cells bought on eBay. Get A grade, the others are inconsistent and lower power. If you buy a kit instructions come with it, I believe, but they are available on the net if you google. The cells can bend a little, enough to follow the normal bend of a deck. And use diodes, there are special solar cell diodes that are only a millimeter high and have minimal voltage drop. You also need a charging device, I got one good for 30 A that is automatic, can use from 36 to 72 cells and charge 12 V or 24 V.
 
#14 ·
Also, I think the clear gelcoat (and textured gelcoat even more so) will cut the output more than you would expect. I say this because I talked to the architect of the local botanical gardens' big addition, and he explained that they had to use single-glazed glass instead of double-glazed because the extra layer of glazing would have meant that all the plants would starve to death in the winter. Who would have thought a layer of glass would substantially reduce insolation?

Not to say that it's a bad idea, you just have to overbuild the capacity. Pretty cool, imo.
 
#16 ·
I'll reply to all if I remember... It's an Ensenada 20, almost the same as Balboa.

Shadows are a problem, to deal with that I have 2 x 47 cells, starboard and port are in parallel so if half is shadowed the other is still delivering full power. Also, if one cell is completely shadowed (as in someone sitting on it) it will act as a resistor and get very very hot. If 25% are shadowed no energy will be produced. To deal with that problem there are bypass diodes, 7 on each side, so that groups of cells can be completely bypassed.

As for the cells being dark and getting hot for that reason, remember that they convert the light to electricity instead of heat. However, the minimum energy light they can use is near infra-red, and anything with more energy (such as all visible light) has excess energy that cannot be converted to electricity but turns into heat. Still, it gets a lot less hot than a non-solar panel surface of the same color.

By the way, the blue color is from blue pearl, the cells are really black when embedded.
 
#18 ·
Love this.

I think the clear gelcoat (and textured gelcoat even more so) may cut the output more than you would expect. I say this because I talked to the architect of the local botanical gardens' big addition, and he explained that they had to use single-glazed glass instead of double-glazed because the extra layer of glazing would have meant that all the plants would starve to death in the winter. Who would have thought a layer of glass would substantially reduce insolation?

Not to say that it's a bad idea, you just have to overbuild the capacity. Pretty cool, imo.
 
#19 ·
Love this.

I think the clear gelcoat (and textured gelcoat even more so) may cut the output more than you would expect. I say this because I talked to the architect of the local botanical gardens' big addition, and he explained that they had to use single-glazed glass instead of double-glazed because the extra layer of glazing would have meant that all the plants would starve to death in the winter. Who would have thought a layer of glass would substantially reduce insolation?

Not to say that it's a bad idea, you just have to overbuild the capacity. Pretty cool, imo.
I tested the change in output before I went ahead. It was not measurable with my voltmeter. The reason is that there is no air between the gelcoat and the solar cell. If there had been, it would have created specular reflection and a loss. However, the addition of too much blue pearl did lower the output a bit, I have yet to measure how much.
 
#21 · (Edited)
#22 ·
Although this is an old thread, I am very curious and impressed as hell. Way to go! There are lots of compromises sure but its a great idea and needs to be tested under real conditions. Hope you are still around on Sailnet and will post an update on how its going. Its something I would sure consider on my Jeanneau 32 now that the boat will be on a mooring most days and I want to keep the fridge cold...
 
#24 · (Edited)
The following "Deck Mounted Solar System" is easy to install and will definitely energize an entire race crew:



Solar panel Bikini's!!! ;)
 
#25 · (Edited)
Completely flexible plastic stick on solar cells with the same output as regular cells are now coming out of the lab & could be in production within a few years, should be a real game changer for solar power afloat as well as everywhere else. I'd imagine they would quickly be available/adaptable as ruggedized nonslip cut to fit rolls if they go into production. Looks like the weight would be HUGELY reduced compared to current set-ups.
I can't link but a short article is on the site Extremetech "Stanford creates flexible, high-efficiency peel-and-stick solar cells"
By Sebastian Anthony on December 24, 2012 at 8:48 am
 
#32 ·
I would think that depends on the flexibility of your hard bimini and the amount of walking you do. They are pretty fragile, if they crackle, the power output goes down considerably. If it is a really sturdy bimini and you dont walk too often on them, maybe they can handle.
 
#31 · (Edited)
I have been thinking about doing this, but i didn´t for the following reasons:

-Good solar panels use special coated glass that reflect little light. Normal glass reflects a lot and cuts down on the efficiency. Gelcoat or whatever you put on there will undoubtetly be even worse than normal glas. If you make it antiskid, it will be downright terrible.

-Even little pieces of shaded cut down a lot on the energy output.

-Solar cells are very sensitive to crackling. I dont feel safe walking on them and maybe sometimes dropping pieces of stainless equipment or tools on them.

When i buy myself a campervan and i wont be dropping **** on the roof, walking on the roof and dont need anti skid, i do however intent to do this. Simply because cells are cheaper than panels and this way i dont need to build frames.

Sorry for not believing in it, it sure looks cool, and who knows, maybe im wrong ;)
 
#34 ·
thnk
1.solar technology continues to advance. If you have panels.easier to swap out.
2.cells break ( see above) if glassed in hard to swap out.
3.angle of incident light important determinent of output.
4. maintaining integrety of connections problematic.

Did energy calc.- if I get ~3y from panels they have paid for themselves at current fuel prices.

If to put on deck would use new flexible panels and deploy as needed.
Personally spec'd cored hard bimini. very rigid platfom for panels and out of harms way.
 
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