Solar basics, cost and where to purchase

[cottonsail]

Originally Posted by Eggbah

WOW! That's it??!?! With each response, I am feeling more and more hopeful! And you guys/ladies have saved me thousands!


That means a bigger boat, right?

My advice comes with a fee. You owe me 2 beers.😀

[Eggbah]

Originally Posted by cottonsail

My advice comes with a fee. You owe me 2 beers.😀

You got it! When I get my boat I'll definitely have A LOT of beer and wine onboard

Not while sailing of course

[Krakato]

"Krakato, I just checked out Renogy.com. I'm curious, do you have to stick to the marine/rv set ups or can you run the home/cabin set ups?

Aren't they all the same? I wasn't sure if their rv/marine sets were coated in something to handle the saltwater... (the exposed parts)"


I believe it is all the same. I started with the 400watt kit out of the marine/rv setup, but added the additional panels and inverter just 'a la cart'. You can call their customer service to check. I called with rather technical question about the controllers and was immediately transferred to one of their engineers. They seem to be a very responsive company to their clients.

Hope this helps!

[a64pilot]

I have four 250W panels, actually I have 5 but one isn't mounted.
Mine are residential panels, I got them from a residential installer after finding out what shipping large panels cost. It makes sense as your essentially shipping large sheets of glass, that isn't going to be cheap.
Anyway I contacted a residential installer and bought his left over panels for a very good price, no tax, no shipping. I did have to go get them of course.
I guess if your buying an array, you don't want mismatched panels, you want them all from one manufacturer so they get left over panels from time to time.

[SFS]

Have they held up ok? Do you ever wish you had gone with a marinized version?

[jkindredpdx]

https://www.wholesalesolar.com/

Good product, advice, and prices...

[seadago]

Hello all
Not to hijack the thread, but, does anyone have any experience with polycristaline flexible pannels? I have very little room (in fact none, without building a monster of an SS arch mounted on the transom) to install rigid pannels, but some room is available on a slightly convex coach roof. I'm researching flexible pannels for this purpose. Pros: Easy to install, walk on -so OEMs say; with care- Cons: expensive, lousy efficiency; some 50% less than same size monocristaline.
I have a daily max consumption budget of 170 Ah/day and nominal 440 AH battery capacity, in two banks of 220 each.
For reference, I'm looking at the kit on the link below:
https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/...-or-yacht.html
Budgeting for 4.5 sun/hours per day on avg, I figure I will need to #2 of these to cover my daily needs.
My questions to the forum are: Do these pannels do what they say on the box?, and, based on experience, Is it wise to expect full battery bank re-charge within 24hr period?
Many thanks to all!!
Rafael

[KP44]

Originally Posted by Eggbah

I've remodeled my home, so I consider myself pretty handy. Is the install super difficult if I opt to do it myself?

Cost -

.... What should I expect cost-wise if you have outfitted a 30ish ft cat with solar? $15-20k for a basic solar setup?

I do not have a complete system yet, but everything solar is pretty straightforward. I have used a single 100 watt panel to get used to the solar system. I have four semi-flexible, sealed 80 watt panels that I plan to use. They are not glass so they will not shatter if something smacks into them. I think they were $120.00 each including shipping; so almost $500 for 320 watts.
The little solar regulators are inexpensive. I have a 3k watt Xantrex inverter.
Total cost for solar has been less than $1k, unless you include the inverter, and it should run everything except my watermaker on a 45 ft cutter.

Out of curiosity, I just priced a 2k watt Xantrex Prowatt SW inverter at $360.00 street price. (Maybe double that for retail.) If I remember, I paid about $800 for the 3k watt Xantrex a few years ago.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by seadago

Hello all
Not to hijack the thread, but, does anyone have any experience with polycristaline flexible pannels?

I have tested 4 semi-flexible 80 watt panels and get the full 300 - 320 watt output. I don't think I have polycristaline and these are pretty rigid but they will bend. They are sealed, have no glass to shatter, and they are easy to handle.
I would not walk on them but they are pretty tough.

[seadago]

Hi KP44
Thanks for your reply. That's encouraging. Do you by any chance have the specs of those panels? (for benchmaring purposes); i.e. matrix type, size, manufacturer model, etc). Also, how many sun-hours/day on avg do you expect where you are?
Thanks!
Rafael

[sailjumanji]

I posted this, on our setup and measured power consumption. I think we are somewhat frugal, but have refrigeration, etc. and no generator. We've gone to LED lighting, and fairly low consumption instruments (including a 4G radar). I think you need to look at all of the instruments and equipment you want, and their power consumption, and that will point you in the right direction regarding how much solar, which controller, and batteries you need.

Real-Life Power Consumption Numbers - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

[Myboat]

A bit off topic, but so much know how here, must ask one question. When expanding my solar systems. Do I have to buy new mppt regulator or can I just add one more and divert power to both?
Cheers from Norway