solar panel brands

[carib2008]

Hi, am doing research into solar for our boat.... planning on putting panel or panels on stern arch with wind generator most likely. There are so many brands on the market right now I was hoping to get an idea from those of you who have used some as to what brand seems to be best suited for a marine environment....I was told that if I mounted a wind generator I should use two panels so that a possible shadow from generator would only interfere with output from one panel. .....does this make sense ?

carib2008

[Nausicaa]

of your energy requirement. How much power (amp-hours) do you use in a typical 24-hours? Add it all up and that is how much you need to put back into your batteries. If a panel is partially shaded (even by only the shadow of a topping lift) then the whole panel's output is severely reduced, so yes, you should have at two panels feeding through a controller. I believe there is a West Marine Advisor on the topic...look in the catalog if you have one or on westmarine dot com. Good luck!

[carib2008]

That's a roger on the requirement calculation. I also need to know which Brand of panel cruisers are using with good results. I will need to produce as much as I can , we like to cruise comfortably. I want to use as little diesel as possible to keep battery bank happy.

Thinking Kyocera , or Sharp........any body have experience with these brands.

Want one that will stand up well in the marine environment.

thanks

[Nausicaa]

Follow the links, one is for general information and the other is product specific,

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/westadvisor/10001/-1/10001/SolarPower.htm

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SiteSearchView?dispName=ELECTRICAL&jspStoreDir=wm51&catalogId=10001&view100page=100&Nao=0&Ne=712&Ntt=Chargers%20&N=377%20710%201649&langId=-1&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&omniTag=Category:Solar%20Panels&PopularCat=No&storeId=10001

[Arni]

My experience with BP Solar has been good. If you want to allocate a certain amount of money to 'green' charging, spent it all on solar panels and skip the wind generator. They only work in strong winds, so they are a bit of a luxury. If you do get a wind generator, please PLEASE don't let it be an Air-X Marine. They are the most efficient, but make a horrible noise. I have a recurring dream, of going round the anchorage in my dinghy, with a Remington pump-action shotgun, and blasting each and every Air-X. Boom! There's another one gone. Boom! and another....

[harryrezz]

I have the very set-up you are contemplating aboard La Nostra. I have two 80 Watt Kyocera panels and a Kiss wind generator. (Agree wholeheartedly about Arnie's comment on the Air-X, BTW!) going all-solar, IMHO, is not a good option because of the facts that it does get dark during the night-time hours ... which is when you'll typically be using the most power ... and it also gets cloudy from time to time. I find the two systems provide great redundancy and compliment each other.
Two panels are also safer in case one gets damaged. I broke one a couple of years ago, but still had the other in service until a replacement could be accomplished.
The advice on doing a power needs analysis is sound.
Good luck!

[Guapa]

We're currently refitting in view of a RTW cruis in a couple of years.

Soar panels: we've opted for Kyocera. I've talked to plenty of blue water cruisers and Kyocera owners seem to be very satisfied. My first instinct had been to go for one 'big' panel - now reconcidered and next winter we'll be fitting 2 x 65W panels.

Wind generator: jury's still out on that one. Current favourite is the Rutland 913. It will however, NOT be an Air-X. We had it on our previous boat - it delivers plenty of amps, but we weren't prepared to live with the noise. And of that, it also produces plenty.

[Mike Banks]

You always have to put back more--it takes energy to convert the amps from the charging source back into "chemical potential energy" that can be converted back to electrical energy from the battery. When you do your power requirement drawn in terms of ampere hours--add twenty percent more to the amount you need to put back into the battery. Batteries are never fully recharged by replacing only the power spent from them.

[Brent Swain]

I recently saw some tests in a British magazine. BP were rated the best and the least reduction in output over time. Siemens were rated next. Those with plastic instead of glass had a much quicker drop in output as they aged, Kyocera were well down the list . Flexible panels were the worst.
Brent

[HorizonMarine]

We have a yacht repair company. I see Kyocera and Siemens used on a regular basis and people are happy with them. don't see Bp, so can't comment. Flexible panels lack the output and don't last, in my experience. You can never have too much solar. Outfitted one Gemini catamaran recently with 8 panels!.... and wind also.. He never plugs in to shore.

Comments about shading of solars is correct. we sometimes will opt for two 65 watts instead of a single 130 watt, when we know we will have partial shading some of the time. Always use an MPPT controller for them. This allows full use of the excess voltage that the panels output to be turned into real amp hours into your batteries. Usually output is 10-25% more than a standard controller, depending on time of day and amount of sun.

I see no one actually taking the time to tilt solar panels to the sun, except a liveaboard I know who does not move his boat. I have installed them when requested to swivel, but don't really know of anyone who does it. Bottom line, usually flat is good enough.

I have 4 - 130 Kyocera's on my own boat and depending on sun angles, at any given time only one can be partially shaded. I ran them through two controllers, in case one fails. I usually expect to see a total of 150AH put into my batteries on an average day.

In answer to the common question "how many amp hours will I get out of my panels on average per day?" Our rule of thumb is divide the total wattage by 3.25 if you use a real MPPT controller (divide by 4 if you don't)

Bottom line.. In the tropics, a 130watt panel should provide on average of 40 amp hours amp hours over daylight hours. Some days will be 55-60 amp hour days...others will only be 20.

Wind vs solar.... depends on what you are doing. Cruising Mexico? not enough wind down there. Crossing oceans? or in the trade winds?.. they are great in those places, although we opted for a towed water generator for passages. I agree with the comments about the noise of Air-X brand wind gens, although I don't agree with the pump action shotgun approach. I think a more rapid firing semi-automatic would be more efficient.

One more thought... Sometimes it is cheaper and/or more efficient to cut electrical useage, rather than add charging capacity. Our anchor light is on for 150 days per year minimum. Much more efficient changing that to an LED light than to try to produce the amps to recharge a standard bulb. 80 amps a week becomes only 10 amps, saving about 70 amps per week.

Do you night sail? Same for running lights, but even bigger savings. Or get a mast tricolor LED. A series 40 Aqua Signal (boats 39-65 feet) set of running lights uses 60 watts per hour, about 5ah per hour. Figuring 11 hours per night that is 55 amps. A tricolor LED probably uses a couple of amps PER NIGHT.

[KC]

Had 3 Kyocera panels for 5 years perfect. Wind gen super quiet "D 400" and loads of power. Expensive however you only get what you pay for.

[Aeventyr]

Have had Kyocera panels on my boat for over 10 years, still pumping out the amps, if you are serious about solar/wind do the energy audit. Include wind power as the sun does not always shine and as the seasons change your solar output will go south as well. Also the modern wind generators produce plenty of power in light winds and are much quieter then before. Your overall power production will be a combination of wind, solar and hopefully as little from the alternator as possible. If you are cruising offshore you won't have to worry about gun toting yanks looking to shoot you because your making a little nosie....ha ha.

[rrbryce]

I have two 130’s from Kyocera and could not be happier. I ordered them from emarine and found their prices to be competitive and their tech support and availability to be close to perfect. As a rating, from one to one hundred, I’d say 96. Few transactions are perfect, but this was close. Prior to placing my order, I inquired about ‘everything that I needed’ was included. The reply that I received was ‘yes, short of a few connections which you can get at any local electrical/hardware store. I installed the panels and did the wiring myself, which took about two weeks. When the materials arrived, the wiring diagram showed shielded wire in one connection and I called emarine and was told that any radioshack had shielded wire. Well, that was on a Friday and I spent the whole weekend searching for shielded wire and came up empty. …On Monday I called emarine to share my failure. The person who answered the phone replied that they had shielded wire in stock. So I was a bit angry that the ‘everything needed…: comment was not true, and that had they included it in the shipment, I would not have had to waste a weekend searching in vain….to add insult to injury, the salesman didn’t want to be bothered taking a ten foot order of wire and directed me to their web. I replied that it was more convenient for me to just place the order now via the phone. He didn’t want the bother and so as our conversation was over, I hung up. He called me back to let me know that he didn’t appreciate being hung up on, which he wasn’t, I simply didn’t’ say ‘goodbye’ the end of the story is that they shipped the shielded cable, with the necessary connections on one end and walked me through the necessary customization of the controller. I was charged for shipping on the cable, which would have been included in the original shipment, so that and a few small other issues yields the 96 instead of a perfect 100.
Bottom line, I’m very happy with their support, the panels and if I get a wind generator, it will be from them.
The Kyocera panels keeps my refrigerator fully cold at it’s coldest temp, charges the batteries and powers my Miele vacuum cleaner. When I look at the monitor or my battery gauge, I just smile and shake my head in disbelief.
The panels seem to be of really great quality.


bob

[r_mccoy6]

I use a Kyocera 130 watt panel installed over my bimini. Read the warranty info on solar panels as I believe only Kyocera warrants the solar panel in a marine environment. Maybe some others do too, but from reading their warranties they specifically exclude any responsibility when used on boats. So read the warranties before you invest!
Now, after 4 years of use, mine is still working great - producing up to 7.39 amps per hour on sunny days. I use a Xantrex C35 charge controller connected to my "House" battery switch. Additionally, I've installed an Echo Charger to transfer any excess power the house battery doesn't want directly to the start battery. My batteries stay "happy" all year around. The Kyocera still looks good and operates with making noise or using fuel.

[r_mccoy6]

Before you buy any solar panel(s) for your boat, read the manufacturers warranty. Most, will void their warranty if the panel is used in a marine environment - it says so, so I'd avoid them.
Kyocera is the exception - but there may be others such as Sharp. They fully warranty their panels for marine use. I installed a 130 watt panel over my bimini about four years ago and it's been keeping my batteries very "happy" ever since. Use a good charge controller and you won't be disappointed.

[moonchaser]

i currently have (1) 50w siemens (shell) (1) 50w kyrocera (1) 105w evergreen
(1) kiss windgen (1)yamaha 1kw gas generator. we have sailed the caribbean for 6 years with no problems. the 105 is mounted on the davits, the 50's wing out on the lifelines at anchor. as boat moves with tide, wind, etc the shadow issue is mute. all panels perform well.
see arizona wind & sun, altE, sunelec.com or foreandaftmarine.com for panels. have also recently found attractive price on panels made in china at alibaba.com s/v mello moon

[moonchaser]

air-x marine seems to have overcome their hive of bees sound problem and they self regulate. also they have an attractive price if you shop around.
used one of the new ones & liked it. i currently have a kiss which i like very much. have also had a four-winds which worked very well but is rather large.
recommend that when you decide you get a deal on an extra set of blades at time of purchase. they can be hard to find and pricey later.
s/v mello moon

[witchcraft]

We bought a kyosera (sp) solar panel, for a reasonable price, and have been happy with it. We spent extra on a smart controller that helps "boost the voltage". In any case we have been happy with how it works.
Cheers
Witchcraft

[r_mccoy6]

I installed a Kyocera 130 watt (7.39 amp/hr) panel over my bimini about 5 years ago. It's connected to a Xantrex C35 charge controller. It's worked beautifully ever since and is still going strong. I researched the PV manufacturers back then and found Kyocera was the only one (at least the only one I found) that explicitly warrantied the panel when used in a marine environment. I also have a 4200 watt genset when I need the AC juice since I don't have an inverter. The Kyocera is less sensitive it seems to minor shadows as I monitor the power inputs on a Xantrex 20 battery monitor. My one 4D house and 31 start battery are always "happy" and fully charged.

[NadaShayna]

If buying solar panels could save a bunch of money we would all be doing it. Unfortunately it will take many years for you to save enough in electricity costs to pay for the panels.This may change in the future, but right now it is more cost effective to get you electricity from your local power company.