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Probably one of the first questions to ask is what angle from the ground should a solar panel be tilted, to harvest the most energy.
The position of the sun varies over the course of the day and its height above the horizon varies by the position of the panel on the earth and the time of the year.
a solar calculator can provide these numbers given the panels latitude . Google will provide your lattitude if you search for the latitude of the nearest city.
For Colorado Springs, for example this is 38.8 degrees.
Here is a pretty fair site that explains this;
www.literoflightusa.org
Since I typically camp near this latitude, most of may camping is after jume 21st (summer eqinox) and really don't want to mess around adjusting my panels north & south by varying the tilt angle much I will use 40 degrees as my angle; I know there will be some inefficiencies but I can vary this some by how far I push the stand's legs into the dirt where I am camping (I don't camp on pads, prepared sites or driveways so this won't be much of a problem except in a few desert areas with very little soil thickness. (like Moab Ut. Note; sand dunes provide plenty of soil depth). I DO NOT camp on crytogamic soils.
To help protect the faces of this pair of panels and make them somewhat easiter to carry I will attach them together using piano hinges, suitcase style.
Since MPPT solar controllers are mostly bulky and the bulk need to be minimized for this portable system; I will use a small light weight PWM controller... even thoughit means that some energy/efficiency will not be available..
Since I will be using LiFePo4 batteries I will set the controller to 14 volts.
Since both the solar controller and the battery electronics will limit over current I will not probably install any fuses, although this may change..
To help protect the back of the panels and reinforce their frames a little I will run aluminum crossbars from side to side.
Mostly since I have it in stock, wiring will be done with finely stranded 10 gauge copper wire.
all bolts, nuts & washers will be stainless steel to minimize galvanic corrosion due to dissimilar metals.
I will attempt to make the legs fold against the panel frames to minimize bulk & packing hassles.
Is there any thing, major, that I am missing or should be considered?
Enjoy!
The position of the sun varies over the course of the day and its height above the horizon varies by the position of the panel on the earth and the time of the year.
a solar calculator can provide these numbers given the panels latitude . Google will provide your lattitude if you search for the latitude of the nearest city.
For Colorado Springs, for example this is 38.8 degrees.
Here is a pretty fair site that explains this;
Find the Best Angle for Your Solar Panels
The angle you orient your solar panels will determine how much sunlight focuses on the surface. Ultimately, the optimum tilt angle will boost your panels to harvest the highest amount of power. So, what is the best angle for solar panels? The optimum tilt angle is the solar panel orientation...
www.literoflightusa.org
Since I typically camp near this latitude, most of may camping is after jume 21st (summer eqinox) and really don't want to mess around adjusting my panels north & south by varying the tilt angle much I will use 40 degrees as my angle; I know there will be some inefficiencies but I can vary this some by how far I push the stand's legs into the dirt where I am camping (I don't camp on pads, prepared sites or driveways so this won't be much of a problem except in a few desert areas with very little soil thickness. (like Moab Ut. Note; sand dunes provide plenty of soil depth). I DO NOT camp on crytogamic soils.
To help protect the faces of this pair of panels and make them somewhat easiter to carry I will attach them together using piano hinges, suitcase style.
Since MPPT solar controllers are mostly bulky and the bulk need to be minimized for this portable system; I will use a small light weight PWM controller... even thoughit means that some energy/efficiency will not be available..
Since I will be using LiFePo4 batteries I will set the controller to 14 volts.
Since both the solar controller and the battery electronics will limit over current I will not probably install any fuses, although this may change..
To help protect the back of the panels and reinforce their frames a little I will run aluminum crossbars from side to side.
Mostly since I have it in stock, wiring will be done with finely stranded 10 gauge copper wire.
all bolts, nuts & washers will be stainless steel to minimize galvanic corrosion due to dissimilar metals.
I will attempt to make the legs fold against the panel frames to minimize bulk & packing hassles.
Is there any thing, major, that I am missing or should be considered?
Enjoy!
