Upgrading the solar panels on my widebeam boat.
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- čas přidán 25. 05. 2024
- In these videos we upgrading the solar panels on my widebeam boat. We move the existing solar panels and fit six more solar panels to the roof. We have done this preparing for the winter as we have found there is a few weeks where the solar panels do not generate enough power for us. We also take a trip to Foxton locks and have a very good look round.
We have also upgraded our battery bank recently and if you're interested I would highly recommend the battery store in market Harborough. They have been very helpful and their prices have been very reasonable.
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I wouldn't be too concerned about a reading of 12.4 volts. The batteries are between 70-80 % full at that voltage. You have been keeping your batteries very happy by the sounds of it. Definitely add them to the existing bank.
Can never have too much solar 😀. It just means you can use more power during the day without affecting the batteries reaching 100% by evening.
When you are painting the frames of the old ones. If you have some of the roof paint left then possibly paint the mounting blocks the same colour as the roof. Would make them stand out less and might give the impression they are steel the same as the roof. It may also deter theft if it looks like the mounts are steel welded to the roof rather than plastic. It would also reduce any UV damage or ageing of the plastic. So then you wouldn't have to mess about treating the old ones and trying to get them to look like the new ones. They would all be the same colour as the roof.
Also if you have one charge controller for the new panels and another controller for the old panels then shading on one set won't affect the others. It would also give you some redundancy in case of a controller or panel failure.
If you keep the old set of batteries and add them to the new set, then combined with the large amount of solar, you may be able to look at more power hungry devices. Not sure what sort of heating you have but nearly 5kW of solar should allow things like heat pump heating and cooling. An efficient model can give 2kW of heat output for about 350W of consumption. We use one on our house to heat and cool a large open plan living, dining and kitchen area, it works very well. But you would have to check how they work in your local weather conditions. We have a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and it has been faultless for about ten years and whisper quiet. The outdoor unit is mounted on the wall just above the outdoor entertaining area and is so quiet I can't tell if it is on or not.
Even being able to run smaller loads 24/7 without having to worry about them depleting the batteries overnight. Things like a security system with cameras. LED lighting that can be left on when you are not around to make the place look occupied.
Thanks for your input. Got some good points there.
can i ask if you could run through your set up. It would be helpful to understand the size of panels in watts, but also volts and therefore amps. Are you running in series or parallel or a bit of both. What size MPPT, or how many. One complete array or multiple arrays. How many amps of batteries, 12v or ?, and what type, Lithium AGM, etc. and im sure many people would like to understand the maths of it all. Many thanks
I'm currently in the process of making another video about all of this, as well as a visit to a battery suppliers to explain how they do the calculations of the lifespan of the batteries. Hopefully I'll have that done in the next couple of weeks.
@@Inspiration2022 oh that'd be great thank you 🙂
Hi, Thanks for this video 🌻 Are you also running off of an electric engine? Seems like not from other videos, but then not sure with some of your comments in this one... Sorry if this is an obvious question. I looked at a few videos (including the old engine change video).
@@TatyanaValdaBelindaHill no, I'm not. At the moment. The engine is diesel. But I will be looking to see if I can connect a electric motor somehow to the prop shaft. So if there is anybody out there that knows a bit about this sort of thing. I'm really going to be looking for some information. With all the solar power I have on board I would easily generate enough power
@@Inspiration2022 Thanks for replying. I want to know myself (no boat YET). information is hard to find. I saw a channel: *Narrowboat Life Unlocked* did some videos, but what I've watched so far he doesn't give details, apart from the motor make.
He already has a lot of solar (perhaps less than you do, though). Curiously he wants even more panels.
.... He said it's an "Engiro Direct Drive 10", provided by Lightning Craft. (I think he has a 60' narrow beam.)
I'd love to know how much such a motor cost, if it's robust and fit for purpose and if there are any added concerns with the install.
@@TatyanaValdaBelindaHill thanks for that. I will be looking into that. And I will let you know what I find out
@@Inspiration2022 Thank you! If you can, please let me know here what you learn (or maybe make a video - if it's possible for you). 🙏🏼💐
Hay ya. Watts ya total watts lol ?
4860 watts Which I think is a massive amount
@@Inspiration2022 Far out. That's going to keep you going once you got it running.