Solar Panel Installation Photos

[Jeff Jones]

Hi all
I am looking for ideas for positioning larger solar panels on my Bavaria 34/2.

Would you share your photos of where you positioned the solar panels.

The options I have are:-

1  Companion way roof in front of the main traveller - but can be partially shaded
2  Spray hood (flexible panel)
3  Canopy cover
4  fore deck (were original one is)
5  build an Arch

any experience and comments would be great


Thanks

[Yngmar]

Depends on how many watts you need. For maximum efficiency, you'd want rigid panels, not flexible/walkable ones, which means either a stern arch (expensive) or turning part of your lifelines into solid rails and mounting them there (very exposed when going into marinas).

Flexible ones on canvas can work, but are less efficient, more expensive and a hassle to deploy/remove.

I went with the stern arch option and put 600W there. See this thread: http://bavariayacht.org/forum/index.php/topic,1992.0.html

[Craig]

It really depends on how much power you want and where you live.

If you need your batteries topped up over a winter layup then what you got should be sufficient.

At anchor the refrigerator should be your biggest draw. ( Typically draws 60 watts for 18 hours per day in the Med. 1000 w or 90 amp/hours per day.)  Lights (LED), TV ( a few hours a day) and Radio ( left on for 12 hrs a day) should only account for only another 100 w or about 9 amp/hours. If you have 400 amp/hour batteries only taken down to half charge then that would mean you can sit at anchor for  about 2 days. With 120 w flexible panels ( could be fitted on deck) this would extend your time at anchor to just under 3 days without recharging. If you don't anchor for longer than 3 days without motoring or plugging in to shore power then you don't need anything more. In the Med, we often sat on anchor for up to 4 days with only 120 w flexible panels mounted in front of the traveller on a Bav 38.

If you live for a long time under anchor ( regularly more than 3 days at a time) then you will need to generate anything from 1200 w per day to twice that, depending on where you live. Given that solar panels produce varying amounts of power depending on how they are mounted, hours of sun-light, the temperature and how much flexibility your battery bank size allows, you will require anything from 400 w to 800 w panels. This will require an expensive Targa arch and rigid panels.  As a very rough guide, you can only look at the output of the solar panels for 4 hours per day.

Sailing can burn up enormous amounts of power if you have Radar, Chartplotters and Autopilot. We typically draw up to 20 amps on long trips under auto-pilot. No solar installation will keep up this rate for long.

You may be better to consider enough solar power for your typical use, rather than your maximum requirements. You can always turn on the engine if you are really low.

We made the mistake of getting a 1KVA ( 1000 w)  generator to top up our 120 w panels. The generator was plugged into our shore power inlet and used the standard battery charger to charge our batteries. As the battery charger would only take 40 amps when the batteries were down, this only used 480 w from the generator. We also changed the element in our water heater from the standard 2000w to a 500 w element. This enabled us to heat the water whilst charging the batteries. No solar panel installation will typically heat your water as well unless you . Our sailing lifestyle in the Med meant that we only used the generator two or 3 times in 5 1/2 years of cruising.

More battery capacity may also be an option for you. I've never been convinced that the cost of a Targa Arch and panels are worth it. You can buy a lot of batteries or a lot of diesel for the cost. Targa Panels can be easily damaged in Med moorings and storms. They also create additional windage.

I think your decision should be more about your power requirements than where to put the panels. If you can get away with less than 120 w panels then definitely flexible panels on deck is preferable. More than 400w requires a Targa Arch or similar. Occasional usage may lean towards flexible panels over the bimini on a temporary basis. I've seen too many boats with damage to their sides to suggest that panels on the side are worth it.

Craig
" Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast
Australia

[Jeff Jones]

Hi Craig, thanks, some good info there Sir....

We are on a swing mooring, on a Lake in Northern England, using the boat 3-4days a week in season.
Our power needs are simpler as we don't live aboard full time.. Heating in winter, radio, LED lights, TV and fridge when engine running or when batteries full.

With solar I am compromised be by a number of things,
- boat location and the amount of sun we get
- suitable places to install solar ridged or semi-flex
- the amount of power solar will generate
- swing of the boat to the sun

The way I am looking at it, what ever I can get from solar is a big plus, and with 3-4 days only looking to top my batteries back to somewhere near full by the time were next back.

I have recently installed 300Ahr of AGM to increase capacity and upgraded the charging from the 115A alternator.
also added a 4stage charger for shore power.
Every few months we use jetty shore power and the 4stage charger to properly get the batts back to a full state (current at float is 0.9amps)

I normally use the engine to put the bulk charge back in and get the charging current down to less than 5Amps (>95%full).
Using a battery monitor that count the Ahrs used and what's put back in..

Over the months I've noticed that using this method, that when I go on shore power my batteries top up to +105%SOC with somewhere around 26Ahr extra being put back in than the manitor said was used.
This is discrepancy is from how battery monitors work, solar float charging would fill this hole and reduce the need to visit the jetty.


At this moment, am considering a number of smaller panels (>60W) wired in series on each side of the boat to have a higher voltage and Port / STB MPPT controllers, which should allow for shading or direction the boat is on the mooring..

My favourite idea is a one on the spray hood and on full canopy, the full canopy one would be easy removable for when we go sailing.

if these are a none starter, then might have to seriously consider an arch.

id like to see any photos you might have of where you positioned your solar panels.

regards
 

[Craig]

Jeff,

I'm surprised you need much power to keep your batteries topped up when on a mooring with no one on board. Your existing solar panels should handle this need. Do you turn all power off when you leave your boat and just have your small solar panel keeping the batteries topped up?

I take it that you mean wiring in parallel for the panels rather than in series. Most solar panels, in my experience put out 18 volts, it is just the current ( amps) that change. My solar panels are wired through a controller, direct ( sort of) to the batteries so they keep a small current going in when I am moored. Monitor sits on 13.2 to 13.5 most of the time. I don't connect to shore power unless I leave the fridge on. I must admit that my batteries are usually nearly fully charged as I have about 1 hour motoring up the river and canal after each sail. I'm not an expert on the controllers needed but make sure that you have a good controller to avoid cooking your batteries.

My boat is a bit bigger than yours, so you may not be able to install the panels in a similar way to mine. The panels are semi-flexible and can be walked upon. They are under the boom and that drops output, but not by much. Mine are rated at 120w, and surprisingly generated more power in Europe than on the Gold Coast, mainly because of the higher temperature here. ( I can't walk on the panels in summer, to hot). Where mine are mounted would be great for Europe but if I had to install the panels now, I would look at a place with more air circulation for cooling. The panels were installed in 2009 and I haven't had any problem since. If I walk on them, I usually do that in bare feet, as evidenced by footprints in photo.

Craig
" Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast
Australia

[sailprincess]

We have a total of 400 watts in flexi panels on our Bav 40 (2002). Four 100 watt panels... It is GREAT! One of the best things we ever did to upgrade the boat. You can read about the 2 we installed on our Bimini top here: sailingwithbloom.com/adding-flexible-solar-panels-on-a-bimini-top/

Also, attached is a pic of the 2 we just added to our dodger top. Any questions, let me know.