Flinsail: a cool new way to do solar

[senormechanico]

[QUOTE=Nord Sal;3479097]They are quite vague on the testing saying, "tested to gusts of 38 kts." What precisely does that mean?/QUOTE]
It probably means,
"When we got a 39 kt gust, it totally disintegrated, throwing detritus everywhere!"

[Nord Sal]

Testing methods should not need interpretation!


Here's what they say on testing:
"We use solar modules with multibusbar technology: These are extremely durable and can therefore withstand high wind loads. In the product test phase, the semi-flexible solar modules had to withstand gusts of wind of up to 38 knots without suffering any damage. Thanks to the innovative manufacturing technology, the solar modules are very fail-safe and have a long service life."

Two controlled gusts in the lab could fall under that test description, so could period of just a few minutes deployment on a boat in the real world.

Can you quantify "high wind loads"? What does "very fail safe" mean? How long is a "long service life" and just what were the service conditions during that period?

Surviving a gust of 38 knots isn't the same as surviving the day-to-day movement from wind plus larger less frequent gusts, plus the knocks from deployment, take down, stowage and redeployment over a time period, even a relatively short period of a year or two.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

I would not classify that as "cool". Maybe my age is showing here but it looks a bit "Rube Goldberg" to me,

Hit the nail on the head.

- If you have to set up and tear down every time you anchor, a few mounted on side rails would be just as easy and far cheaper.
- What about stays and mast shading? Usually, the stern is used to minimize shading issues. This system puts it right in the middle of shading from all directions. This would negate any advantage of tilting toward the sun (which can be done with a stern arch anyway.
- A brand new installation may stand up to 38kt once but up the mast rolling and moving constantly, fatigue loading could result in a short lifespan.

[vpbarkley]

I see lots of shading with this arrangement under most conditions. Just look the proximity to the mast and shrouds. A small amount of shading, ~ 5%, saps an enormous amount of power, ~ 90%, from a solar panel.

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

The Flinsail came up in my thread on wind and solar. The company just got back to me with a quote (5000€) for their 600W system. So as this is a real product you can buy and as it’s such a clever idea I figured it deserved its own thread.



https://flin-solar.com/flinsail

I for one am struggling to come up with a reason not to go this route for my power needs on the hook.

This article was written for April 1st next year or late for this year?

[Na Mara]

As far as shading goes, with the sun aft of the beam there won’t be any apart from a little from the thin rigging for the unit. Forward of the beam you have the stays and a spreader. On modern panels stays don’t make much of a difference. The spreader is an issue. Hopefully the panels are wired in parallel.

In any case, customer reviews about output are glowing so I doubt that shading is any more of an issue with these than other installations.

[zstine]

I think you could take that general idea and DIY a 600W system way less than $5000... I just wonder how it will take that 40knt thunderstorm gust at 2am?

[Knotical]

Originally Posted by zstine

I think you could take that general idea and DIY a 600W system way less than $5000... I just wonder how it will take that 40knt thunderstorm gust at 2am?

Why would you need the panels at 2 am? 😉

[Na Mara]

If yo are on the hook and have the panels orientated horizontal, then probably very well. Drag coefficient of a horizontal solar cell is 0,015. Edge on these things are like a knife blade. Also the weather cocking of the boat will help a lot.

That said, I’d be dropping them and leaving them stowed to the boom for that reason. It’s a minutes work to hoist them the next morning.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Knotical

Why would you need the panels at 2 am? 😉

Moonlight

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Knotical

Why would you need the panels at 2 am? 😉

So you unpack them, set them up every morning and deconstruct them every night. How convenient.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Knotical

Why would you need the panels at 2 am? 😉

Would you take them down every evening? I would not.

[Knotical]

Originally Posted by Anders

Would you take them down every evening? I would not.

Exactly my point, this thing is useless, especially at that price point.

[Na Mara]

Did you guys miss my point about the windage on these being basically zero when in the horizontal position. Also that with the boat at anchor the panels are lying directly down wind from the mast.

The most they’ll do is flutter a bit in the turbulence if left up in bad weather in that orientation.

If I couldn’t be bothered dropping them overnight at anchor, I would be very confident leaving them up after setting them horizontal.

In port it’s a different proposition as heavy wind from the side would cause twist in the panels and system and would probably damage it. In that case I wouldn’t have it up without someone onboard. But usually you have shore power in this case.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

Did you guys miss my point about the windage on these being basically zero when in the horizontal position. Also that with the boat at anchor the panels are lying directly down wind from the mast.

The most they’ll do is flutter a bit in the turbulence if left up in bad weather in that orientation.

Sure, because people leave their sails up to save the hassle of taking them down and they have basically zero windage.