Lots of Solar

[Stewart J]

Presently on a small site near Taunton and this van rocked up this afternoon. Owner tells me he’s totally self sufficient for power with 900watts of panels.

 

[DBK]

If we had several suns all shining from different directions he might even get nearly 900W. I suspect only the ones on the roof do anything useful although the one above the windscreen will work well if pointing in the right direction for a few hours.

 

[Stewart J]

Nearside panels hidden by sliding door.

 

[HandyAndy]

Nearside panels hidden by sliding door.

And the awning...
Bet he never thought of that when he stuck them all over the van haha.
But hey, if it means he is able to off grid the thing and it works then fair play to him.

 

[gus-lopez]

Saw it in Tiverton the other day.

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[Gromett]

Bit OTT, But if he off grids mainly then it makes sense as during the winter he will still get a boost.

 

[HandyAndy]

If I didn't have so much crap sticking out the top of my Burstner I'd fill the damn roof with panels and throw the gas bottle out.

 

[Lenny HB]

I like to be self sufficient but that looks awful. I doubt if he will get much more output than what 300-400 watts on the roof would give.

 

[Mikeco]

Wonder if he has the batteries to store all the power he’s getting, if he has then they will take up quite a bit of space and also be heavy.

 

[tacr2man]

Still it saves him parking next to you and have to get a gennie out

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[pappajohn]

Jeez it must be dark in there even in daylight.
Two small rectangular windows in the front sides and what looks like a small porthole in the rear offside.
No wonder he needs solar for the lighting alone

 

[Silver-Fox]

Maybe he feeds back into the grid ?

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

I'm gobsmacked, that is just ridiculous.

 

[romany]

As someone who hardly ever has EHU and has managed with one 120amp battery and a solar panel of 120 w (gas for fridge cooker and heating) for months on end I think most people over kill on their power set ups I dont use inverters

 

[Bart]

Wow, over kill, and prob only gets anything worth talking about from the solar on the roof

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[Reallyretired]

Saw an old VW covered in solar panels in France some years back, possible they were just to cover the rust.

 

[Misterg]

I suspect only the ones on the roof do anything useful

prob only gets anything worth talking about from the solar on the roof

In the UK, the optimum angle for winter and year -round solar is nearer vertical than horizontal. From October to March, a vertical panel will generate more power than a horizontal one provided it’s facing even slightly south (i.e. south of the east-west line). In January, it’s anywhere between 50% and 100% improvement.

Go play

Solar Irradiance Calculator

www.solarelectricityhandbook.com

 

[DBK]

In the UK, the optimum angle for solar is nearer vertical than horizontal. From October to March, a vertical panel will generate more power than a horizontal one provided it’s facing even slightly south (i.e. south of the east-west line). In January, it’s anywhere between 50% and 100% improvement.

Go play

Solar Irradiance Calculator

www.solarelectricityhandbook.com

That must be why the panels in the solar farm near me look vertical - not!

The theoretical optimal angle for a fixed panel is equal to the latitude, which is about 55 degrees in the UK. But it needs to be more in summer, up to about 70 degrees here and less by the same amount in winter. As there is more power available in summer it makes sense in a commercial installation to optimise for the summer.

When it's cloudy a horizontal panel performs best as light comes from all over the sky.

 

[golly]

I saw a similar one couple of years ago at cornish farm, cant find photo on my phone

 

[Misterg]

That must be why the panels in the solar farm near me look vertical - not!

Motorhomes and PV farms require different things - I added this bit after you quoted to qualify the statement. Hopefully you now agree that it’s correct

In the UK, the optimum angle for winter and year -round solar

You can see the effect of various things on the site I linked to.

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[The Wino]

The cost must be way higher than any return unless he never moves it a b to b charger and one panel would surely be better

 

[Off da Grid]

I tilt my massive solar panel 255watt (solar farm size) in the winter using an iPhone app called Simply Solar to give me the best angle for the time of year and my location.
My panel sits on a frame that partially covers the rear skylight when down, where I usually leave it in the summer months.

I’ve seen over 10amps from it, so it recharges both starter and hab batteries by mid morning even in winter.