Tilting solar panels.

Trotter

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‘Tis finished. Well almost.
Was going to fit gas struts, but not at £165 I’m not. So...... looks like rigid supports. Possibly 18mm box or angle mild steel.

Anyone wish to suggest panel angles. If 90o was vertical, I reckoned 70o, 45o, and 30o. What say you.
 
Hi ya Trotter,
My input would be along the lines of -
If you’ve gone to the trouble of ‘Tilting’ you’re Panel, Then maybe think about ‘Tracking the sun as well for best results. Mine is just Flat on the Roof & is Fine for me.
But whatever latitude you find yourself in, Subtract 10° in the when the clocks go Fwd, Subtract 10° from your Add when the Clocks go back. As a kinda guide.
 
Last edited:
Hi ya Trotter,
My input would be along the lines of -
If you’ve gone to the trouble of ‘Tilting’ you’re Panel, Then maybe think about ‘Tracking the sun as well for best results. Mine is just Flat on the Roof & is Fine for me.
But whatever latitude you find yourself in, Add 10° in the when the clocks go Fwd, Take away 10° from your Latitude when the Clocks go back. As a kinda guide.
I’m going to make supports of different lengths to maximise sunshine angles.
 
I made a tilting frame so that my 80 watt panel can be set to any angle. The 150 watt panel is fixed flat. Have to say I’ve not had to tilt it since fitting a lifepo4, but could be handy during the winter if stuck somewhere without hook up when you to start the engine to charge.

On a sunny day this January, after tilting it to the optimum angle I could double the harvest to up to 10 amps/hr which is not too bad for that time of year.

Here’s a simple way to check for optimum angle.

 
‘Tis finished. Well almost.
Was going to fit gas struts, but not at £165 I’m not. So...... looks like rigid supports. Possibly 18mm box or angle mild steel.

Anyone wish to suggest panel angles. If 90o was vertical, I reckoned 70o, 45o, and 30o. What say you.
Head to your local car breakers for a couple of struts?
 
Rather than ‘Struts & Adjustable bits of something’ why don’t you consider the long threaded Window openers that you use to get in Older Schools that you can wind up or down from the ground like a Wind out Side Awning 🤔
As an engineering project. Think one step beyond 😳
 
That’s a great idea, Baz. Unless you want to leave the van unattended. I know that you don’t do that. But I like to walk, and wild camp. Leaving anything outside the van, is not a good idea.
 
Anyone wish to suggest panel angles. If 90o was vertical, I reckoned 70o, 45o, and 30o. What say you.

With your place in the world and time of year, you can find the correct angle on google :)

Aluminum angle for supports, light and strong...
 

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