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To tilt or not to tilt - Printable Version

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To tilt or not to tilt - Motrukdriver - 11-15-2017

that is the question...   I've seen panels mounted flat on RV roofs and I've seen tilting panels.  If I was doing stationary solar on a house I'd probably go with tracking but that is a whole new ball game.   No tilt and maybe add another panel or tilt and use the smaller number of panels yet have the hassle of going up there to tilt when you set up camp.  It looks like there will be plenty of roof space since my lovely wife has yet expanded the length of the trailer to just over 300 feet now.  A 2 car garage is a must and she's thinking maybe a tennis court.  Seriously, back to the tilting panel.  I'm wondering if the increased possibility of vibration from the tilting mechanism could shorten the life of the panels.  I suppose you could lock them down in place tight enough to eliminate most of the vibration from travel.

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - Optimistic Paranoid - 11-15-2017

If you do decide to tilt your panels, you've gotta build em hell for strong.  There have been reports of tilted panels ripped right off of RV roofs when a strong wind came up from just the right direction, ie:  straight behind them.

Personally, I wouldn't.  I don't believe the gain is worth the hassle.

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - AbuelaLoca - 11-15-2017

Jimindenver has tilt! I'm too cheap, but I think it's pretty cool!

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - Ballenxj - 11-15-2017

(11-15-2017, 01:52 AM)Motrukdriver Wrote: that is the question...   I've seen panels mounted flat on RV roofs and I've seen tilting panels.  If I was doing stationary solar on a house I'd probably go with tracking but that is a whole new ball game.   No tilt and maybe add another panel or tilt and use the smaller number of panels yet have the hassle of going up there to tilt when you set up camp.  It looks like there will be plenty of roof space since my lovely wife has yet expanded the length of the trailer to just over 300 feet now.  A 2 car garage is a must and she's thinking maybe a tennis court.  Seriously, back to the tilting panel.  I'm wondering if the increased possibility of vibration from the tilting mechanism could shorten the life of the panels.  I suppose you could lock them down in place tight enough to eliminate most of the vibration from travel.
That's a good question. Directly pointing at the Sun is best of course, but in a mobile application I would want them as secure as possible.
Here's a site dedicated to that question. 
https://www.civicsolar.com/support/installer/articles/effect-array-tilt-angle-energy-output

Your wife expanded the length of the trailer to just over 300 ft? OK, I'll bite, what are you talking about?

Just for fun I'll link to Zomeworks Trackers, which IMO are the industry best, and are non mechanical. They work via liquid heated by the sun. Cool 
http://www.zomeworks.com/photovoltaic-tracking-racks/how-trackers-work/
We used to install these for off grid dwellings, and they worked quite nice.

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - Blacktank - 11-15-2017

i have seen a couple videos where they recorded the output from flat to tilted and there was dramatic gains in doing so,i think one was the gone with the wynns channel,i would suspect the farther north you are the more gains you would see

so there is a double decker bus in your future?

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - sternwake - 11-15-2017

I can tilt my 130 watt panel 90 degrees towards either side of the van, but my 68 watt panel is adhered to my roof.

I think in the last decade there has been less than a dozen times that i actually tilted the panel to increase harvest, the other times were to access the roof underneath.

Tilting would be great if parked in one spot for a while and when the tilted panel faced south, and one actually needed the extra harvest, but if the roof space is available more solar kept flat would certainly be easier and produce a lot more than less solar when not tilted.

My 130 watt panel was over 700$ 10 years ago, and I was unsure it could keep up with my fridge, so I saw tilting as necessary, but it was not. If I had to redo my solar/ build out another van, I would get a larger panel and be able to access the underside fairly easily, but not design it to be easily tilted daily.

If one has the roof space, then more panels is likely much easier than designing/building tilting mounts that are strong enough to handle a 180 degree wind shift gust.

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - Motrukdriver - 11-15-2017

(11-15-2017, 08:53 AM)Ballenxj Wrote: Your wife expanded the length of the trailer to just over 300 ft? OK, I'll bite, what are you talking about?

Well, I started out just wanting a small vintage trailer I could gut and rebuild to a more fitting full time lifestyle.  Love the vintage look.  Once she was "on board" for the whole full time thing that changed of course.  She wanted a bus conversion but after talking about it we decided the bus would not really be the right thing for what we want.  So it was back to a vintage trailer but the vintage went away and the trailer got bigger.  Now each time we talk about trailers they seem to be getting bigger with "ohhh, it would be nice if...."  so now we're up to a 2 car garage and tennis court.  Oh, and my old venerable Jeep won't be the tow vehicle anymore so that has to be addressed.  Hollywood here we come!!!!

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - Motrukdriver - 11-15-2017

(11-15-2017, 10:27 AM)Gary Wrote: so there is a double decker bus in your future?

Long ago in a lifetime far far away I was a structure designer (23 years mechanical engineering prior to driving that damn truck) for MAN Truck & Bus in Cleveland, NC.  It got bought out some time back by Freightliner but the image of those articulated city buses is etched in my memory.   Long buses with the swivel joint and huge bellows to make them easy to turn city corners.  

[Image: manbus.jpg]

A lot of my work is in this actual bus btw.  I remember the orders coming in from San Fran for buses.

To tilt or not to tilt - John61CT - 11-15-2017

Only if you've run out of room to buy more, want to spend money and are highly motivated to increase solar input.

If you were a handyman-engineer welder you would of course just do it for the fun of it.

RE: To tilt or not to tilt - Snikwahjm - 11-15-2017

There are some in Indianapolis. Please come and hijack...