Solar panel that tilts.

[the1andonly]

I wonder if you could use 1 or 2 car hatchback struts to pop the panel up. All you'd have to do then is take a bolt out and it pops up. Most would maybe be too powerfull so you'd need one for a small door or the ones that just open the rear glass would be weaker. Might look into it myself thinking about it

Just having read the rest of this thread i didn't realize this was all your idea.
(struts came from the spare Bongo inner roof i had)
thanks, i only thought id borrowed the hinges. the other thread shows the experimentation of strut location versus angle. works a treat. i mounted the struts upside down and inside the panel to aid weather proofing.
Thanks again best idea i never had

Tilting solar panels

Has anyone done a roof tilting panels with actuator or without? I’m in process of finishing mine. Initially I had two fixed and I had to start from scratch, without access below roof. I’m interested in what others have used for hinges. I tried few combinations, and settled for the fire rated 4”...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[bigwood]

This talk of tilting solar panels reminds me of a friend of ours with a narrow boat. He decided to fit tilting solar panels . Unfortunately his first trip out with them fitted the only place he could find to tie up was in a cutting with overhanging trees.

 

[johnnyjp5]

Has anybody fitted a panel to their roof that can be tilted? I'll be fitting a 150w panel when we get back, and I want it to be of use in Spain during September and October when the sun starts getting lower. We usually park with the awning facing west so we get good afternoon sun therefore the back of the van usually faces south.
I'm thinking maybe put a piano hinge at the back of the panel so the front lifts up 45 degrees. The front of the panel would maybe sit on aluminum 20 x 40 'unistrut' and have 2 scallop knobs to release it.

Anybody got thoughts or experience on this?

I have an Alden system that follows the sun. Makes a very big difference on sunny days, esp when out all day

 

[Tony50]

Like this?

In 2007 I had a 100 watt Alden all singing dancing Alden panel that followed the sun I came to the conclusion it almost took out the power it put in the battery, what it put when it moved

 

[eddie]

In 2007 I had a 100 watt Alden all singing dancing Alden panel that followed the sun I came to the conclusion it almost took out the power it put in the battery, what it put when it moved

You were wrong then. It moves a "bit" once an hour

We have one on the Van Bitz exhibition unit and it is much more effective than a 100W flat panel

I have an Alden system that follows the sun. Makes a very big difference on sunny days, esp when out all day

That's what we find

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[two]

I seem to recall Alden (or it may have been Oyster) claiming "up to five times better than a flat panel". A meaningless statement, but typical of marketing claim. I guess that a five times improvement might be achievable at extreme angles, which may not be for much of the productive time. If panels max-out (something I'm still trying to find out about) there will be times when tilting would have no benefit at all. By 'max-out' I mean reach optimum output before the rays become perpendicular to the surface.
Clearly, tilting will improve the return but only careful measurement will tell you if it's worth the trouble.

 

[eddie]

I seem to recall Alden (or it may have been Oyster) claiming "up to five times better than a flat panel". A meaningless statement, but typical of marketing claim. I guess that a five times improvement might be achievable at extreme angles, which may not be for much of the productive time. If panels max-out (something I'm still trying to find out about) there will be times when tilting would have no benefit at all. By 'max-out' I mean reach optimum output before the rays become perpendicular to the surface.
Clearly, tilting will improve the return but only careful measurement will tell you if it's worth the trouble.

The claim was up to five times more efficient, meaning it was perpendicular to the sun from first thing in the morning till last thing at night. In essence making it "midday" all day

I just Googled it and realised that we (Van Bitz) are still offering it for sale !

I'll get that sorted as we won't supply them anymore

 

[Richard n Ann]

Ours will be flat most of the time as 150w is plenty for watt we use. It's just if we take the compressor coolbox later in the year. In fact with the price of gas and electric going up it's looking increasingly likely

 

[Guigsy]

Firstly, please excuse the state of the roof. Yes, it'll be cleaned this week...

The van sits right against the house and gets a heavy shadow most of the day. The panel is 185w with a Victron MPPT charger. The battery was mostly full, it was just topping up what it'd lost overnight.

25w generation:

65w generation, 10 minutes later:

Even tiny shadows can make a large difference to the amount of power you can harvest.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Firstly, please excuse the state of the roof. Yes, it'll be cleaned this week...

The van sits right against the house and gets a heavy shadow most of the day. The panel is 185w with a Victron MPPT charger. The battery was mostly full, it was just topping up what it'd lost overnight.

25w generation:
View attachment 600290

65w generation, 10 minutes later:
View attachment 600293

Even tiny shadows can make a large difference to the amount of power you can harvest.

Yes we had a floodlight tower shadow going across ours one year, it was hardly noticeable but the panel certainly noticed, output was well down. Sometimes tilting can maximise what you've got left after the shade dissappears

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[two]

The claim was up to five times more efficient, meaning it was perpendicular to the sun from first thing in the morning till last thing at night. In essence making it "midday" all day

View attachment 600288

I just Googled it and realised that we (Van Bitz) are still offering it for sale !

I'll get that sorted as we won't supply them anymore

That bell-shaped curve is much what I'd expect to see (although the scale looks dubious).
Ideally, I'd like to see the power harvested by two identical panels, side by side, one flat and the other tracking.
As the graph shows, it's not quite "mid day" all the time: the power falls off as the sun's rays have to cut through more of the earth's atmosphere.

 

[eddie]

That bell-shaped curve is much what I'd expect to see (although the scale looks dubious).
Ideally, I'd like to see the power harvested by two identical panels, side by side, one flat and the other tracking.
As the graph shows, it's not quite "mid day" all the time: the power falls off as the sun's rays have to cut through more of the earth's atmosphere.

We did it and its posted on here somewhere, along with three identical panels with a selection of different regulators ranging from 1.9 amp to 4.2 amps showing the importance of a good regulator

 

[Tony50]

You were wrong then. It moves a "bit" once an hour

We have one on the Van Bitz exhibition unit and it is much more effective than a 100W flat panel

That's what we find

I am only telling you that's what I thought and mine moved about every half hour I thought , It was with a 100 watt battery fitted by supplying dealer , Any I thought it was crap!! My opinion as a Ex garage ownet

 

[eddie]

I am only telling you that's what I thought and mine moved about every half hour I thought , It was with a 100 watt battery fitted by supplying dealer , Any I thought it was crap!! My opinion as a Ex garage ownet

What is a 100 watt battery?

 

[Tony50]

What is a 100 watt battery?

Amp should have been my mistake like the Alden ?!

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