Solar Panels

[Scott & Heather]

Techno had panels that they could set up on the ground at one time and of course those were human rotateable


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[Iceni John]

My concern about having 2-axis tilting panels, whether PV or solar water heating, is simply about how capable they would be at withstanding sudden very strong wind gusts.   I've been camping in the SoCal deserts and at Quartzsite when dust devils have come through our camp, and everything not securely fastened down has blown away  -  chairs, tables, coolers, tents that were not pegged down well, small portable PV panels, awnings that were not guyed down with rocks, everything!   I assume those wind gusts could have reached 50 MPH or more, i.e. almost the same as driving down the road with the panels deployed.   Could any 2-axis tilting panel withstand being driven at highway speed?   I really doubt it.   As with everything I make, I overdesign and overbuild, and I see no reason that my 1-axis panels couldn't withstand being driven at 60 MPH while fully raised, not that I ever would do so!   2-axis tilting panels usually have very sturdy steel support posts set into heavy concrete footings  -  there's no way that they could be mounted as securely as that on a bus roof.   I could imagine the RV I saw with 2-axis panels having its roof damaged or torn off under similar circumstances!

The generally-accepted wisdom among the solar cognoscenti is that it's now cheaper and easier to simply have a few more panels than to have 2-axis tilting, in order to achieve the same year-round solar harvest.   When PV was several dollars a watt, 2-axis tilting was worth it;  now with prices a fraction of that it's just not cost-effective any longer.   Besides, the more roof you shade from the sun, the lower the overall heatload into the bus.

John

[Zephod]

My solar panels are fixed in position. I will have an extra 50W panel eventually that will be placed on the ground beside the bus. That will more than cover my predicted electrical needs.


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[windtrader]

I don't think it's worth the fuss to make the panels tiltable at all. Like Z, panels are cheap and adding an extra one to a set of four should fill any production shortfall from laying flat. Naturally, all this only makes sense if you are in direct sunlight; under a tree or raining days are gonna see much fewer amps feeding the bank.

[lostagain]

Took a tour of the wind farm near Palm Springs last winter. A lot of the companies there are filling the ground between wind mills with solar panels. Several companies have given up on tilting panels, because of the complexity and maintenance, and just do fixed horizontal panels now.

JC

[Slug]

We try to park the bus front to the north or as close as possible in your case to the south keeps the panels in the sun longer all panels are charging from early morning to late afternoon and the awning keeps the hot afternoon sun of the bus side works well with daylight saving
Also have the panels with a 1,1/2 lift from the rear slight angle to the front and sun and keeps them cleaner as the dust washes of them instead of pooling, don't think would help with snow
James