Why I Set My Solar Panels At 3 Angles
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- Why are my solar panels tilted at different angles and directions? Simple. I want them to work at their highest potential!
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About Curtis Stone:
Curtis is one of the world’s most highly sought-after small farming educators. His book, The Urban Farmer, offers a new way to think about farming𑁋 one where quality of life and profitability coexist. Today, Curtis spends most of his time building his 40-acre off-grid homestead in British Columbia. He leverages his relationships with other experts to bring diverse content into the homes of gardeners and aspiring small farmers from around the world. Learn more at FromTheField.TV.
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We are in Spain and we live with 4 panels with 225w each one, four people for 2 winters and only we spend 16 liters of gasoline, each winter, also qe heat the house with woodfire, Thanks for your ideas! u r awesome!!
Yeah having a generator in winter can be a good way to get through the winter when your panels can not produce enough.
I do guess that doubling the wattage on solar might cut your gasoline usage in half ;-)
@@HansKeesom yeah! we will build a roof to protect the compost works where we will install 8-10 panels the idea is provide energy for electric mobility and suply the electrical power in the house! thanks for your consideration
@@MaxVonShagow That sounds like a great project. I hope the Spanish authorities are not working against you. As I understood it was hard in Spain to get permits for solar. Or did you solve that by going off grid?
@@HansKeesom yes we go offgrid... And also because only go harder if you put e_ panels on house roof... Then you dont need any licence if you make a substructure for gardening and also because we dont link to national electric supplies
You explained that very clearly. That's fantastic planning. Especially when you say it's better to use the power directly and not store it.
The first time I saw your solar panel trio I thought it was brilliant 🌟 You're a smart and thoughtful person
Nice, 15 degrees is probably very nice for your area. Mountainous areas experience delayed sunrises, so solar generation starts at a later time and a more southern angle (off of east). I guess in flatter areas you might want to go more, but I've heard west or east facing panels aren't going to produce as much as southwest or southeast panels (of course direct south being the best).
A secondary case for varied angles is if your inverter can't handle the peak solar noon power output and so it clips your incoming power. All your panels facing directly south would cause a higher peak at noon, causing more clipped wasted power. You either would have to spend big money on a larger inverter, or deviate your angles to widen and lessen the peak of the power curve, reducing clipping, which could increase overall usable power generation (and would save you the money for the larger inverter).
All depends on individual scenarios, but if you have extra space for panels and don't want to get a larger inverter, you'd probably benefit from adding some southwest/southeast panels.
Dang man, I remember when I started watching you in 2016 and you had approx 50k subscribers. Keep on bringing the value
So, you’re basically overlapping the three bell curves. Cool!
That's a great way of putting it actually.
One idea I had was to have the entire array on a set of screws with step motors, a light sensor integrated into the circuit would optimise light collection and angle towards it. The base would be on a turntable which can rotate from sunrise to sunset, returns to the previous days settings at sunset. The problem in my area is high winds and the array would take flight.
I explained all this on a post some years ago, I wonder if he took my advice. Or maybe he's really smart, and did not need to learn the hard way !
I have a 300Kwh system. i learned a lot during the last 15 years ! I do have some solar tracking panels , but this is not worth while. Adjusting for seasonal variations IS ! I found just two manually adjusted positions, is optimal in terms of installation complexity and durability verses production. My east facing panels are most productive, my location has clear blue skies most mornings then clouds over by noon. Hot water, I found direct thermal solar heating is best . Mostly because it adsorbs infrared they produce hot water even on cloudy days. Whereas solar voltaics just stop when it gets cloudy.
Blessings to all.
Good plan. Have an array set up to be the best placed during different conditions you can expect.
Beautiful panel array!
I have a few panels, pole mounted on my RV site. Manually turned but it's a game changer in the upper hemisphere.
You're work there is fantastic! Just a dream for me at my stage of life but it's fun to dream. And trust me, these days I do! Self sustainability is a great concept to teach your kids.
You have done everthing to perfection in my view! 👌
I hate dragging politics into everything but your set up cofirms my belief the current solar technology is not a viable replacement to justify the 2030 agenda to eliminate the need for fossil fuel. An average city lot & rooftop could not accomodate that many panels. You set the standard for excellence while at the same time proved to me that diverse power sources are still necessary.
Looking forward to future videos!
I know a guy that is grid-tied with his 6000W rooftop installation in Edmonton. He doesn't understand that without my tax-money being used to subsidize him, every aspect of his hobby is useless. He's the same guy that told me winter snow cover isn't a problem because a multi-year technical study proved conclusively that it only reduces panel efficiency by 5%. The same authors think that carbon tax and eating bugs will stop hurricanes and volcanic eruptions an sheit. Ya'know...the science.
Don't be so sure about Florida. We have the exact opposite problem you have. The winter days are shorter but we get FULL sun. During the summer rainy season we're lucky to get 2KWH off of our 5KW setup. I'm going to try your setup to see if it helps.
How does your charge controller deal with the different voltages caused by the different angles? I understand that MPPT controllers round down the power to match the lowest producing panel or string.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I was certain that someone had figured this out, but couldn’t find any information on the internet about it. Designing my system now for a 20kw array. Plan is to use 4 separate arrays, just for mounting ease. I had this same idea, also for the reason of trying to prevent the inverter from clipping. My plan is to have each array 10° off from the other, starting at 160° then 170, 180, and finally 190. Where I live our weather peak is from 4pm-8pm for rain/thunderstorms, as well as when our cloud systems move in usually, so I’m not worried about trying to collect during that time. Thanks again for the useful info!
Great video Curtis. 👍👍. By the way you're not a hoser. Doug MacKenzie.
Solar production is much cheaper than storage. For me, the lifecycle cost works out to ~$0.04/kWh produced and $0.08 kWh stored, so storing power before using it triples the cost.
Because of winter I would have placed them more vertical aiming for the wintersun.. Means more watts in winter when you really need them more the nin summer and still get's you more then enough in summer.
Like I said in the video, we can change the angle every season.
@@offgridcurtisstone Oke sorry I missed that. Good to hear, I am a big fan of almost vertical panels for when living closer to the poles.
Epic solar panel built video
I'm building a small (minimalist...1400W) solar PV system that is mounted on a pair of horizontal "spits". They can track in elevation only, but I could rotate the entire craft in certain situations. You've mentioned future-proofing with the potential for an additional panel installation. You could consider mounting your existing installations on rotating azimuths to optimize your efficiency.
With your system, it's easy to do. With a system as large as mine on three different rigs, just try to imagine the amount of mechanics, servicing and maintenance that would be involved?
@@offgridcurtisstoneNow you've got me thinking up a couple of fairly simple / robust / weather-proof / cost-effective approaches that can be taken.
would it make sense to have just one of your rigs but that one being able to swivel throughout the day and investing the money of the 2 other rigs into more battery capacity?
Those tracking racks are great but can be expensive. If you have the space it’s probably cheaper to buy additional modules and racks etc. that would add up to the same output as a smaller tracking system, but with no moving parts.
I wouldn't say angle, that would be how high or low the panel is pointed. Technically I think the correct term is azimuth, which is the compass heading north, east, west or south it is pointed. But yeah, due south is not always the best for each individuals requirements.
Makes sense to me
A single wind turbine might give you some additional night or winter charging. In some climates the wind is best at night and winter. Just a thought from an engineer with over a gigawatt of solar design :).
Indeed, at many places wind plays nicely with solar. Hydro if available can also be a good idea.
We have two turbines and they are useless.
@@offgridcurtisstone Not enough wind up where you're at? Just wondering why they are useless. Thanks
@@offgridcurtisstone I assume they are not very high up in the air? Windmills become more efficient with height.
@@HansKeesom they’re pretty high. At least 50 feet. Wind power is mostly a globalist scam. Just get more solar.
@curtis.. use sheet metal to use as reflectors for your solar panels.. :)
Been tested, not worth it.
Panels elevation? And roughly location, please. I'm 52.5N and I go to 52-56 elevation to have higher winter production without reducing Easter/Autumn.
Totally makes sense to me!
So does the same idea apply along the other axis pitching the panels more towards the winter sun so as to increase winter output at the cost of peak summer? (Assuming you are on a fixed mount). 🙏
I actually forgot to mention that the panels can move the angle. We move them at each season change.
What do you do, if anything, with th excess power? Any water pumping uphill for later irrigation?
Would a bigger bathroom with dehumidifier to hang clothes be more energy efficient for drying clothes?
Good! To the point.
Hi are all 3 sets joined together. Because I'm thinking of doing the same things ie follow the sun with 3 sets.
Thanks Paul
They all each have their own charge controller.
Great video Curtis. What’s your voltage set point for bulk charging? We’re usually doing 54.4V with that Lifepo4 battery chemistry.
Same here.
Can you share your source for the panel framing? I’m looking at a different designs for changing the angle and I like what you have.
A company called Kinetic out of Ontario.
If you put your solar arrays on rotating bases and had them turn with the sun (like sunflowers do) how much would your energy yield increase? The cost of doing this is of course a highly related issue.
Cost / benefit. Not worth the cost for us.
ya jackie I had the same question in an earlier video because I had heard that you get like a 30% boost using rotating bases, but looking into it more it's cheaper to just buy extra panels because the solar trackers are about the same cost as just having more panels, and using just more panels doesn't have the same maintenance costs in the long run. This way that curtis has it designed is pretty cool, I like the idea of just buying extra and pointing it in the times of day that you're most likely to need it. Very cool
These sets must be in parallel. If these are in series the deciding one would be the one producing the lower power. Am I right?
I'm not sure. Each solar rig has it's own charge controller. Three rigs, 16 panels each and one charge controller.
Did you ever look into a rig to track the sun? That probably would have produced the most electricity and you would require less panels and batteries?
Yes. Not worth the cost.
When panels were expensive trackers were a good idea. Now for the cost of a tracker you can buy twice the panels where trackers only helped like 25-35%
@@HansKeesom exactly.
Ok yo lo entiendo y tiene mucho sentido la naturaleza no es lineal, entonces porque pones tus paneles de esta forma varias orientaciones te aseguran una mejor cosecha
I wonder how much that whole system costs? I am sure you have a video on it somewhere...
$100,000
Hi I live in Texas and I find that my panels produce power for around 4 1/2 hours in the summer and was thinking about splitting them up for the same reason. I may do a small test set up first to see just how long I could extend that window of production. Did you you try any other split or did you just "GO FOR IT"?
Texas is much closer to the Equator so sun should be above you most of time. Placing them flat on flat roof or floor seem like optimal. But playing with small setup will teach you a lot, like it is about watthours a day not just watts :-)
Very situational to your area and consumption. Most people this setup would not be ideal, especially if you use lithium batteries. People on YT have tested this method and shown which way really generates more power. I would suggest people take your comments as good info but also research what they really need based on their battery type, area, consumption, panel type and how many panels they plan on adding.
Generally speaking most people would want all their panels facing south unless they had so many panels that they just couldn't fail no matter the time of day. Then they're trying to shift the load off their batteries and make them last for the maximum amount of time, such as what you're doing.
Like I said, in our context, we prefer to get immediate power that we can use earlier and later coming from the panels and not the batteries.
Shouldn't the solar panels match the battery storage?
Seems the charge controller would be working overtime trying to continuously charge 96 Kw battery storage with (at best) only 20KW of solar while the system is using power.
4-5x as much energy storage as array wattage is pretty normal
I was thinking why not put a sun tracker on a auto moveable platform?
That is a solution that was viable when panels were expensive. Now the panels are cheap and a tracker expensive and vulnerable. Only when having little space to you use a tracker.
Being able to change the vertical angle depending on the season can be important when closer to the poles(north pole, sout pole)
Two extra hours to "flatten the curve."
Did you consider dual-axis trackers?
Trackers introduce an extra level of complexity, maintenance issues and decreased stability. Solar pannels are cheap these days, it makes more sense to add another array with the budget that would be spent on makimg it turn. We installed fixed pannels facing east, south and west and it covers sun up to sun under
It’s great that you have the money to do this, but I still think it’s a waste. I live in Washington state near Seattle.
It’s a better use of money to buy a gas generator for charging the batteries when you’re at winter.
Or just switching back to the grid at night and then flipping back on in the day.
At least this is what I do. I only have 7.7 kW of PV and 9.6 kW a battery. but this runs me year around at least nine months out of the year. And then I use the outline I described above.
As long as you can get gas, sure.
Depends on the cost of getting that gas over to your place. Andwith current gasprices calculations quickly tilt towards solar, certainly in the long run.
Plus the silence.....
@@HansKeesom
You also have to have room for all those panels- I don’t.
Wouldn't it then make sense to only have east or west facing panels, and no panels towards true south? Mid day all panels produce at max anyway. Then you get a little more in the early morning and in the late evening.
Maybe. Try it and let us know.
That is what we do on flat roofs now. having little rows of panels east and west interchanging allows for more panels on the roof with more production earlier and later while still having lot's of production mid day.
But when up north like Curtis is, you want to be able to tilt based on the season to have decent production in winter.
@@offgridcurtisstone we built a system for a customer with arrays facing 30 degrees east and 30 degrees west of due south. This setup can minimize generator run time and reduce the size of battery that you need. I agree with your reasoning. The biggest difference on ours is that it was V shaped and had 2 main arrays rather than 3. There is another arrangement that we want to Try. Using bifacial panels mounted vertical with the front side facing west and the back side east. For the most extreme spread of the bell curve. These would be in addition to a more conventional array.
@@sethdavis704 Just wondering if you tried the vertical bifacial mounted west/east layout? If so how did it work out?? Did it produce well? Thanks.
@@commandertim575 yes I did try the vertical bifacial panels. They peak at 9-10 AM on the east side and 4-5 PM on the west side. The power dips down to about half or less at noon.
Bro, tracking system.
Do you have that on your system?
@@offgridcurtisstone not yet but I will. It’s takes some work and money so you have to decide whether it’s worth it for your particular setup.
@@mixanthony ya, it’s never made sense for me. I’d rather just add more panels. Seems to be the cheaper route. Adding more mechanics means more servicing.
@5:00 I can vouch for this I live in Arkansas I have a 24.5kwh 60 panel ground mounted array I have for example right now it's December i get 4 hours every day that I am producing Peak kilowatt hours in the summertime I easily get 6-8 hrs Peak production this last year I was easily producing up to 230kwh sometimes more per day in the middle of summer. Even now in the winter I'm still producing over 150 kwh minimum daily.
No you don’t.
Rig = solar array
I read a couple dozen comments. You must get tired of repeating the same thing. You have more patience them than I would. 'Keep your eye on the prize'.
Seems a little redundant, this might just be a kiwi thing, but to use a dryer when the suns out? Why not hang the clothes. Do Americans and Canadians do the whole clothes line thing or is that a thing of the past there?
Do you have kids?
@@offgridcurtisstone yeah man, four
We have never owned a dryer either.
That is not only kiwi, European too, dryers here are for people with no space for drying line. For anyone else we use them, even with kids.
I'm Canadian in a northern climate, off grid, and we do the clothes line outside during the summer and the indoor line at all other times. A dryer is one of those conveniences you can afford when you've got a massive solar array.
I think for Curtis it's the time saving aspect of it. Like he's said before, he wouldn't do any personal work that he can hire someone to do for him for under $30 an hour. Saves him time to make more money.
Crush
😎👍
Why spend all the money on rigs and use up all that land if it could just have been installed on the house roof?
Because our roof faces north and isn't big enough.