Guest anthony6 Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Could someone please tell me the truth about solar panels. Having moored behind several boats and have observed that they still run their engines or generators, during the course of the day. So the question is are they just a gimmick.Or do they have a purpose. oh and they still run engines on sunny days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Solar panels work but they will never stop the need to run the engine/generator. It will actually depend on the number of panels (wattage) and the usage of the power.. A bit like battery banks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 I have solar panels but they are just to maintain my batteries when the boat is not in use. I usualy remove them when cruising on the canals as I like to use the roof whereas on the river I normaly leave them out. So you could well see me running my engine with solar panels on the roof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dovetail Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 They are good I have not run my engine all summer apart from moving since I fitted my solar panels (130w total) and often the regulator has indicated the batteries are fully charged but then I have a low power consumption compared to most and not on the boat during the day. I will have to start to run the engine soon though as the light is failing and with it the power from the panels. I would love to fit more without compromising the space on the roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pykebird Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 (edited) Now my batteries are dying, I am really relying on my solar panals to help out. I am not sure of the technical side, but my fridge is dong its nut and the light is flashing when I wake up. As leave and go to work around 8 ish I dont run my engine before I leave. When I returned at lunch time on friday, no flashing light, and invertor read nearly 13 volts!I have 4 rather dead 110 ah batteries ad 2x 180w soar panels. My 12v fridge and 12v freezer run 24/7, So It works for me. sorry posted twice! Edited October 7, 2012 by pykebird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex- Member Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 If you assess your power requirements you can roughly calculate how many watts of solar you would require. Many on the forum have installed solar up to a KW and they have not had to run engines or generastors for most the summer. If you calculate the costs solat energy is now much cheaper than diesel generation over a 3 or 4 year period, also solar's getting cheaper and oil dearer so that gap will shorten. We have 500w of solar to fit, we shouldn't need to use any oher form of generation through the hottest 6 months unless there's occasions of very poor weather for several days in that period. In winter though you'll probably only get between 10 or 20% from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 I have 500w of solar and since they've been fitted I think it would be fair to say that when we are aboard we get about 40% of our needs. If we turned the fridge freezer off them probably 80+% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Gunkel Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Many people who buy solar panels haven't a clue as to what they actually need, as witnessed by many threads on this forum. A 60watt Maplins solar panel is not going to run a fridge, microwave and 40" TV, many people though seem to have the impression that any solar panel should be able to run everything and keep their batteries charged. As Julynian has already pointed out, you need to assess the amount of power that you actually use, before you can start working out how much solar you would need. It is then about using the available power in the most efficient way that you can, and not just using high power consumption domestic appliances as you would in a house. If you do want to use everything that you would when in a house using grid power, then even covering your entire boat roof in solar panels will still leave you short in the winter months. You'll then be the one with the solar panels who is still running his engine every day Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 (edited) Agreed. My main reason is to keep the batteries conditioned while not on the boat. The extra I get is a bonus. When we were out for a month in the summer with no nod to power saving what so ever we would use about 130amps a day. With solar and a coup.e of hours cruising a day we would get 100% back on the battery monitor. When I'm on the boat and not cruising I usually knock the batteries down to about 80% in a couple of days. The solar panels will put this back into the batteries in a few days, and I'm moored under a willow tree! Battery bank is 1180 amps. Edited October 7, 2012 by Biggles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Solar power is great but won't heat the domestic hot water! In theory, it opens up the possibility to use a stove with a back boiler (you'd probably need to run a circulation pump 24/7) but you'd need to ensure the pump is quiet enough to sleep through. And you'd need some kind of alternate for heating the water in the summertime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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