Tilting Solar Panels

This tracking solar it’s been done to death. A well respectable German company ( Daeger), managed the best results so far, compared to a fixed due south array. The result was a impresive 40% more harvest. But, as with solar panels coming down in price, the trackers have fallen of the market. The only place made sense, was the limited spaces. To this solution, LG brought the neon R panel as well.
But a tracker vs flat panels is a different story. I have not tested a tracker vs flat, only tracker vs due south with latitude angle. Also it’s only effective if the sun is out. When there is no sun, or overcast, the best orientation is flat towards the sky to benefit of every bit of albedo reflection.
 
Raul said:
This tracking solar it’s been done to death. A well respectable German company ( Daeger), managed the best results so far, compared to a fixed due south array. The result was a impresive 40% more harvest. But, as with solar panels coming down in price, the trackers have fallen of the market. The only place made sense, was the limited spaces. To this solution, LG brought the neon R panel as well.
But a tracker vs flat panels is a different story. I have not tested a tracker vs flat, only tracker vs due south with latitude angle. Also it’s only effective if the sun is out. When there is no sun, or overcast, the best orientation is flat towards the sky to benefit of every bit of albedo reflection.
Click to expand...
Which is why the Alden will give up tracking the Sun and rotate about 340 degrees to look for the best compromise and if necessary tilt flat

But I still wouldn't buy one unless I only had space for one panel and needed more ;)
 
Gaston aires said:
We have an Alden phenix fitted to our van. Luckily it was fitted when we purchased the van.The big difference to this and the home made ones is It tilts and tracks the sun automatically. Effectively giving the same output as 4 x 120 watt flat panels and saving lots of roof space. View attachment 481792View attachment 481791Amazing piece of kit. It was fitted by vanbitz.
Phil
Click to expand...
Has it been reliable?
 
Raul said:
This tracking solar it’s been done to death. A well respectable German company ( Daeger), managed the best results so far, compared to a fixed due south array. The result was a impresive 40% more harvest. But, as with solar panels coming down in price, the trackers have fallen of the market. The only place made sense, was the limited spaces. To this solution, LG brought the neon R panel as well.
But a tracker vs flat panels is a different story. I have not tested a tracker vs flat, only tracker vs due south with latitude angle. Also it’s only effective if the sun is out. When there is no sun, or overcast, the best orientation is flat towards the sky to benefit of every bit of albedo reflection.
Click to expand...

Learned a new word today:cool:
 
When are you gonna start stocking them eddievanbitz vanbitz? , you know it makes sense, and they are American :giggle:
I bet you will get a free sample from PowerOak, or the like very soon.(y)
I will have one for a £1 a week.
LES

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
Raul said:
This tracking solar it’s been done to death. A well respectable German company ( Daeger), managed the best results so far, compared to a fixed due south array. The result was a impresive 40% more harvest. But, as with solar panels coming down in price, the trackers have fallen of the market. The only place made sense, was the limited spaces. To this solution, LG brought the neon R panel as well.
But a tracker vs flat panels is a different story. I have not tested a tracker vs flat, only tracker vs due south with latitude angle. Also it’s only effective if the sun is out. When there is no sun, or overcast, the best orientation is flat towards the sky to benefit of every bit of albedo reflection.
Click to expand...
Another new word for you suavecarve :p
 
With regard to tracking panels, I have always intended to run an experiment to see what effect the angle of incidence has on a solar panel in practice. We will never get the sun’s rays at 90° to a flat panel but I think that panels may ‘max-out’ before 90° is experienced anyway. I’m sure I’ve read claims that a 100W rated flat panel actually achieves maximum output, even when not perpendicular to the sun.

Clearly, when the sun is on the horizon, just rising, little or no rays will be striking a flat panel but one that could be lifted to 90° would be able to capture all that was available. So a tracking panel will obviously be more effective than a flat equivalent and it could be considerably more at optimum times but I doubt that 5 times better is often achieved, let alone over a whole day. I’d also be interested to see how the power/incidence factor varies as the rays strike from different angles around a panel (vertically vs horizontally). Most people don’t know, although some may pretend to.

In simple terms, I believe the power available should be in proportion to the sine of the angle of incidence. That’s 100% of it at 90° to the surface, 70% at 45° and half (50%) at 30°. The sun needs to be at 15° or lower to provide less than a quarter of the available power to a flat panel, by which time I think the atmosphere is starting to absorb a significant amount also. What I’m suggesting is that, for the most part, a flat panel will receive at least 25% of the available energy and generally much more than that. I’m not aware of any laboratory results that have confirmed the difference in practice, so we’re all left guessing.
 
Read somewhere "Take value of global latitude location and subtract 15 degree's"
For example: UK would be around 37 degree's for ideal angle for solar panel

But don't take that as gospel :)
 
That's probably a guide for the angle of tilt (from vertical or horizontal?) for a fixed panel facing South (in the Northern hemisphere).
Obviously, a fixed panel will be a compromise but that's what most are.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I believe it was Dazzlin that installed a couple of panels on UPVC window sliding hinges. Stick head through skylight and lift the back of the panel to point roughly towards the sun (if you park right) How have you got on Daz??
 
TinaL said:
When are you gonna start stocking them eddievanbitz vanbitz? , you know it makes sense, and they are American :giggle:
I bet you will get a free sample from PowerOak, or the like very soon.(y)
I will have one for a £1 a week.
LES
Click to expand...
LOL We have stoked them since 2003 and fitted one to the Van Bitz exhibition unit soon after.

I fitted on onto my Winnebago in 2005 which my Son then bought and we have fitted about twenty I would guess

Not for everyone, but a useful piece of kit, and when its up at a right angle to the camper at dusk following the setting sun, it does give some solar panel envy :giggler:

Its a bit like the bloke in the knitted cardigan telling you that he doesn't been Lithium, when you know full well his wife won't let him buy them as he would love them :ROFLMAO:
 
Westbarn1 said:
Read somewhere "Take value of global latitude location and subtract 15 degree's"
For example: UK would be around 37 degree's for ideal angle for solar panel

But don't take that as gospel :)
Click to expand...
Close, latitude minus 15 deg for the summer and latitude plus 15 for the winter. But the angle of incidence is not just about the sun.
I have a ground mount array that I built in such way, I can tilt with the seasons. I give up, because there was very minimal gains, and left it at latitude angle. Best of both worlds.
 
From an old thread

For a very simple system of just tilting 3 positions i used the data available on the net and 2 apps to create this table
Angle of Panel
latitude Summer Spring Autum Winter
50.8 Portsmouth 21.7 46.7 68.5
52.2 Northampton 23.5 48.7 70.5
55.0 Newcastle 26.3 51.6 73
57.1 Aberdeen 28.1 53.6 74.7
58.0 Stornaway 29.1 54.5 75.6
43.0 south of france 15.3 39.8 62.3
38.7 Lisbon 10 34 57
these are from averaged values across a season
what can be seen: if you set at Northampton you will only ever be 5 degrees from optimum anywhare in Mainland GB. 5 manual settings is the most you'll need.
The vertical tilt is the easiest of the orientations to achieve.
Rotationaly a lazy suesan is a simple approach but i couldn't suss a simple mechanical control.
When i started looking at the shaowing effect of a moving panel on adjacent panel area i jacked in the idea and bought a 330W panel 1.6 x1m . best use of space.

Ap used = solar tilt

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
eddievanbitz said:
No the cost is too high in most cases, that’s why you don’t see them, not the effectiveness

I had one fitted three campers ago, as roof space was more of an issue.

My current van has space so it was much cheaper to put 3 x 150w panels

Alden, claim when tracking its on average five times more efficient, which was pretty much what we found when we tested one.

We have one installed on the Van Bitz Exhibition Unit if anyone ever wants to see one, not that we anticipate exhibiting at shows again, well certainly till October NEC 2022
Click to expand...
Hi Eddie

The bit I am struggling with is the 'Five times more efficient',
So my 180w panels now deliver, lets say 6amps with reasonable conditions.
But with this device I can expect 30amps under the same conditions?
Hang on 180w divided by 12v equals 10amps maximum.
Now that is impressive.
Obviously I am missing the point, so how can they be 5 times more efficient?

Geoff
 
TheBig1 said:
I believe it was Dazzlin that installed a couple of panels on UPVC window sliding hinges. Stick head through skylight and lift the back of the panel to point roughly towards the sun (if you park right) How have you got on Daz??
Click to expand...
Yup. Done both vans with tilting panels now, find it invaluable over october to april, really makes a difference.

IMG_20191128_113638.jpg
IMG_20191128_113406.jpg



These have kept us going even in Scotland, with a 230v fridge running off the inverter, as long as we get a couple of bright days a week. 😎
 
Last edited:
This was mk 1, mk 2 was tilting to the offside, as on the hymer, so we have sun on them all day as we try to park hab door to the sun.




Screenshot_20200822_225345.jpg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Dazzlin said:
This was mk 1, mk 2 was tilting to the offside as the hymer so we have sun on them all day as we try to park hab door to the sun.




View attachment 482338
Click to expand...
I like this one, the other one looks like front will shade the back panel on low sun?
Are the window hinges strong enough? No wallow sideways?
 
Raul said:
I like this one, the other one looks like front will shade the back panel on low sun?
Are the window hinges strong enough? No wallow sideways?
Click to expand...
When we park we face the panels south. In Morocco the sun is high enough to hit both panels at midday, even dec/jan.
If I am in Scotland at that time of year (not by choice) I just raise the back one.

I did space them to the max, as close as poss to the outside edge of the van.

The hinges have been strong enough as well, they have withstood some high winds over the years, attached to angle aluminium by either self tapping screws or rivets in different versions.
There is a grub screw for adjustment of the friction on the hinges that can be tweaked.
 
Dazzlin said:
When we park we face the panels south. In Morocco the sun is high enough to hit both panels at midday, even dec/jan.
If I am in Scotland at that time of year (not by choice) I just raise the back one.

I did space them to the max, as close as poss to the outside edge of the van.

The hinges have been strong enough as well, they have withstood some high winds over the years, attached to angle aluminium by either self tapping screws or rivets in different versions.
There is a grub screw for adjustment of the friction on the hinges that can be tweaked.
Click to expand...
Do you have a latching method to hold them down flat to the roof when travelling?
 
I bolt ours down into the alloy channel but also put mini padlocks loosely through it as a safety catch.

20210407_221316.jpg

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Surely you need to be able to rotate the panel, as well as tilt, if you are doing these mounting options? It seems very rare in the UK that you have total freedom to park up with your MH orientated to suit a fixed hinge panel. Even for rally fields every one seems to get parked up in rows.
 
Kannon Fodda said:
Surely you need to be able to rotate the panel, as well as tilt, if you are doing these mounting options? It seems very rare in the UK that you have total freedom to park up with your MH orientated to suit a fixed hinge panel. Even for rally fields every one seems to get parked up in rows.
Click to expand...
Everythings a compromise, I could do £2.5k with Eddie and have what looks like the dogs... but I ain't.

Any gain with tilting panels is a bonus.
 
Kannon Fodda said:
Surely you need to be able to rotate the panel, as well as tilt, if you are doing these mounting options? It seems very rare in the UK that you have total freedom to park up with your MH orientated to suit a fixed hinge panel. Even for rally fields every one seems to get parked up in rows.
Click to expand...
I've been thinking the same and trying to come up with a solution ... something like this perhaps with a way to lock it in position once deployed and when flattened for travel?


1617831412310.png




www.theplasmacentre.com

Stealth Mounts Cantilever TV Bracket for up to 70 inch TVs

Stealth Mounts Super Flat TV Wall Bracket for up to 70 inch TVsRecommended for 32 inch up to 70 inch Maximum VESA of 600x400mmMaximum Weight of 50kgTilting Feature
www.theplasmacentre.com www.theplasmacentre.com
 
If you have the space, I suggest fixing flat panels. At best, a tracking panel might be five times better than a flat one but costs ten times more. I think anything in between is also likely to be less efficient than if you spent the extra on panels - and it'd be much less to manage.
If you move-on frequently enough, you don't need solar anyway.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top