Small Solar Proposal

FYI .. that 100W panel rating is a peak figure assuming maximum sun at noon, with ideal panel orientation to that sun, and before any losses in the chargers etc.
i am guessing your panels may not be idealy oriented to the sun much of the time ?
I would suggest you derate the panel output by 50% ...even in full sunshine days !
 
I found data showing >1000 watts per square meter, 6 hours per day on average for that area, at that time of year.
If 18% efficient, the panels could produce max 6.5 amps for 6 hours avg, and another 2 hours worth for the remaining 8 hours of day-light on either side of panel saturation.
52 ah per day average times 3 panels,
less 4% losses,
makes 50 ah per day per panel,
For 3 panels, 150 ah per day, average, in June.
Versus 90 ah draw avg and that's conservative.
I can accommodate low voltage if need be in order not to plummet below LVC,
it just complicates things on-board.

I have got excellent panel orientation and unobstructed-exposure to the sun.
10 percent off-vertical sun-angle at noon.
15 hours+ of sun above the horizon
Small east-west panel curvature.
Summer solstice.

I feel much better about the numbers.
Sea-trials will tell the story and another two, smaller panels could be added.

Where ( in Canada ) can get 1 - 2 liters (quarts), 2-part polyurethane to pour in my battery box to mitigate impact?
Not water-hull pounding but striking big, huge, semi-submerged logs, containers, whales, submarines, rocks at speed, day or night.
Silicone, rubber, latex, anything two part that I can pour while the battery is suspended in the box.
2" under and 1" around the front encapsulating the battery, terminals and all.

Thank you.
 
John in CR said:
Punx0r said:
This boat and race sound quite something!

+1 Please be sure to share photos and video of your rig in action. Will it have foils?

What about storms? I can't even imagine flying a big powerful kite during a storm/

John,
I was reviewing my thread and realized
I didn't answer your foils question.
No, it won't have foils.
The amount of debris in the water on the west coast of Canada can be staggering.
3 foot diameter, 60 foot long logs that are water-logged and floating just at the surface (awash).
Then there are awash sea-containers floating around, submarines, whales and of course lots of rocks.
Foils are not an option, even if they kick-up, like my centreboard.
So, I've designed the hull so it wouldn't benefit from foils.
Instead, it is extremely low drag and just wouldn't really benefit from foils.
Cheers.
 
BlueBell said:
I found data showing >1000 watts per square meter, 6 hours per day on average for that area, at that time of year.
That is very, very unlikely. I have never seen a location (outside of some extreme cases, like high altitude glaciers) where you get >1000 watts per square meter for any length of time.

What you are likely referring to are equivalent sun-hours - the adjusted hours of sun you can get that would add up to 1000 watts per square meter. In my area for example (San Diego) we vary between 5 and 6.5 hours of equivalent direct sun a day. This does NOT mean that you get 6.5 hours of 1000 watts per square meter; it means you get 14 hours of sun that is equivalent to 6.5 hours of "STC" sun (which is how panels are tested; 1000 watts per square meter of radiant energy.)

To be more accurate, we get between 5000 and 6500 watt-hours per square meter per day.

To convert that to electrical energy, you multiply by the panel efficiency and by the area. So if you have two square meters of panels, and they are 18% efficient (which would be very good) then you'd get 1.8 and 2.3kwhr a day out of the panel.

I don't have charts for Canada, but the closest I can get (near Vancouver) gets you between 1400 and 6200 watt-hours per square meter per day. So for you those two meters of panels would get you between 500 and 2200 watt-hours per day.
 
billvon said:
BlueBell said:
I found data showing >1000 watts per square meter, 6 hours per day on average for that area, at that time of year.
That is very, very unlikely. I have never seen a location (outside of some extreme cases, like high altitude glaciers) where you get >1000 watts per square meter for any length of time.

What you are likely referring to are equivalent sun-hours - the adjusted hours of sun you can get that would add up to 1000 watts per square meter. In my area for example (San Diego) we vary between 5 and 6.5 hours of equivalent direct sun a day. This does NOT mean that you get 6.5 hours of 1000 watts per square meter; it means you get 14 hours of sun that is equivalent to 6.5 hours of "STC" sun (which is how panels are tested; 1000 watts per square meter of radiant energy.)

To be more accurate, we get between 5000 and 6500 watt-hours per square meter per day.

To convert that to electrical energy, you multiply by the panel efficiency and by the area. So if you have two square meters of panels, and they are 18% efficient (which would be very good) then you'd get 1.8 and 2.3kwhr a day out of the panel.

I don't have charts for Canada, but the closest I can get (near Vancouver) gets you between 1400 and 6200 watt-hours per square meter per day. So for you those two meters of panels would get you between 500 and 2200 watt-hours per day.

Interesting, thanks billvon.
The data was from Environment Canada and what it stated was "peak sun hours of 6 per day, average, for that area in June.
We measure about 1000 watts/square meter in the area so I equated it to that. I then tacked on an hour on each side of that for the other 12 hours of daylight and a PMMT.
Perhaps the calibration is not set correctly and it is less than 1000 watts.
What max values do you measure per square meter?
 
BlueBell said:
billvon said:
BlueBell said:
I found data showing >1000 watts per square meter, 6 hours per day on average for that area, at that time of year.
That is very, very unlikely. I have never seen a location (outside of some extreme cases, like high altitude glaciers) where you get >1000 watts per square meter for any length of time.

What you are likely referring to are equivalent sun-hours - the adjusted hours of sun you can get that would add up to 1000 watts per square meter. In my area for example (San Diego) we vary between 5 and 6.5 hours of equivalent direct sun a day. This does NOT mean that you get 6.5 hours of 1000 watts per square meter; it means you get 14 hours of sun that is equivalent to 6.5 hours of "STC" sun (which is how panels are tested; 1000 watts per square meter of radiant energy.)

To be more accurate, we get between 5000 and 6500 watt-hours per square meter per day.

To convert that to electrical energy, you multiply by the panel efficiency and by the area. So if you have two square meters of panels, and they are 18% efficient (which would be very good) then you'd get 1.8 and 2.3kwhr a day out of the panel.

I don't have charts for Canada, but the closest I can get (near Vancouver) gets you between 1400 and 6200 watt-hours per square meter per day. So for you those two meters of panels would get you between 500 and 2200 watt-hours per day.

Interesting, thanks billvon.
The data was from Environment Canada and what it stated was "peak sun hours of 6 per day, average, for that area in June".
We measure about 1000 watts/square meter in the area so I equated it to that. I then tacked on an hour on each side of that for the other 12 hours of daylight and a PMMT.
Perhaps the calibration is not set correctly and it is less than 1000 watts.
What max values do you measure per square meter?
 
BlueBell said:
BlueBell said:
billvon said:
BlueBell said:
I found data showing >1000 watts per square meter, 6 hours per day on average for that area, at that time of year.
That is very, very unlikely. I have never seen a location (outside of some extreme cases, like high altitude glaciers) where you get >1000 watts per square meter for any length of time.

What you are likely referring to are equivalent sun-hours - the adjusted hours of sun you can get that would add up to 1000 watts per square meter. In my area for example (San Diego) we vary between 5 and 6.5 hours of equivalent direct sun a day. This does NOT mean that you get 6.5 hours of 1000 watts per square meter; it means you get 14 hours of sun that is equivalent to 6.5 hours of "STC" sun (which is how panels are tested; 1000 watts per square meter of radiant energy.)

To be more accurate, we get between 5000 and 6500 watt-hours per square meter per day.

To convert that to electrical energy, you multiply by the panel efficiency and by the area. So if you have two square meters of panels, and they are 18% efficient (which would be very good) then you'd get 1.8 and 2.3kwhr a day out of the panel.

I don't have charts for Canada, but the closest I can get (near Vancouver) gets you between 1400 and 6200 watt-hours per square meter per day. So for you those two meters of panels would get you between 500 and 2200 watt-hours per day.

Interesting, thanks billvon.
The data was from Environment Canada and what it stated was "peak sun hours of 6 per day, average, for that area in June".
We measure about 1000 watts/square meter in the area so I equated it to that. I then tacked on an hour on each side of that for the other 12 hours of daylight and a PMMT.
Perhaps the calibration is not set correctly and it is less than 1000 watts.
What max values do you measure per square meter?
Note: It would be less per square yard as it is smaller.
 
BlueBell said:
The data was from Environment Canada and what it stated was "peak sun hours of 6 per day, average, for that area in June.
We measure about 1000 watts/square meter in the area so I equated it to that. I then tacked on an hour on each side of that for the other 12 hours of daylight and a PMMT. Perhaps the calibration is not set correctly and it is less than 1000 watts.
What max values do you measure per square meter?
During a normal summer day at best incidence, around 750-800 watts. The only time I have seen close to STC power (i.e. 1000 watts per square meter) is right after a rain. Then:

1) The panels are clean
2) The panels are cool
3) When the Sun first comes out you get cloud lensing (i.e. intensification of sunlight)

Under those conditions I sometimes see my smaller inverter hit its limit, which represents 994 watts per square meter.
 
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