sola pannels I821

[mickeydefrance]

Hi I have a Burstner elegance i821 2006 and thinking of getting sola pannels fitted dose any one have any good advice to give on it? cheers Mick

 

[nicaf]

I met a couple who are full-timing in a Burstner and were contemplating this system. I had never come across it before. It sounds expensive but given the way it tracks the sun via GPS you get very efficient energy yield. Worth considering!

Ten-Haaft (Oyster) Sunmover Automatic Sun Tracking Solar Panel System. Enter this into google

The SunMover® is an intelligent and GPS-controlled solar system which automatically tracks the sun’s path during the day. It is equipped with a specifically designed 75-Wp solar module which is always perfectly aimed at the sun - hence providing optimal energy yield.

 

[schojac]

Very pricey at £2000.00 but may come into its own if optimum power is required in the winter when the sun is low. If roof space is available I think 2 x 100Watt panels could be a much cheaper option.

 

[nicaf]

Yes I agree very pricey. Mind you how much are a couple of panels to buy and install? Maybe if this is emerging technology the price may reduce if other manufacturers come to market. I will definitely keep an eye on this for future reference

 

[vwalan]

just fit lots of panels flat . i use 6x80w . works most of year. ...in uk bit difficult end sept or october . but go south to spain works fine . come home end april and then use an extension lead from inverter into the house . runs fridge tv . computer . vacum . keeps house bills down . need a big battery bank . but at 80 quid a panmel now and a few big truck batteries you are quids in . inc a biggish inverter for mains . about a grand or 1100quid should see you ok .
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[voyagerstan]

you can buy alot of solar panels for a grand the other grand can then go towards finding some sun !!!!! stan

 

[cruiser]

cruiser

:thumb:I like the idea of plugging your van in to the house.at the moment,mine takes power from the mains. so solar panels seems to be the way to go.:thumb:

 

[mdixon]

I met a couple who are full-timing in a Burstner and were contemplating this system. I had never come across it before. It sounds expensive but given the way it tracks the sun via GPS you get very efficient energy yield. Worth considering!

Ten-Haaft (Oyster) Sunmover Automatic Sun Tracking Solar Panel System. Enter this into google

The SunMover® is an intelligent and GPS-controlled solar system which automatically tracks the sun’s path during the day. It is equipped with a specifically designed 75-Wp solar module which is always perfectly aimed at the sun - hence providing optimal energy yield.

Dont know about panels on Motorhomes but from other experience of tracking solar.....
1. There are systems that use "eyes" to track the sun and position effectivley - but these all suffer from Jitter when a cloud comes in.
2. Consider the power used by the tracker - is this greater than the gain?
3. Initial cost and maintanance

These are the reasons why solar farms do not tend to use trackers

Although I could see a benefit of a manually cranking up to 27deg and manually adjusting round every hour or so. Better than horizontal:thumb:

 

[eddie]

I have fitted them. On average the performance of a tracking panel is abut five time that of a conventional flat panel. This is the claim of the manufacturer and having one fitted on my last RV which was sold last year I would confirm to be about right. However some points to ponder :-

On my new van I have loads of roof space so I have installed three 130 watt flat panels. If I was short for space the tracking system would the way forward.

I don't need to remember to turn "on" on flat panels, so at 6.00AM my 390 watts (3 x 130) is vastly superior to the 100w flat panel. The units park automatically at Sunset, but logically will only "rise" when turned on the following morning (you could be parked in a garage and the thing wreck it's self.

It is often windy and sunny! So the unit stays as effective as a conventional flat panel if too windy to track.

Many on the forum are quick to suggest what they did or didn't do on their vans, but people have varying amounts of practical ability or experience. I know that they're being helpful, but if the idea of drilling holes in the roof of your brand new motorhome makes you feel sick, being able to buy something from China for £100 doesn't help.

Not everyone's main or first criteria is price. Many like to buy toys, and have them professionally fitted, demonstrated and backed up. In short many would rather spend money and avoid themselves the aggravation.

My best mate that bought my previous RV loves putting up the solar panel, as people watch it spin round, small boys point at it and he thinks that it is a great conversation opener when he goes to a site, a bit like walking a dog

The amount of power that the motor takes to rotate a few degrees ever hour is minimal and wouldn't even be an issue.

Five times more efficient, don't loose sight of the fact that solar panels are brilliant in the Summer (when you don't have a huge electrical requirement) work well at the end of Spring and the beginning of Autumn and are poor from the end of Autumn, Winter and the beginning of Spring (on average) so five times more efficient that a convention flat panel sounds impressive but if a conventional flat panel can manage say 2w at midday then your all singing all dancing tracking panel will give you about 10w.

Add to this that it is dark until 10.00Am and again at 3.00Pm so 50 watts in total so around 4 amps to replace what you used the day beforeoh: so not sustainable either way. (a 21w light bulb so beloved by caravan and motorhome light manufacturers would use that in 2 - 2.5 hours for a single light the night before)

A few points to ponder

Eddie

 

[hilldweller]

Although I could see a benefit of a manually cranking up to 27deg and manually adjusting round every hour or so. Better than horizontal:thumb:

So much complication when panels are quite cheap. KISS. Throw on another panel.

I've just seen £2000 for 75W tracking.

100W panels are about £100. Two or three would out-perform that 75W I'm sure. And nothing to go wrong.

Daftest tracker of all is the one on the back of a sat dish. So you choose, do I charge my battery or watch TV during the day. A lose lose lose situation because 2 days of watching TV in the day, your battery is flat and the tracker has no power to track next day.

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[Snowbird]

Or you could of course build one like this. One we made earlier. That reminds me, it wont work well on the dining room table, must get it on the van oh: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRky41k-D8o"]Arduino Solar Tracker (Alpha 2) - YouTube[/ame]