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What is this all about? (2)

17 November 2011

Posted by Alex from Lagoon under Technical world

7 Comments

What is a polycrystalline panel? It is one of the 3 kinds of photovoltaic panels on the market. It is called polycrystalline because there are several crystals in one cell, as a monocrystalline panel has one crystal only by cell. The quality / price ratio is better for a polycrystalline panel than a monocrystalline panel because even if the performance difference is around 1 or 2 % better for the monocrystalline (it used to be higher but the commercial success of the polycristalline type allowed the technology to improve quickly), whereas the price difference can be quite important with an advantage for a cheaper polycrystalline panel because less complex to build. The third kind of panel is called amorphous. It has several advantages as a great performance in low light, and a conception of thin cells so also very light cells. Nevertheless, the performance with important light is not as good as the two others.

: From left to right: a monocrystalline cell, a polycrystalline cell (note the different crystals which form the cell) and an amorphous cell.

Some important things to know:

- the performance of a solar panel is changing with the temperature. In fact the technical characteristics are given for a temperature of 25°C. The solar panel performance decreases when the temperature goes below or above 25°C.

- the nominal power of the solar panel is calculated by convention at an angle of 90° between the solar rays and the panel. The change of this angle decreases the performance of the panel.

- the cells are connected between them in series. The maximum power of a cell is determined by the weakest cell. Note that a shadow above one cell will thus decrease the power of all the whole panel.

- A battery repartitor designed for your solar panels can really improve the charge of the on board batteries.

: Space optimization with amorphous solar panels on the Lagoon 620 bimini top.

Tags: cell, electricity, polycrystallin, solar panel

Gallifrey

I have fitted 2x125w panels on the davits of my Lagoon 380. I also have LED bulbs everywhere. At anchor all power needs are met. At sea, I can usually conserve enough power to go without engine charging for a day or two. One more panel would probably be sufficient to avoid running the engine at all for battery charging.
Alex and the Lagoon Inside Team

A day without a running engine hour is always a good day!
Alex and the Lagoon Inside Team

Thank for your input Tobbe. One of the main issue of the solar panels is the drop of performance when there is shadow on it. So the only place on the boat to avoid it is unfortunately the davits.
http://profile.yahoo.com/HS6FGHDAEAXLTMIMDNAY6YNARM Anna

Hi everybody,

I have a question: will the lid on the bimini hold 2 solar panels (30 kg)?

Thank you for your answers
Alex from the Lagoon team

Hi again Anna,

As I said, the fabric bimini is not designed to support equipment. If you want to add solar panels, you should to create your own bimini with a bigger size of tube.
http://profile.yahoo.com/HS6FGHDAEAXLTMIMDNAY6YNARM Anna

Hi Alex,

we’ve ordered Lagoon 450 and would like to install 2 solar panels on the lid of the fly-bridge. Where can I find the measurements of the lid. Oh maybe someone knows whether two panels 1038 mm x 526 mm would fit.

Thank you in advance.

Anna
Alex From Lagoon

Hi Anna, could you send me your email adress.

Lagoon Inside

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