Can I turn my theory into reality? Fossil fuel free, 100% off grid, but modcons

[nicknorman]

Just on the heat pump thing, if you are planning to use water as the source then your location will be important. I think you said it will be on the Cam so if it’s in a place with some flow, that will surely be a help compared to on a shallow canal with no flow - lovely new “warm” water arriving by the second, to have the heat sucked out of it… but I’ve no idea how cold river water gets in winter, below the 4C previously mentioned I suppose.

[TitaniumSquirrel]

3 hours ago, nicknorman said:

As you say, insulation is the key (or one of them). The problem is that (in winter) you are starting out with thermally conductive steel in contact with water close to zeroC, so the shell of the boat gives you a negative benefit. You therefore need a thick layer of insulation all round, and in a narrowboat this takes up significant space that is already at a premium. Maybe less of an issue if it’s to be a widebeam. Spray foam insulation is by far the best in term of insulation value per thickness.

 

With good insulation I can’t see why a wood stove with back boiler couldn’t kept you warm in winter plus give hot water. However wood is very bulky per kWh and needs to be stored for a year or two before burning. There isn’t enough room on a boat to store it, so you need access to a wood store on land (which is why most boaters burn coal). Hopefully you are aware that you can’t just rock up on the towpath and annex some public land, you would need a paid-for mooring with some land attached. And of course your ability to go away cruising is then curtailed, which raises the question of why go with a boat in the first place?

 

I can’t see a heat pump being much use, in dead of winter the solar panel output will be minimal so where would the electricity to run it come from? And if you did manage a ready supply of dry wood to burn, I can’t see the need for a heat pump.

 

it’s easy in summer, plenty of solar to keep the batteries charged with surplus going into an immersion heater for hot water, but winter is in a different league.

 

Yeah most of my research had lead me down the insulation being pretty key in this venture, and agreed that spray foam seems to be the best from what I've read. I think I'll be looking to go double glazed with thermal breaks too... I do have a basically neverending supply of wood - both palletwood which, whilst not ideal, is a decent kindling, and then also some proper hardwood thanks to a tree surgeon friend. Certainly not annexing any land, though where I'll be moored most boats have a nice wood pile and kit-store just on the shore!

 

I won't be cruising that much, maybe the odd weekend in the summer - I work full time and not remotely so cruising continuously isn't an option - the desire to be on a boat is being closer to nature and the water, and also to put myself in an environment where I am pushed to be practical and be more attuned to what resources I'm using. I'm strongly driven by mitigating climate change.

 

I spent a good chunk of 2019/2020 winter on a narrowboat and it certainly was a different beast! But we stayed warm and cooked well off the 2.5kW solar we had, and a woodburner. That was on a quite poorly insulated boat and some knackered batteries, so I am keen to see how I can improve things with more solar, more insulation, better batteries!

 

Heat pump is certainly the most questionable part of this whole approach, but I think it has legs!

3 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

Oooh, tell us more about how he did it!

Here you go!

 

3 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

 

Diesel generator or if on coast plus a wind turbine.

Hi Tony,

 

Thanks for your continued input, but it's a bit archaic and not very useful. Please see the video I just posted, no diesel in sight, not a wind turbine. Just solar, wood and a bit of gas in winter.

 

Unless you have something constructive to say, please don't bother! I am very happy to take on board reasoned, constructive criticism, but you're not really doing that, not offering any sort of evidence or thinking to support your claims. If you think what I'm talking about is utterly impossible, then you are not up to date with current technology nor my situation.

Cheers,

 

Tom

[nicknorman]

I recently switched to LiFePO4 batteries. They are fantastic - a bucket into which you can pour in, or pour out electricity, with very good power efficiency, making lead acid batteries look like something out of the Stone Age. But you do need the right charging and protection systems, which if you buy off the shelf as a complete drop-in system, is VERY expensive. (I didn’t, I made my own).

[reg]

6 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

 

I am getting a narrowboat, and will be using 410W panels that are approx 1100x1800. They will be mounted in a single row, in portrait on the roof of the boat which will be moored S facing, and tilted to approx 30deg. I should be able to fit 3kW on about half of my boat this way, or push to 4kW if needed in future.

 

So you will be on a NARROWBOAT?

You intend to have 4Kw on a Narrowboat roof?

Do you envisage any solo travel where you may need to use the roof in locks?

 

It will be permanently moored on a south-facing  site?

You don't envisage any travelling?

 

Panels will be permanently set to 30 degrees?

  

Basically have you given any thought to hiw you intend to use the narrowboat in the future?

 

At the moment you may as well be designing a static home.

 

 

[TitaniumSquirrel]

3 hours ago, Tony1 said:

 

If I may make a suggestion, it would be to go back and edit the 'naysayers' line out of your first post. 

 

There are many people who would normally be willing to contribute to a discussion that might kick around some ideas and maybe find a practical way of making a heat pump work on a narrowboat, for example. 

But part of that process will be several negative posts.

That line above can easily be taken as saying: 'I only want people to reply who are positive about these ideas'.

 

I know bugger all about boats and energy systems, but I already have 1.4kw of solar panels, and even I can tell you straight out of the gate that in Winter, the solar panels that can fit on a boat (even on a widebeam) will not gather enough energy to do all the things you want. 

 

Self sufficiency is an admirable goal, as most would recognise, but the various constraints of a narrowboat are simply too great to achieve complete self sufficiency (at the moment), and you will find that the best you can do is develop a set of compromise solutions- especially in the winter, where solar and heat pumps are much less useful.

 

The particular circumstances will have an effect on the solutions- for example, you can fit more solar on the roof if you are permanently moored, or you dont need to walk along the roof in locks etc.

Also, if you have use of land alongside the mooring, you could install many extra solar panels. 

But the problem is that solar power diminishes by a huge factor in the winter. My panels were at times giving me 60 amps in the summer, but in early November, and on my current mooring, they sometimes struggle to deliver 6 amps. To compensate for this tenfold winter reduction I would have to install well over 10kw of panels, which is obviously not possible on a boat. 

 

One of the compromise solutions, for example, might be to install a very efficient diesel genny as Peter, Nick and others have done, to get the most electricity out of the diesel that you do burn. 

 

To keep the discussions manageable and for you gather in any info more efficiently, my advice would be to start a different thread for each type of system, e.g. starting off with the heat pump topic. 

And don't tell people to bugger off at the start! Yes, you will get a lot of chaff, but in amongst that chaff there will be some wheat, and amongst the objections there will be genuine red flags that make you pause, and maybe save you a lot of wasted time and money going down blind alleys.

 

 

Thanks Tony! I can't find the edit button on my OP haha....... oh dear. I meant more that I don't find comments of "you cannot do it" very useful, I was hoping to engage a more constructive dialogue, even if that dialogue is mostly negative, I'd like to why rather than just be told I'm a dreamer and stupid. I know fairly clearly that I am not, and have case studies and the theory to back most of it up (bar the heat pump idea!)

 

I can get 3-4kW on my narrowboat no probs, the panels are about 1100 wide and I can tilt them to 35 deg facing south and mounted in portrait, they're >400W so to get to 4kW would require around 10m of length, or around 30ft. I'm permanently moored, and will only be cruising occasionally. Typically, the ratio of solar generated in the UK in summer (and this is a huge rule of thumb) is 1kWp:5kWh in Summer and 1kWp:1kWh in Winter.

 

Thanks for the advice on general posting too, new to this forum so that's handy to know. I hadn't meant to insult anyone, but perhaps could have phrased it better.....

[TitaniumSquirrel]

2 hours ago, IanD said:

 

I looked in detail into using a marine aircon/heating heat-pump unit to provide both aircon in summer and heating in winter to the electric/series hybrid boat I'm having built, specifically this one:

 

https://www.advanceyacht.co.uk/marine-air-conditioning-units-all/p/frigomar-scu16vfd

 

Apart from fitting the air ducting in -- difficult in a narrowboat, easier in a wideboat like I guess you're going for -- the problem is that it uses fresh water from the canal as a heat source, and will only work as a heater down to +5C inlet water temperature -- so in the depths of winter with the canal close to freezing (or even frozen over) you have no heating, you need another heat source.

 

The power to run it (1kW maximum) still has to come from somewhere. You can get about 5kW (peak output) of solar panels onto a widebeam boat which will typically yield about 20kWh/day in summer but only about 3kWh in midwinter, for a narrowboat 2kW of panels yields about 7kWh/day in summer and 1kWh/day in winter. Add the power to run all the other electrical stuff on the boat to the heat-pump, and the conclusion is that in summer (with a decent-size LiFePO4 battery bank) you'll be fine on a widebeam boat and maybe OK on a narrowboat so long as you don't have too many power-hungry appliances -- which remember includes electricity for kettle/toaster/cooking if you have no gas. In winter you have no chance for either size of boat, you need another source of power, which means either plugging into the shore or having an onboard diesel generator, preferably running on "green" HVO. Even if you use gas for cooking, you'll still need another source of electric power in winter, though you might just get away with solar on a wideboat depending on electrical use -- if you use a heatpump for heating, you won't have enough power even on a wideboat.

 

Unless you plug into the shore, you have no alternative but to use fossil fuels (or HVO) -- gas for cooking is of course a fossil fuel 😉

 

Gas for heating is several times more expensive than diesel (or HVO which is "non-fossil"), solid fuel is cheaper still but of course definitely a fossil fuel. Wood can be seen as renewable but if you're really worried about the environment then this would be ruled out by high particulate air pollution, and it's not impossible that woodburners will be banned in future because of this.

 

 

Amazing! This is awesome! Thanks so much for this, very useful research and thoughts on heat pumps. I have been thinking about the heat exchange issue, though I thought this is dependent more on the liquid used as the heat exchange rather than the temperature? Air source heat pumps work domestically for buildings when the air temperature is below freezing from my knowledge, and I'm keen to explore how that could translate to water source (as then a huge amount of the bulky parts of an air source heat pump could be negated).

 

I will be able to get around 4kWp on my narrowboat which should get me 20kWh a day in Summer as I'll have them tilted and orientated properly, and around 4kWh in Winter. In terms of electricity draw, I'll just have a fridge, lights, a phone charger and a telly. Induction hob in the summer maybe but that'll be further down the line in phase 2. To begin with I'm trying to be realistic and have gas as a backup so that should it all go belly up, then I can still make some hot food on a gas burner for now. Fully electric in the winter I think is almost impossible, but I am keen to try! If I can get away with a shower twice a week and cooking on the woodburner then it might be feasible.......

 

The plot thickens, thanks again

2 hours ago, pete.i said:

Yet another cloud cuckoo land resident. He says he works for a "renewables company" so I suppose he has an invested interest in pushing heat pumps. Good luck with that one.

I'm a little offended actually, I am not here to push heat pumps in the slightest, I had though I might find some people who are interested or knowledgable in this area - and I have on the most part.

 

Please reserve your misguided judgment for others, and don't bother replying if you don't have something to input other than insults and slander.

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

It would also be better for heating the water. Lots of off grid boats keep hot with just a well placed muli fuel stove, ie. wood and coal. You can spot them with the doors wide open when its snowing. What worries me most about heat pumps is all the moving parts, seals etc. and what sort of maintenance/life they will have.

 

Hmmm, yeah I am likely adding in quite a huge amount of maintenance and potential issues with a heat pump.... I hadn't though of that side of it! The more complex I make it all, the more there is to go wrong and maintain/fix. Worth considering.... thanks!

[Alan de Enfield]

10 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

Typically, the ratio of solar generated in the UK in summer (and this is a huge rule of thumb) is 1kWp:5kWh in Summer and 1kWp:1kWh in Winter.

 

I think this is being extremely optimistic and is not bourne out by my, and many other boaters experiences.

 

Typically you will get less than 10% on any typical Winters day, and taken over longer periods of cloudy / rainy weather can be as low as 2% or 3% of the equivalent output in Mid Summer.

 

There are always the odd 'bitterly cold, bright sunny Winters day' where a solar panel will produce a high percentage of the Summer output, but, they are few and far between.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[TitaniumSquirrel]

1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

I fink the OP knows full well its pie in the sky, hes a wind up merchant thats caught loads of fish innitt 

Not in the slightest at all, I have the courage of my convictions and this is exactly what I am going to be doing. Currently boat hunting and have a mooring license in Cambridge under my arm ready to plonk a boat on!

20 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Just on the heat pump thing, if you are planning to use water as the source then your location will be important. I think you said it will be on the Cam so if it’s in a place with some flow, that will surely be a help compared to on a shallow canal with no flow - lovely new “warm” water arriving by the second, to have the heat sucked out of it… but I’ve no idea how cold river water gets in winter, below the 4C previously mentioned I suppose.

Absolutely! Makes quite the difference. The Cam is pretty bloody slow moving I must say, I think it's something like 0.4m/s so not a huge flow to be honest.......... but it's better than nothing I guess. The chap who runs the renewable heat division where I work is adamant it has legs and will work, I think I'm the guinea pig, but he's really quite serious and done all the maths! Powering the thing is the issue in winter, but we're getting there.

[TitaniumSquirrel]

16 minutes ago, reg said:

So you will be on a NARROWBOAT?

You intend to have 4Kw on a Narrowboat roof?

Do you envisage any solo travel where you may need to use the roof in locks?

 

It will be permanently moored on a south-facing  site?

You don't envisage any travelling?

 

Panels will be permanently set to 30 degrees?

  

Basically have you given any thought to hiw you intend to use the narrowboat in the future?

 

At the moment you may as well be designing a static home.

 

 

I guess you're right to some degree, it is more like a static home - most of the community on the Cam are like this, and yes, 4kW on a narrowboat. I don't envisage huge amounts of solo travel, if any. It would likely be weekend jaunts or perhaps the odd week with friends/partner.

 

Yup, permanently south facing, permanently 30 degrees.

 

I'm not going to be a cruiser, it's a liveaboard with permanent mooring essentially!

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

I'm not going to be a cruiser, it's a liveaboard with permanent mooring essentially!

 

Have you considered a 'houseboat' which will offer you everything you need ?

[TitaniumSquirrel]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Have you considered a 'houseboat' which will offer you everything you need ?

Yeah, unfortunately the waiting list for a mooring license on the Cam for widebeam boats is about a decade, so I have to go narrowboat!

[dmr]

17 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

Awesome! This sounds like you've headed down the same path I'm looking to. Very glad to hear the immersion and induction can be fed off that solar in the summer - may I ask how many people are on your boat? I will just be on my own so might mean less demand than you? I'm on a narrowboat but will be using 410W panels at around 1100x1700, and should be able to fit 8-10 on no probs, in portrait in a row, tilted at around 30 degrees, and I'll be facing South.

 

I'm contemplating putting solar thermal panels on the side of the boat that faces south also, as it's a more efficient way of generating hot water, and would be ideal for the Winter when the sun is low in the sky.

 

The heat pump is certainly a more "out there" idea, but in theory it should be possible - I work with a chap who's been in heat pumps for around 25 years and we've gone through the theory a few times, obviously the proof is in the pudding but part of this journey is seeing whether it can work!

 

There used to be a boat on the Mac with solar everywhere, on the roof, on the sides, and on an elevated frame. I assume some of it was non optimum for angle, and not good for cruising.

 

We've just had a pretty bad time getting up through Manchester and having good access to the roof was essential, I would really have struggled with a load of solar.

 

If you want a static boat ("water house") then plug it in to the mains, if you want to go boating then keep some roof access.

 

[TitaniumSquirrel]

17 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I think this is being extremely optimistic and is not bourne out by my, and many other boaters experiences.

 

Typically you will get less than 10% on any typical Winters day, and taken over longer periods of cloudy / rainy weather can be as low as 2% or 3% of the equivalent output in Mid Summer.

 

There are always the odd 'bitterly cold, bright sunny Winters day' where a solar panel will produce a high percentage of the Summer output, but, they are few and far between.

Yeah, I think December and January will be real struggles but am fairly confident in other months. I think I may have to rely on a bit of gas top up during those two months (see attached report). I am hoping that given the large battery bank, when I do have the glorious Winter days, combined with using precious little electricity each day and a change of habits, that I can "bank" enough to last me a few days. It's all a bit of an experiment to see exactly what's achievable!

PVGIS-5_OffgridPV_52.220_0.155_SA_4000Wp_15000Wh_20_3000Wh_30deg_15deg.pdf

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

There used to be a boat on the Mac with solar everywhere, on the roof, on the sides, and on an elevated frame. I assume some of it was non optimum for angle, and not good for cruising.

 

We've just had a pretty bad time getting up through Manchester and having good access to the roof was essential, I would really have struggled with a load of solar.

 

If you want a static boat ("water house") then plug it in to the mains, if you want to go boating then keep some roof access.

 

I'd love to see a photo!

 

Unfortunately, there are no mooring points on the Cam with a shore hook up - they are all totally off-grid (but cheap!). I will have some roof access, and the panels will also fold/slide away, and maybe be movable onto the side of the boat during winter for better generation with the sun low in the sky!

[Tony1]

 

Just a thought, but I would allow a tad more length- the mounts for my panels extend out beyond the panels, and even with the mounts butted up together, there is still a significant gap between the panels.  

 

Not sure if this is an issue or not, but if the panels weigh about 20kg each say, and there are 10 of them, you'll have 2000kg pressing down on one side of the roof, so you might need some ballast on the other side of the roof? 

 

Another quick thought- if you can make some of the panels dismountable without too much effort, you could remove some of them when you want to go cruising, allowing access to the centre line, parts of the roof, etc. 

 

I'm impressed that you can get 4kw on a roof though. 

My boat is only 50ft, and I had to leave the roof area around the centre line clear of panels, plus some space at the back for me to climb onto the roof, and a bit of space for the chimney. 

I've ended up with 1.4kw and it would be difficult to squeeze more in as I'm a CCer and the boat need to be fully navigate-able, but one thought I did have was that I could mount more panels- hung vertically on the walls of the boat.

In your case, being largely static, you could maybe mount an extra few panels on the south side of the superstructure?

 

[dmr]

6 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

Yeah, I think December and January will be real struggles but am fairly confident in other months. I think I may have to rely on a bit of gas top up during those two months (see attached report). I am hoping that given the large battery bank, when I do have the glorious Winter days, combined with using precious little electricity each day and a change of habits, that I can "bank" enough to last me a few days. It's all a bit of an experiment to see exactly what's achievable!

PVGIS-5_OffgridPV_52.220_0.155_SA_4000Wp_15000Wh_20_3000Wh_30deg_15deg.pdf 414.5 kB · 0 downloads

I'd love to see a photo!

 

Unfortunately, there are no mooring points on the Cam with a shore hook up - they are all totally off-grid (but cheap!). I will have some roof access, and the panels will also fold/slide away, and maybe be movable onto the side of the boat during winter for better generation with the sun low in the sky!

 

So you have secured one of those lovely Cam moorings? I therefore assume you will be almost 100% static?   Fill the roof and sides with solar but maybe make a few removable in case you want to go for a cruise at some stage.  I assume widebeams are not allowed???? otherwise you could make a little solar raft next to your boat.

[David Mack]

39 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

In terms of electricity draw, I'll just have a fridge, lights, a phone charger and a telly. Induction hob in the summer maybe but that'll be further down the line in phase 2.

Since you are going to have to be particularly economical in your use of electricity you should think seriously about ditching the fridge - at least in winter. For a typical narrowboater the fridge represents about half the total electricity consumption, and with minimal solar in winter you just can't afford it. Fit an under-floor locker or two where food that needs to be cool can be kept in contact with the baseplate, or keep chilled foods in a bow or stern locker.

 

Have you done an energy audit? Work out your total energy consumption for space heating, water heating, lighting, cooking, electrical appliances etc. Then compare that with the total you can capture from solar - in summer and in winter, and add in the heat your heat pump will extract from the river. The difference between the two numbers will tell you if you have any chance of making it work.

Edited November 4, 2021 by David Mack

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

Yeah, I think December and January will be real struggles but am fairly confident in other months. I think I may have to rely on a bit of gas top up during those two months (see attached report). I am hoping that given the large battery bank, when I do have the glorious Winter days, combined with using precious little electricity each day and a change of habits, that I can "bank" enough to last me a few days. It's all a bit of an experiment to see exactly what's achievable!

PVGIS-5_OffgridPV_52.220_0.155_SA_4000Wp_15000Wh_20_3000Wh_30deg_15deg.pdf 414.5 kB · 0 downloads

 

 

The theory is no doubt 'good' but it would be interesting to see the 'workings' behind that table - I'd bet it is estimated in a 'lab' and is based on a house roof, well above the ground effect of shadows, trees, river banks etc etc.

If the moorings in Cambridge are anything like those in Lincolnshire, you are normally situated very low down & often behin high (flood protection) banks with the roof of the boat below bank height. This restricts the hours of daylight available to the panels as until the Sun is 'high' in the sky you are getting nothing.

 

 

The reality (I have found) is very different to the theoretical - it brings to mind a well known military saying (which could be similarly adapted to 'theroretical estimations, and real-life actuals')

 

"No plan survives beyond the first encounter with the enemy"

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, Loddon said:

I would happily run mine on HVO but I am not mucking about with 205 kg barrels of the stuff, to much chance of a hernia not to mention the fact that marina wouldn't like it. To get people to convert it needs suppliers to change over but suppliers won't change without customer demand. 😱

Same here

[MtB]

1 hour ago, nicknorman said:

Just on the heat pump thing, if you are planning to use water as the source then your location will be important. I think you said it will be on the Cam so if it’s in a place with some flow, that will surely be a help compared to on a shallow canal with no flow - lovely new “warm” water arriving by the second, to have the heat sucked out of it… but I’ve no idea how cold river water gets in winter, below the 4C previously mentioned I suppose.

 

I too was wondering about using the water as the heat source. 

 

One administrative trip-up is an abstraction license is needed to take heat energy from a river. I know this from another forum where exactly this point was discussed. Not that a CCing boater is likely to care particularly, but someone with a permanent mooring might be well advised to have the license. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by MtB

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, MtB said:

One administrative trip-up is an abstraction license is needed to take heat energy from a river. I know this from another forum where exactly this point was discussed. Not that a CCing boater is likely to care particularly, but someone with a permanent mooring might be well advised to have the license. 

 

And, then they'd probably need a 'discharge' licence as well.

Who ever grants the abstraction licence will no doubt ask 'where is it going' ?

[David Mack]

Do you need an abstraction licence if no water is taken from the river, merely heat exchanged through the steel hull of the boat?

If that counts as abstraction, then what about all those boats that cool their internal combustion engines by pushing heat the other way through the hull, let alone those that actually do abstract river or canal water and return it a little warmer?

Edited November 4, 2021 by David Mack

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

Awesome! This sounds like you've headed down the same path I'm looking to. Very glad to hear the immersion and induction can be fed off that solar in the summer - may I ask how many people are on your boat? I will just be on my own so might mean less demand than you? I'm on a narrowboat but will be using 410W panels at around 1100x1700, and should be able to fit 8-10 on no probs, in portrait in a row, tilted at around 30 degrees, and I'll be facing South.

 

I'm contemplating putting solar thermal panels on the side of the boat that faces south also, as it's a more efficient way of generating hot water, and would be ideal for the Winter when the sun is low in the sky.

 

The heat pump is certainly a more "out there" idea, but in theory it should be possible - I work with a chap who's been in heat pumps for around 25 years and we've gone through the theory a few times, obviously the proof is in the pudding but part of this journey is seeing whether it can work!

There are people on Facebook who run immersion heaters using excess solar in the sunny months of the year that are switched automatically.

[Higgs]

 

"I too was wondering about using the water as the heat source. 

 

One administrative trip-up is an abstraction license is needed to take heat energy from a river. I know this from another forum where exactly this point was discussed. Not that a CCing boater is likely to care particularly, but someone with a permanent mooring might be well advised to have the license." MTB

 

 

Got a raw water-cooled engine? What does it say about putting warm water into the river/canal, or using that cooler water to cool an engine. 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Higgs

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

 Unless you have something constructive to say, please don't bother! I am very happy to take on board reasoned, constructive criticism, but you're not really doing that, not offering any sort of evidence or thinking to support your claims. If you think what I'm talking about is utterly impossible, then you are not up to date with current technology nor my situation.

Cheers,

 

Tom

Tom, comments like that will not help you on here. This forum will give you good advice, practical experience and also some crap which you just have to ignore.

[reg]

58 minutes ago, TitaniumSquirrel said:

I guess you're right to some degree, it is more like a static home - most of the community on the Cam are like this, and yes, 4kW on a narrowboat. I don't envisage huge amounts of solo travel, if any. It would likely be weekend jaunts or perhaps the odd week with friends/partner.

 

Yup, permanently south facing, permanently 30 degrees.

 

I'm not going to be a cruiser, it's a liveaboard with permanent mooring essentially!

O.k So we have now established that you will not be applying your theories and applications to a narrowboat but to a static residence that may occasionally move.

 

This makes your original post redundant.

 

However if you do have access to resources and are willing to spend time on money on research which may INCIDENTALLY benefit us narrowboating dinosaurs then all well and good but, and it is a big but, your original post is fundamentaly flawed in that you are designing for a static residence and not a narrowboat.

Personally I would scrap this post altogether and repost with a clearer one.

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by reg