Heat/Power TESTING Flexible Solar Panels on RV (Flat Mounted vs Ventilated)
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- HOW HOT DO FLEXIBLE SOLAR PANELS GET when flat mounted on an RV? I'll compare the temperature and power output of two sets of high-quality flexible solar panels. One set is flat mounted to the RV roof. The other set is mounted on a stand with plenty of ventilation. Which pair of solar panels will perform better? Which runs hotter?
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This panel can put out close to 100 watts czcams.com/users/postUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.
I love your contact, no shouting no melodrama just quiet information.
I appreciate that! Thanks for the feedback.
Amazing the flat mounted ones even outperform the angled ones
Me and my husband just got a class c he wanted solar but I didn’t want holes in my roof. I just saw your other video of how you installed yours and now I’ve been bing watching you to see how they were doing and down loaded your guide. You won me over with your setup and knowledge. New subscriber thank you for your help and videos
Glad it was helpful. You're very welcome!
So happy to here this!! LOL We just finished our solar install yesterday following your set up. Your directions and mounting materials worked perfectly. We have an Outdoors RV which came with 170 watt panel on the roof. We already have a Zamp 200 Watt suitcase and just added the two 175 Watt Flexible Renogy solar panels for a total of 720 Watts. Plus we bought two Battle Born Batteries. We are set! Thank-you for all of your videos.
That is awesome! Great to hear everything is working out well. Enjoy.
Thanks Brian, glad you did another video on solar output.
You bet. With the roof solar plus ground solar I'm pulling in a little over 60A mid day. Pretty exciting.
athe reason the ones on the roof are putting out more power is less loss in the wires if remember correctly you used larger wire and the shortest run you could do so both combat line losses while your ground array has smaller wire and a longer run of wire hince lowwer performance from line losses in the ground array.
Those are pretty long and yes there may be some voltage drop there.
@@RVwithTito yep and when voltage drops the MPPT solar charge controller conversion efficiency drops as does the current so it can be a big difference in conversion just because of the voltage drop.
The resistance of the line would make no real noticeable difference.
However, the panels being tilted towards the sun however can yield an easy 20-40% increase in power.
Yes, line loss, (aka attenuation) could most definitely be noticeable. WTF dude?
Pretty interesting, Brian. I thought for sure the temp on the roof would be much higher. Looks like the insulation you put under the panels are doing a great job. Thanks for the review!
You are correct. That's what I was hoping for and I'm glad it's working out. I expected a bigger difference.
I noticed your shadow when you were near the ground panels. Were they not pointed at the sun to approximate the roof panels? My ground panel gets too hot to touch in full sun. I made a very basic Sun Dial (got the idea from the Mars Rovers), that I mounted to the corner of the panel. It really helps in aiming the ground panel directly at the sun and even ahead of the suns travel. Thanks for the video. I appreciate your work.
Yes. I also look at the shadow. You're right they were at more of an angle, but they were close enough for the test. The differences when laying them flat weren't significant.
This was very helpful to me. Correct me if I am wrong, but you do have some differences: You have 70 cells on the ground and 72 on the roof, and the cells on the ground were tilted. The roof should have delivered 36/35 more volts than the ground at the same temp. The roof was hotter so it would deliver less. It was hard to tell the difference. However, if the two sets were at a different angle to the sun, that would add another difference. At 1, I would figure the ones on the roof had the advantage.
The real benefit to me is seeing that the MPPT was putting the voltage at 35, so when I use a 60 cell panel, my Vmp will be around 29.1. I have an 8 cell LiFePo4 pack, and thus my voltage will be 26.5-28. So, without a charge controller I will have 3-4 spare cells out of the 60. That seems like a good margin for potentially higher temps and a few years of degradation.
If you could pull up one of the roof panels and get us a temp measurement off that roof the moment you lift it, that would tell us whether heat is being transferred to the roof. Or maybe you can put the ground ones on a piece of plywood or something and measure that. My understanding from someone else is that the heat is generally not going through the back like a typical fixed panel.
Thanks for the suggestions and yes you're correct, the ground deployed panels have a couple more cells. However, the MPPT actually put out between 13-14.6 volts to the battery. The 35 volts was the reading coming in from the series solar array.
@@RVwithTito oh, I did not count properly. The roof has 64 cells. So 6 less than the ground, and at a higher temp, but a bit more power. That should be due to the tilt of the ground ones, right?
Yes, the 35V is telling me the Vmp. With 64 cells that means my 60 cell panels will have a Vmp at that temp of 33v. This means that I will be getting 270w instead of the expected 330w. That makes the mppt controller somewhat useful.
Really appreciate all your videos, you break it down simply, easy to follow and many things I have been able to use. Keep it going please
“Everyone loves Tito” should be the name of your channel❤ great videos!!!
Having you say it is enough to make my day 😃
Coming up on that 100K mark. Only 7.5K togo! Good job
Thanks. Slow and steady :)
Thoughtful presentation Brian. I have often wondered whether the lack of ventilation impacted performance; obviously your test shows no, as production & temperature variables were negligible. One needs to also consider the longevity of the array, but that is a different issue.
BTW, I love SunPower panels & components as we installed on 2 of our prior homes and now embarking on installs a new system on our née home.
As always, well done my friend.
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. I'm a fan of SunPower too. Look for some new stuff coming up.
The roof panels performed better regardless of temperature, because they are closer to the sun.
Thats my theory. 😊
So when you are short of power you should jack the van a bit higher??? :)
*Not a Fair test Brian... the panels on the roof are closer to the Sun than the ones on the ground !*
lolol
*You Rock Brother !*
Damn. You caught me 😃
The ones on the roof still have a little ventilation with the corrugated plastic you used to back them. Also with them at a slight angle on the sloped roof allows a little bit of chimney affect to allow that air not to stagnate completely.
Yes. Chimney effect. That's what it's called. I can never remember that. 👍
Brian, thank's for the video.
I'd believe that the copper sheet underneath the cells helps provide a better heat sink distribution for longer lifetime, however, power degradation will happen when the panel heats up.
Yes. That's true. The temperature coefficient thing kicks in.
I mounted these guys on aluminum plates with holes, and additionally are able to set up in different angles with supports towards the sun, when my RV is sitting still. So they are perfectly cooled from the back, the aluminum helps a lot with dissipating the heat from the sun.
Hi Tito, when using a I-R thermometer, better use your own shadow for blocking sun radiation. The sun’s I-R that wil be reflected by the panel will influence the reading of your instrument. Always measure in a 90 degrees angle to the surface on the exact same spots on all panels will give reliable results.
Thanks for the tip.
Impressive results really, i’ve got my flexible panels mounted very similar to yours and they see performing really well too. Considering my roof is black and aluminum the ventilation really makes a big difference. Thanks again!
That's great to hear!
I read somewhere that an RV owner in the Phoenix area had flexible mounted panels on his RV roof. The panels died after about one summer outside in Az's valley heat. I read this shortly after my brother had also installed 2x 200w flexible panels on the roof of his travel trailer. Now, he stores his RV outside in the sun when not in use. They did not make it through the summer either before both died. We think the flexible panel overheats without airflow underneath, but you may not experience this overheating if the ambient air temp is under 100F. Az's summers are brutal where midday summer heat can reach over 120F.
Certainly a good idea to remove them while in storage when possible.
the ones on the roof are laying flat and the ground ones are angled, so depending on the time of day/sun position the more direct towards the sun should be hotter
Thanks Brian, I enjoy all you videos. My thought is the ground panels are dissipating the heat faster than roof mounted panels. The roof panels with the insulation backing are holding the heat. I also would be interested in the heat transfer through the roof, into the RV. What is the temp of the roof membrane? Having framed panels mounted above the roof I would think shade those sections of the roof, reducing the heat transfer into the RV. Thanks again for your information and teaching!
I'll try to take a roof surface reading once things heat up today.
Nice video as usual Brian, I would like to see the temp of a section of roof with no solar panels and test the same sections in the interior.
Sounds good! I'll try to do that and post it.
I had same thought. I am going to add solar panels to my roof and want to go flex panels BUT wondering if the raised panels would provide some shade on the roof but maybe the flex surface mount also effectively shade? Thus what is the roof surface temp vs. surface temp of flex panels?
Thank you Tito, I've stumbled across some of your videos when I'm looking to improve either my Yacht or Class, A and I find them very instructive. And thank you so much for your free book, I'm about to go solar on my Yacht and I have so many question right now, your book will answer some of them I'm sure. My main concern today is the durability and quality of these flexible panels. But on my boat this would be the easier and cheapest option. I already have rigid panel on my RV but they were already installed when I bought it and I have the felling that the power they deliver is not what it's supposed to be.
Voltage is affected much more by temperature than current. Current is dependent on irradiation. Because the charge controllers are MPPT type, and will track the IR curve, power is not really a good measurement of the differences. This is what a curve tracer is used for. I have one, however it is not a commonly available tool, as it costs about $4000. Irradiance, cell temp (measured on the back of the panel), azimuth and tilt angles are all factored into the calculations.
Thanks for the info. I think power output is the easiest for most folks to wrap their brain around 🙂
I appreciate your approach to the issue of how heat buildup affects solar panel power output, but you need to control for a couple more important variables.
First is.the sun angle. Your roof-mounted panels almost certainly were receiving a different amount of sunlight than the ones that were set up on the ground. The intensity of direct beam sunlight (as opposed to diffuse skylight scattered by the atmosphere) is at its maximum when it is directly above the panel. As the sun moves across the sky, the direct beam portion that comprises the vast majority of solar radiation decreases in proportion to the sine of the angle of the sun relative to the surface (in this case, the solar panel). So, the maximum solar power can be achieved when the sun is directly over the panel (sun angle of 90 degrees). It decreases to 0.707 of the max when the sun angle is 45 degrees above the panel, and to 0.5 when the sun angle is 30 degrees above the panel. To do an apples to apples comparison of flush-mounted vs. free-standing panels, orient the free-standing ones horizontally like the ones on the roof of your RV, and ensure that the ground beneath them is shaded.
Also, if you want to account for the effect of heat on panel performance, it would be good to see some significant heat differences between the panels. And if your assertion is that there isn't any heat difference between the freestanding and roof-mounted panels, then I'd suggest that you take multiple temperature measurements of the free-standing and roof-mounted panels over the course of a cloud-free day and report the results.
Anyway, I love your presentation style and the equipment you used to generate the data you reported. Thanks.
It is my understanding that there is a high risk of damage to the fiberglass roof of RVs due to the heat of flexable panels in fact some RV manufacturers have stopped using them altogether and gone to hard mounted panels only. Unfortunately a new rig I am looking at purchasing only uses flexible panels so I may not move forward with the purchase for that reason even though I love the rig itself.
That's one reason why I added the polycarbonate insulation between the panel and the roof. Many have adhesive on the back now as well. Thanks for the comment.
SUNPOWER for the WiN ! Love those panels. Peacefrom510
Good choice.
Thanks Brian. It would be interesting to see the temperature delta between the actual RV roof and the top of the roof panels.
I’m in the process of installing a small solar panel to trickle charge my chassis battery while our RV is in storage for 3 months. The panel is 14”x14” with a hard plastic frame. I decided to mount the panel on painted 1/2” plywood with strips of coroplast between the panel and plywood so it can breath a bit better. I’m hoping a cooler panel will last longer but who really knows. LOL
I'll be on the road later, but I'll try and shoot some temps once it warms up a bit and I'm powering a bunch of stuff.
👋 Thanksagain, Tito.
I'm LOVING my new Tito Shades !! You're a genius. 🌞 Enjoy Sedona.
Glad you're loving them. I have to open them in the morning to see if it's daylight because it keeps our sleeping area pretty dark. Yes. We are enjoying Sedona very much. Check out our Instagram. I'll be posting some Sedona pics soon.
Knowing water is very essential out in the desert especially while boondocking, but it would have been interesting to see how much the performance would increase if you ran some water over the panels
Funny you ask. I've logged the biggest spikes on Partly cloudy days when there's cloud cover allowing the cells to cool. Then when the sun pops out suddenly the current goes through the roof for a little bit. You're right. Cooling them with water has a similar effect.
I would assume with the roof being white and pretty much reflecting light that's the reason why you're getting more wattage from the top ones. It's just a thought I might be wrong
When you live in Arizona you have to accept that everything is hot 🔥 and will fail sometime lol sure you do your best to help but its a one side fight against the sun . But its still better than 300 days of dark and cold rain snow and mowing grass
You got that right!
@@RVwithTito good evening are you guys still in Arizona ?
Good video, Brian and I would have thought the panels on top would have been hotter. I'm wondering though if there will be a difference in longevity. It would be interesting to see how they hold up over time compared to the ground-mounted ones.
I'm guessing they'll hold up longer. The ground deployed ones take somewhat of a beating. They're always being moved, blown over, or tucked away somewhere.
Just thinking aloud here... maybe under those flex panels you can encourage more airflow by bonding them to a thickness of a boat mattress air underlayment ... and attaching that on the roof... it's a material with almost total air gap making it up... you'd get really high air movement under the thing and possible it would cool off more... someone with a 3d printer could probably make something up for you as well in tiles you could cut to size... then again the heat issues may concentrate in the outermost layer with the cells on it anyway and little improvement... there's stuff on amzn "boat mattress underlay"
Interesting idea. Thanks. I suppose it would work fine.
The question I have is: What is the temperature being transferred to the RV roof through the plastic spacer?
I don't know for certain, but think it's pretty minimal compared to when they were directly mounted to the roof.
@@RVwithTito TNX. Really enjoy your videos. Better than 99% of the others around. I am a stage 4 cancer patient who’s wife bought a small rv since we couldn’t travel by motorcycle any longer. Travel time is severely limited due to treatment and this plague so I spend time looking at what I can do to this thing. My kids will one day enjoy it.
How do you connect your auxiliary panels?
Thanks again for the channel.
@@WhereRV_Eh Hang in there buddy! I too was diagnosed stage 4 almost 17 years ago and I'm still here to talk about it. Keep a positive attitude and ignore the nay sayers and in 17 years you can laugh about it too.
@@Tom-In-Ga from your lips to gods ears! Thanks. I have to stick around so that Brian can continue to get me to spend money!🤣
@@WhereRV_Eh We're rooting for you to kick this thing. So hang in there. Thanks so much for your feedback. It means a lot that you're really enjoying the videos. My aux panels are connected to a Victron 100/20 solar charge controller through an external DC port like this (amzn.to/3wH6AzY). I just wired it to the input of the solar charge controller which is paralleled to my other solar charge controllers. I made a few cables that I can use with it to connect it to the solar panels. Hope that helps. Our best to you.
The panels on the roof are closer to the sun Tito!
Haha. They certainly are.
The ground array is using longer, smaller gauge cable, and is not at the same angle to the midday sun.
This would contribute to lower output.
You must have done this before you switched to the 170 watt panels. I wonder if the new fastening system will be cooler.
No. This was just a couple days ago. I still have these 110W panels on the back of the RV. I do plan to swap them with 170s and change the mount though to match the two on the front.
@@RVwithTito Did you measure the temps on the new ones?
@@gregridge9273 The 170s? Yes. They were about the same at 132 deg or so.
Brian, thank you! Very informative & exciting to see this latest video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
You have very good topic videos, many that i am interested in. I have found my flexible panels work very poorly when i attach them to my RV. I assumed it was the heat.
you need a 2x ND filter for those full lit shots... :)
Yeah. Probably. That's what happens when you're your own cameraman.
There will also be wire loss if your wires aren't the same length. At lower voltages this can make a huge difference in net output.
Yes. Not so much in this case though. Maybe < 5% overall which is worth it for me to be able to get the panels in a good spot.
@@RVwithTito Even a small difference in sun exposure will make a much larger difference than a slight difference in wire loss. I was just throwing in another variable for your consideration. Thanks for your videos, they're very informative and enjoyable to watch.
Beyond not having anything on the back, the movable panels can be aimed toward the sun through the day to maximize power, don't have to tilt the RV different directions all the time.
I try to park east to west when possible. The 230W movable panels on the ground gives me lots of options.
Great video. Answered most of my questions. Thanks!
Great to hear!
Was there a difference in the wire lengths from the panels to the charge controllers? My guess the ground mount has more length. Also the input impedance of the two different controllers could make a difference too.
Yes. The ground setup does have longer cable and a smaller controller. That said...I've still pulled up to 16A out of those two panels. 😳
I have two traditional 200 watt glass panels on my Class A, but given the extra weight compared with flexible panels, considering using flex panels going forward. I only wish they came in 200w configuration.
Renogy make 200 watt flexibles
It's not insulation you're putting under the panels. In fact, it's the complete opposite, and for good reason. The layer you're putting under the flexible solar modules is actually a thermally conductive layer. Its purpose is not to insulate, but to actually increase thermal conductivity between the module and the roof of your RV so that your panel can more effectively transfer heat to the roof of your RV in order to stay relatively cool. Also, out of curiosity, why did you connect your panels in series?
Heat of panel same but the transfer through yhe roof is radically different.
Raised panels way better.
my experience with small solar panel set ups it that the angle to the sun makes a real difference. your roof panels seem to be oriented more perpendicular to the sun than the ground set up i have found with my rich solar 100w panels that even a small angle will show different outputs. but then in the real world clouds have more of an effect than anything so my answer was to get two more panels.....ha ha ha.
More is always better. It's also tempting to always be moving panels around to follow the sun. I try to pick a good mid-day angle and leave em.
thank you for checking temperature and info 😊👍👍👍👍 Have a nice day
Thanks for them info brother. Im still hoping for a nice rig some day soon. Retirement is just around the corner.
Thanks for them lift. Lol
You got it 👍
@@RVwithTito I hate spell check. Just noticed. Lol
@@RVwithTito not sure if you'll remember. Was really down one day and your were a big help. In the guy that asked about the rapture. Lol. I'm doing much better now. Lol. Thanks Tito. Your the man. Maybe well meet on the road someday.
I'm (SPELL CHECK SUCKS ) lol
I used the exact same setup as you for mounting the flex panels to the roof and I do have issues.
My panel is a Rich Solar 100W panel and it worked great for a while but after 8-9 months the top ETFE layer flaked off completely. It was possible to wash off the residue and I got some power back but now it seems like the panel overheats and I lose power.
Interesting to hear that about the ETFE. The SunPower panels have a PET top layer that's thicker and more UV tolerant than most other PET flex panels. I do have to clean them since we're in the wind and dirt.
@@RVwithTito
Thx, I might get one of the SunPower panels then. How long have they held up for you so far?
I'm really disappointed in the Rich Solar panel since the coating just flaked off. There is another user on Amazon that reported the same thing. I wonder if this is the reason it now overheats and drops in power. It does still work but I haven't been out camping since last year so I've not actually used it in a while.
I'm a dummy for not removing it when it's not in use. That was kind of the point of doing the same install you did.
@@christianholmstedt8770 I've had those installed for 2 years now and they are still in great shape. You might also look at those panels I used on the ground. They have the same tech as the SunPower branded panels, just with a few more cells. They're manufactured by Sol-Go who picked up the SunPower flex panel business and are improving on the design. Check them out at bosswatt.com.
@@RVwithTito
Thank you.
Great test. That was interesting.
Glad you liked it!
I did like you with cardboard under. Had 2 fail without.
I've definitely seen a huge reduction in heat transfer to the roof.
The angle on the ground and the way you use the IR temperature meter, makes the measurement incorrect. measure under 45 degrees and block the sun with your own shadow and both set-ups needs the same angle. So it is an interesting test, but you should do it again with the correct set-up 🙂
they are at different angles to the sun
I think that “ventilation” is somewhat a misnomer. Underneath of a traditional rigid solar panel is white and roof itself is white and when you mount panels on the roof using brackets... unless its blowing breeze, there “in theory” should be very minimal heat dissipation. This means that underneath of solar panels is probably used as a cooling mechanism because its always in shade so maybe it generates somewhat a cooling bubble, keeping operating panels cool enough to perform.
Panels are usually black squares or black sheet which implies they always will get hot in the sun. I have had them so hot in florida sun that when I would wash the panels with a spray bottle, it would evaporate the water before I even had a chance to wipe them, which is why at home I just drag the hose in there at shower everything as I go. Of course that makes roof slippery so it is not a safe thing to do.
In my opinion main reason why I want my panels raised is to remove any and all debris trapped under panels like acorns, leaves and such. That is about the only reason that I want them raised.
I have never mounted them flush but in the past in one of my other RV’s I had them mounted much lower and have not noticed any difference between then and now.
I do not use flexible panels though. I watched “I’m not lost I’m rving” back before they even set sail for the west and they engineered this crazy system and eternabond stuck every panel to the roof. By time they got from central florida to the keys for their first venture into work camping... just about every panel failed. At the time I was in between RVs and was looking to lighten the load on the roof until I saw their issues. I just have never recovered from many people having issues with flexible panels so I stayed with renogy monocrystaline.
Mine sit about 3-4 inches off the roof and I have no intent of tilting them but all my mounts are such that when I drive, head wind basically blows everything clean under there, keeping roof tidy and not covered in green algae and stuff.
You might not want to hear this...but I am being honest. I had 6 different flex panels
( Slow Learner). After you leave them out in the sun ( DUH ) they become VERY BRITTLE.
That means if you pick them up without first saying a lengthy prayer, the panels will crack.
When theY crack the infinitesimal ribbons inside of the panels will crease to conduct electricity.
And you now have an expensive piece of fiberglass to draw pictures on.
The first ones I bought were TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS apiece.
Get the salt and pepper ready.
Agreed. I had four flexible panels and they did not last 2 years on my four wheel camper (white aluminum roof). They seem to eventually bend and flex and damage circuitry. They seemed great, worked great for a while but I would not recommend them to anyone unless their RV is stored in a garage most of the time, and used occasionally.
A number of comments had possible reasons for the differences. I wonder if the white roof reflection, compared to the darker environment for the ground panels makes any difference. Just a thought.
They are very close. Any slight change to either could have switched them around. I've actually had those ground panels bringing in 16 amps recently under the right conditions.
Great review. I wonder how much heat is getting through the polycarbonate board?? As you recall we installed ours the same way on the roof and they are still holding up!
When I removed the old ones, there were no heat marks on the membrane so I'd say the heat transfer was minimal.
The bigger question is hot hot is the ceiling on the inside of the camper under the panels. I am going to guess 20-30 degrees hotter
Then comparing the old beat up panels on the ground?????
You can't draw any conclusion from this mess
You might be getting reflect off the roof onto the panels. Get a sheet of stainless and reflect light onto your panel. Then the output should go up.
Wouldn't mirrors also add heat increase? I think so.
Like having 2 suns.😂
Your performance increase is likely due to the increased irradiance due to the reflective white roof. This will create more current and therefore offset the reduction in voltage due to the higher temperatures. Full disclosure...I used to be a technical trainer for SunPower.
Hmmm. Didn't think that would make much of a difference. I'll take it though. Thanks for the info. Love those SP panels.
@@RVwithTito Me too! I am in the process of using your method to install 600W on my Intech Sol Horizon travel trailer. One addition I'm planning to do is to use the ray tray wire management tray on the roof. I'll share some details once I have it completed. raytraysolar.com/#home
@@chadmedcroft9351 Definitely share it when you're done. Love the look of no cables laying around. Can't wait to see. Good luck!
I should have gone back a few comments.....ago.
No worries :)
Hello
interesting to see how hot the panels are.
but I wonder how much energy the panel delivers when the measurement is performed.
affects the temperature a lot
why flex panels poor durability and expensive
When the panels get into the 120+ temperature range, doesn't that damage the roof membrane since there is no airflow between the panel and the roof?
It seems like the roof mounted surface panels would add a significant amount of heat to your coach. I am wondering how much difference it would make if you had ventilation on the roof panels, i.e. the one inch of separation or so? Wondering what the overall comfort factor is on the internal temperature of your coach may be?
The insulated layer between the panel and roof takes care of most heat transfer. Other ones I've mounted directly to the roof definitely do have some heat transfer into the coach if your ceiling isn't well insulated.
@@RVwithTito Thanks Brian.
different angles different solar input that's all I have to say
True dat.
I have two questions: how do you store the flexible solar you had deployed on the ground? I was going to do that, but opted not to because it seemed to me the flexible panels would break too easily if moved all the time. Please do a video on that some time!
Next: your antenna mast, I assume that is for WiFi, are you running omnidirectional or yogi? How far are you from the cell tower, what type of signal are you getting from your phone verse WiFi?
Hi Tito, very good videos you do, my compliments! One question; in another Video you mounted glass panels, out off your long experience what would you suggest to mount, flexible or glass panels? Lot’s of people say with the newest EPFE and new cells like Renogy or so it makes no difference anymore, What do you think?
Any chance you can do a test with bougerv CIGS directly on the roof with a meat thermometer probe between the CIGS and the roof?
I don't have any CIGS right now but I used to have something similar a while back. I could feel the heat inside the rig.
The panels on the roof are nearer the sun... :D
I think that's the called The Peukerts Factor which Victron allows you to set. Probably less than 0.1% difference given the relatively small distance here. Matters much more on big houses than RV's.
Very true :) About 11 feet closer.
Any roof gets hot from the sun, even under a solar panel, from the conductive heat that travels through the entire roof. But if you were to add a layer of styrofoam under the coroplast, i think there would be even less heat transfer from underneath to the panel.
Would you ever try that?🤔
Couldn't hurt but I don't think it's needed in my case. Plus my ceiling is already full of Styrofoam.
Interesting
I'm going to be designing a new solar system for my new imagine 17MKE. I have two 100 watt flexible panels from my old system. Knowing what you know now, would you opt for flexible panels still or convert to glass if you had it to do over again? I'm leaning towards making my own glass suitcase to go along with my 200 watts of portable.
Thoughts. I've watched all your videos as you have evolved through your mounting options and you have really helped a lot. Thank you
It depends on the RV. I wanted to keep the weight down and minimize bulk on the roof. If that wasn't an issue, I'm not sure which option I'd choose. Both have their appeal.
@@RVwithTito Thank you. Decisions, decisions, decisions.....
I may have missed it, did you insulate the panels on your roof?
I have a 24’ LTV that came with 4-100-watt, Go Power, flat panels. After 3 years they were delaminated, & very hazy, never saw anything close to 400 watts production from them!
Late last year replaced with 8-framed panels. Hoping that they will help to shade roof, keeping inside a bit cooler.
I think that for your temp comparisons to be accurate both sets need to be completely same flat positions!
Interesting stuff!
What about the temperature on your white roof section? Are you adding to the heat inside the rig by having flexible solar panels mounted on your roof?
Nope.
Good information
Thanks!
Tito, thanks for the videos. I’m a new RV'er and I really appreciate your advice. One question... what was the temperature of the RV roof next to the panels? Was the fiberglass much different than the panel?
I'll test it and let you know. BTW my roof is a rubber roof.
I think pannels on roof are totally horizontal so collect more Electric at mid of day
Would love to know what the roof temperature was on same day and what the temperature on the back side of the panel was?
Great stuff.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
why not flat mount the air gapped panels as well. doesnt the angle affect the results as well?
Thanks.
You're welcome
Isn't that RV roof made of aluminum?
If so why not use it as a heat radiator?
Brian, I’m going to do a setup similar to yours. Two 110 watt panels in series and a movable two 50 watt panels in series, connected in parallel to the 110 watt setup and then into a Victron 100 V, 30 A controller. Will this work? Does this system fully charge your lithium batteries? Thanks for your videos.
I have much more solar on the roof than I showed in the video (800W total) plus the 230W on the ground. I could get away with less for my 400Ah of lithium, but more is better on cloudy days.
Brian - why did you set up your panels in a series creating 24v instead of parallel w 12 v to your controller - with the 24 v input to the controller wheres the conversion back to 12v to the battery -or did i miss something again
The solar charge controller adjusts the battery charge voltage to match the battery system voltage.
when you do your solar calculations do you use Voc Isc or Vmp amd Imp
I have a high top van and the roof is far from flat so I will be limited to two panels up there; the highest output I can afford.
By connecting in series will I get more power to use to charge my batteries?
Not necessarily more power when in series. Higher voltage (in series) means you can use thinner cable. Plus MPPT controllers work best with higher voltage and start charging sooner in the morning.
This is somewhat related to this post. We want to do a lot of dispersed camping this year with our 28' Class C. We can't find where dispersed camping is legal on state or federal land. We've checked with the forest service in Colorado where we want to camp. BLM, Barnes and Noble. Nowhere can we find these maps. I remember years ago seeing maps with little circles that marked where boondocking was allowed. Do you know how to find these maps ?
How about lifespan as compared to rigid panels mounted on the rv roof ?
Hard to say since they haven't been around long. I'd have to say that in general rigid panels will probably have a longer life span.
@@RVwithTito I've seen warranties for flexible panels at about 20-25 years. Same as rigid panels. Reality who knows. But that may outlast some RVs...
Hi m8 what were the measurements of the t track you used plz ?
Checkout the link in the description. The specs should be there. I used the full length.
How is your Lensun Fiberglass Flexible Solar Panel holding up...? Because of your review, I bought one and later bought a second one... They are my only panels so I have nothing to compare them to... I feel like are not performing real strong, but they are double sticky taped down and I will probably live with them...Are you still using yours...?
I watched a recent Tito video that he used an aluminum frame to mount additional solar panels on the roof.
czcams.com/video/uJIEXhnF8MU/video.html
I never mounted them to the RV but used one as a portable setup for a couple years. The power output eventually dropped significantly and I got rid of it.
Different angles ??????
I have no idea where to start I have one solar panel on top of my trailer I know it's going to to the batteries that are here at Scott some yellow device that I think it's regulating that power into the batteries but again I have nowhere that I know please direct message me I really need some help on what to do I am very limited on money and I'd like to be able to be more off-grid and be able to keep my refrigerator going and the power going without being plugged into Shore power
@rvwithtitodiy hey there, i have a 160w flexible panel on my van and recently my voltage has dropped to about 8.6-8.7 volts.. (unuseable..) . I tried swapping diodes but no fix.. any ideas what the issue is? Is it toast?
I just finished removing my two 100w flex 'Sunpower' panel off my RV roof that were glued and screwed down directly to the roof. My two year old panels discolored the gel coat. I am replacing with mono crystalline rigid panels mounted to standoff brackets that will allow air flow under them. I wonder how bad the damage to the roof would have been if I left them on long term?
Yeah. I had a similar issue when the flex panels were mounted directly on the roof membrane without anything underneath (like a polycarbonate or plastic cardboard layer). Having something underneath has fixed that issue for me (two years later -- minimal heat transfer and no discoloration)