Senior Member
Joined: 11/12/2020
Location: CanadaPosts: 138
| Posted: 09:07pm 06 Jan 2025 |
Hmm. Sorry lizby, I forgot to respond to your question.
Yes, 180 means south facing and 128 about southeast.
Since my last post, I found a website SunEarthtools.com which allows you to
calculate and show the sun's position for your location and at different times of the year.
My old panels were actually at 135D and 165D. At this time of the year, the sun is very low and rises
at about 120D. So I am getting no direct sun at this time of the year unfortunately. I did mount 3 of
the new panels over an exiting shed on this same wall that faces 135D. I had to remove the roof of
the shed to get up there, and then realized I needed to use a linear actuator to change the ground
angle, since I don't have access after the shed roof has been installed. Anyway, this array of 3
panels is not doing too much at this time of year, because a nearby 2 story house is shading part of
one of the panels. By next month this will improve greatly as the sun will be higher in the sky.
So to mount these panels, I mount 2 hinges on one end of each panel. I strengthen the
aluminum where these 2 hinges are, using L aluminum and epoxy. The hinges get mounted to the wall
and by using different sized struts at the other end of the panel, I can adjust the vertical angle of the panel for winter and summer.
Hinge attachment
These panels are quite heavy at 71 pounds plus, so I needed to figure a way of getting them up
on the wall. I attached a pulley wheel to my ladder, and used a manual winch attached to an
old dresser with some automotive weights to keep it on the ground.
I used a 20" stroke linear actuator from Vevor which is supposed to be IP67 rated (It does not look
like it). I initially intended to mount the actuator to give me the 40" of stroke I need, but I miscalculated
and put the mount in the wrong spot. I ended up putting the actuator in the most convenient spot.
I may redo things next year...
So for now, I have 3 new panels and 3 old panels in a 3S2P configuration. The old panels have a MPP voltage
about 10v less than the new panels, and they are the most dominant panels at this time of the year.
So not ideal. I won't be getting around to installing the other 3 new panels, until the spring.