Solar panels

QrizB

matt_drummer said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

As I said, a mental what-if exercise rather than a practical plan. More realistic would be to mount half the panels a few degrees different from the others  to make a better if not perfect job of "following" the sun. No sensor, no motor, no movement, no servicing. Not perfect but an improvement on a static flat arrangement.

No, some would produce more and some would produce less, the average would be the same.

Over the course of the seasons, the outcome would be worse generation (fewer kWh) vs. the optimised single angle although you might possibly be able to change the shape of the generation hump enough that you get slightly more self-consumption at the cost of less export.

A little bit like having an E-W split array rather than a S-facing one.

matt_drummer

QrizB said:

matt_drummer said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

As I said, a mental what-if exercise rather than a practical plan. More realistic would be to mount half the panels a few degrees different from the others  to make a better if not perfect job of "following" the sun. No sensor, no motor, no movement, no servicing. Not perfect but an improvement on a static flat arrangement.

No, some would produce more and some would produce less, the average would be the same.

Over the course of the seasons, the outcome would be worse generation (fewer kWh) vs. the optimised single angle although you might possibly be able to change the shape of the generation hump enough that you get slightly more self-consumption at the cost of less export.

A little bit like having an E-W split array rather than a S-facing one.

Yes, but most panels are fitted at the angle of the roof.

Whatever, having some at different angles isn't going to make much difference to anything.

Best to keep the explanations simple I think!

debitcardmayhem

I can’t see changing the angles is going to eke more power out of my panels at the moment, currently awt about 80W🥴

Telegraph_Sam

matt_drummer said:

Telegraph_Sam said:

I could appreciate that the economics might not be viable. What I was visualizing was a system where the rotational travel was limited. Like having one position in the morning which was changed to a different one in the afternoon. A simple motor yes, plus a simple timer,  but no need for AI or a sensor,  unless one anticipates the sun changing its route from one day to another.

It does!

The sun isn't in the same place in the sky today as it will be in June, or even tomorrow!

My theorising is based on the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. If that no longer applies then a Mark 2 solution will be necessary

Qyburn

Playing around with one of the projection tools it's quite clear that S is the best orientation, although a few degrees either side makes little difference. Ours are 191° for example. So in terms of simple generation per year we'd be better off adding panels facing the same way. 

Reasons to prefer other orientations would include optimising for morning or evening if that increases self consumption. Or special cases like an export limit where it would be inefficient to increase peak power.

In terms of the original question if you had a suitable location you could mount one panel on a motorised rig and it would generate more than a single fixed panel. You could sort of simulate that by mounting say five fixed panels at different angles, at probably less cost than one motorised. Finally you could mount those five all facing South and generate more than either.

Gerry1

If you were lucky, you'd find the panels would be knocked out of alignment by the next big storm.

If you were unlucky, they'd all be blown off the roof.

If you were really unlucky, they'd take the roof with them.

tim_p

and if you were really, really unlucky the panels and or roof would end up on yours and your neighbours cars. 

matt_drummer

And being more concerned about people than cars, If you were really, really, really unlucky you'd end up killing somebody with them!

Telegraph_Sam

That would be beyond my original intention

Telegraph_Sam

I had my 8 south facing panels installed 13 years ago and they seem to be chugging along.  I have recently been cold-called twice (now 3 times) by the "Energy Advice Centre" 0207 455 421, wanting to set up the usual surveyor's visit, on the understanding that they could add more panels and make the installation more efficient. And add a SV battery to boot.
My understanding as recalled from the past is that adding panels to an existing set-up is not simple technically and not to be recommended (new inverter required?). And I came to the conclusion that investing in a battery was not going to pay for itself in anything other than the very long term. Is this basically correct?