EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Solar Power
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts


 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
Old 03-11-10, 07:53 AM   #11
Xringer
Lex Parsimoniae
 
Xringer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
Posts: 4,918
Thanks: 114
Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts
Default And then the rains came...

With barely any sunlight falling on my tiny solar panel this morning,
I'm wondering if it will even try to track the sun as it moves behind the rain clouds.

So, I figured this would be a good day to test the remaining charge controller
to see if these things help? Or hurt the SOC on a cloudy day and at night..



I've started a log to see what happens to the voltage during these next few rainy days.
Right now, the LEDs are indicating the LAs are charging, but the panel juice is very very low..
Only when the sun peeks out a little does the PV voltage move towards the 14 to 21 volt range.

I would be very surprised (and pleased) if my little 5-10 watt panel can
keep the tracker LA charged, while keeping my two big car LAs in the
ham shack topped off..
When the clear weather comes back, we shall find out!

Cheers,
Rich

Edit: 3-21-10
After 4 or 5 cloudy days (and about 7" of rain), all of the batteries still had a good SOC.
Now that it's been sunny for a few days, all three LA batteries are charging normally.
It's hazy out now and old CRV batt (Panasonic) is charging at 14.11v and the Toyota batt is at 14.16v.
The spec says they chargers will shut down at 14.2v.. One more sunny day?


Last edited by Xringer; 03-21-10 at 12:03 PM.. Reason: logged info
Xringer is offline   Reply With Quote
 


Tags
electric, solar, tracker


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design