Solar panel, noise ?

Sandancers

Sandancers

Joined
May 29, 2013
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Tyneside
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Chausson best of Flash 10
Exp
Several years now
We are considering getting a solar panel fitted. Apart from the electrical questions Mrs Sandancers raised a point I'd never considered before.

Do you get any noise which is due to the solar panel either when driving or when parked up (which could be caused buy wind whistling around the panel) ?
 
And it’s a no from me with my panels.

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Yes. My panel is at the front of the van, a PVC, and sits with the long edge across the van. It's mounted with long brackets on the short sides so the long front and rear edges are open. It is desirable to have a cross flow of air able to get under the panel to avoid build up of heat in hot weather. Consequence though is when driving there can be quite a lot of buffeting with air movement over and under the panel. If find that above around 65mph (according to the poorly calibrated Ducato speedo), it's far too noisy.

Looking to see if I can find some form of spoiler that I could fit, but which would still allow some air movement when parked up.

20220817_114535.jpg
 
Would the solar panel make it quieter during rain?
 
If you have room I Would suggest fitting the panels lengthways (front to back ) using the aerofoil type mounting brackets. This streamlines the wind resistance. It also stops the additional pressure on the fixing method when travelling.
 
Ours run lengthways to the roof and we have never been aware of any wind noise.
 
Mine stretches from one side to the other, two of them, and maxfan in front. No noise from panels, and yes does help with the rain noise.

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When I fitted the panels like this the whistling was horrendous at anything above 20mph...I sealed between the front panel edges and the roof rack bar and silence returned
Odd thing is I previously had a single panel fitted sideways attached to the roof rack bar and all gaps were the same, it was silent 🤷‍♂️
All I did was turn the panel longways and add a second so why they both whistled very loudly when longways and only from the front edge is a mystery
 
Noise is vibration. Vibration is bad for any structure. Best to stop the noise.
 
headlight said:
busbuddy how have you attached the panels to your roof rack ?
Click to expand...
Luckily on the swift bars (no idea if others are similar) one side has a 'T track' style groove in it so I welded stud to flat plate and slid it into the T *
Stud goes through mounting holes in panel and secured with nylocs

* proper T track fittings are available online but I'm tight plus i couldn't wait for them to come 👍
 
I have 11 solar panels and no noise what so ever 👍
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busbuddy said:
Luckily on the swift bars (no idea if others are similar) one side has a 'T track' style groove in it so I welded stud to flat plate and slid it into the T *
Stud goes through mounting holes in panel and secured with nylocs

* proper T track fittings are available online but I'm tight plus i couldn't wait for them to come 👍
Click to expand...
Same bars as on my Swift.
How long have you had the panels on for, any problems ?
I tried to get 3 different fitting companies to fit panels to my bars as there was only enough space for a single 115watt on the roof itself.
All 3 refused saying that either the panel would rip the bars out of the roof or push the roof down damaging it

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Had the single 160w panel running side to side on for 5 years, then bought another identical 160w panel and fitted longways last march
No probs for me

I imagine a fully loaded roof box would cause more issues than the panel
 
busbuddy said:
Had the single 160w panel running side to side on for 5 years, then bought another identical 160w panel and fitted longways last march
No probs for me

I imagine a fully loaded roof box would cause more issues than the panel
Click to expand...
That is exactly what I thought and told the installers.
How many sides of each of your panels are attached to your bars ?
 
4 corners using normal holes in panel when single was sideways
When 2 panels longways I had to drill new holes in panel to attach the outer edges because they overhang the rack
If that makes sense

On mine (assume yours is same) the whole rack can slide backwards/forwards once you loosen the bolts holding it to the brackets mounted on roof, I had to shuffle mine about to get the panels to miss the bathroom and rear bedroom skylights whilst still allowing the aerial to work.
If you do slide the rack backwards you will need to trim the ladder where it meets the rack
 
busbuddy said:
4 corners using normal holes in panel when single was sideways
When 2 panels longways I had to drill new holes in panel to attach the outer edges because they overhang the rack
If that makes sense

On mine (assume yours is same) the whole rack can slide backwards/forwards once you loosen the bolts holding it to the brackets mounted on roof, I had to shuffle mine about to get the panels to miss the bathroom and rear bedroom skylights whilst still allowing the aerial to work.
If you do slide the rack backwards you will need to trim the ladder where it meets the rack
Click to expand...
Yes makes perfect sense.
One final question if you don't mind.
You said earlier that you can buy clips to attach the panel to the roof bars but you made your own.
Do you have a link to the clips or what they are called so I can Google them ?
 
T-track or T-slot were the available ones
Not sure what lengths are available so the threaded part might need cutting shorter and it's a bit fiddly getting the nyloc nuts on because you are reaching in under the panel....once you get the roofbar in your hand and look at the slot it will become clearer 👍

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busbuddy said:
T-track or T-slot were the available ones
Not sure what lengths are available so the threaded part might need cutting shorter and it's a bit fiddly getting the nyloc nuts on because you are reaching in under the panel....once you get the roofbar in your hand and look at the slot it will become clearer 👍
Click to expand...
Thanks very much 👍
Once the weather improves I'll have a measure up then fit a second panel.
Thanks again.
 
Not heard any noise though I suspect any noise when travelling is masked by the natural din made by a giant brick called a motorhome
 
Thanks all, it would seem that there is not really a problem with wind noise then.
 

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