Why Don't Manufacturers Build For Solar?

[mcarling]

The new X6 from X-Yachts has an option for 12 solar panels, 4 of which are aft of the boom. I cannot find a specification of their capacity, but judging from apparent size, I doubt they are less than 100 watts each. With 1200 to 2000 watts of solar, I would probably go with redundant MPPT controllers and ditch the alternator.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Factor

Nope, I'm talking about Cats sold in Australia.

Well that's gotta be at least 3/8% of the boating market.

[jbinbi]

New Lagoon 380 has an option for solar built into the bimini. Same as the new FP41. I think they are doing something, but they are definitely behind the curve of doing it yourself. But give it a few years, and I think it will part of the standard packages.

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

New Lagoon 380 has an option for solar built into the bimini. Same as the new FP41. I think they are doing something, but they are definitely behind the curve of doing it yourself. But give it a few years, and I think it will part of the standard packages.

What this shows is two things. One, the manufacturers must be getting the demand from the market for solar. Two, they still are not designing for solar. Just slapping some panels onto the bimi shows they have no idea what they are doing. And I'm not singling one manufacturer out. it is all of them.

I would suggest that they do solid research into the subject of solar. Even go as far as looking at hiring some consultants from the cruising cat world who are expert in DYI. Like the guys/gals in this forum. Not all because some here, even some who are in the business are majorly clueless on the effects of shading.

It is because of the effects of shading that throwing your panels onto your bikini is a bad idea. Unless each side is wired separately and they are seen as back up additional not the main panel bank. The main panel bank needs to be mounted clear if the boom at the stern. This is the only place on a sailboat that has these huge white things called sails.

And when I rhetorically ask about designing for solar I meant that not one manufacturer is doing this properly.

We need to educate them I think. otherwise a lot of foolishness will go on.

Everyone should search youtube for solar shading and see the up to 80% power loss from just a little shading. IMHO.

[Factor]

[QUOTE=GoingWalkabout;2017467]

And when I rhetorically ask about designing for solar I meant that not one manufacturer is doing this properly.

And yet I showed you photos of at least two manufacturers that are doing it properly?

Everyone should search youtube for solar shading and see the up to 80% power loss from just a little shading. IMHO.

Depends on the panels. modern panels can have shading and only drop slightly more than the percentage that is shaded

[GoingWalkabout]

[QUOTE=Factor;2017516]

Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout

And yet I showed you photos of at least two manufacturers that are doing it properly?

Depends on the panels. modern panels can have shading and only drop slightly more than the percentage that is shaded

The pics you showed ar ed of panels under the boom.

I would love to see the shading stats you are talking about. Any reviews? Any research reports? Anything other than a very expensive manufacturers "claims".

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout

I would love to see the shading stats you are talking about. Any reviews? Any research reports? Anything other than a very expensive manufacturers "claims".

I'm not a manufacturer. Many high-end solar panels now use diodes between strings of cells to reduce the effects of partial shading. In theory, it should be effective. It would be virtually impossible to quantify how effective because there is no standard for partial shading.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...g+solar+panels

[Factor]

[QUOTE=GoingWalkabout;2018313]

The pics you showed ar ed of panels under the boom.

Nope - the Outremer and Seawinds are all behind the boom, and there are others. EG freydis

I would love to see the shading stats you are talking about. Any reviews? Any research reports? Anything other than a very expensive manufacturers "claims".

Sorry no, only manufacturers advice and my experience on many boats. I could shade 10% (roughly) and see a slightly more than 10% drop when doing electrical system testing HOWEVER if I shaded more than 50% then the output dropped below what was useful to the system, Of course one answer to this is to have more cells rather than large cells and to mount them, as seawind and outremer and many many others do, behind the boom.

[computersatsea]

Boatbuilding is a business. They don't gamble. I found that to be true when looking for a catamaran in 1984. Only one cat builder in the US and he was a Brit.
After twenty year behind the mast, I decided Different Drummer and I were not up to the trials of sailing so off came the mast, out came the center boards, and on went two Torqueedo outboards