Solar Panels For Boats

Solar Panels For Boats

What is the best way to charge boat batteries at sea?

I recently bought a 47 feet sailboat from 93. The boat have a windmill and a battery pack which can deliver ca 350Ah without the emergency batteries. The windmill is not enough to power up the batteries so I was thinking of solar panels as well. And an increase in battery power. I want to use a refrigerator box and 2-3 laptops for 2-3 hours every day. with some lights etc. Does anyone know how much battery power and charging I need then? What type of batteries is best for this kind of use? And what type of solar panels can deliver so much power?
I guess a laptop aproximately use 90W. The rest of the equipement i have no idea about.

If you have a house battery bank of 350 A/hr capacity you can safely use 50% of this from fully charged. If the batteries are of industrial traction type or possibly AGM (absorbent glass matt) construction then you can drag out as much as 80 or even 90% with little harm. Lead acid - deep cycle type are unable to be discharged beyond 50% DOD (depth of discharge) without causing permanent damage, reducing capacity each time they are over-drawn until within a few dozen cycles they are not capable of even a fraction of the original capacity.

If the wind generator is unable to cope with your power needs then you have to either replace with a larger output turbine, or use the main engine - or a dedicated direct charge unit to bring the batteries up to a fully charged state at least once a day. Solar panels are useful if not shaded, indirect light with even amorphous type panels reduces output to negligible levels, but even then you can't expect more than about four hours a day average of anywhere near the rated output of the panel - and bugger all on overcast and rainy days. Solar panels work best in totally unshaded situations, facing the sun and on a tracking frame to follow the sun from early until late - otherwise the investment is very high for a very small and unreliable charger.

Without knowing the brand and capacity of your turbine I don't actually have an opinion on that - other than any turbine under 300W output is not providing enough for your house battery - even if producing the full 300 Watts into 12V, say 25 amp constant it will take at least 20 hrs of that level to fully charge your house battery assuming no other draw on the system. Should you be running a lot of stuff - fridge/freezer, sounder, GPS plotter, radar, radios, incandescent lighting, computer, pumps, TV, inverter, mobile phone charger, auto-pilot etc. you will find that you have to run the main engine or charge engine at least a few hours every day just to keep pace with that. Your only other choice is to reduce your power requirements by using LED lighting (a tenth the power draw), minimising all electronic equipment use and specifying very economical fridge units and so on.

The simple fact is that there are a lot of ways of improving the situation - but it takes a lot of self education and discipline. I cannot give you the entire certificate 4 in renewable energy technology in six easy paragraphs, a basic rule with batteries is that you cannot combine different types - so if you choose high quality gel type industrial batteries (best value in the long term) for the house - the same type of battery must be used throughout. House, starting and reserve. Capacity can be different, but never the type. The internal resistances are too different, attempting to charge multiple types at once will result in severe damage to one or all types, and possibly the entire charging system. You will either learn the power requirements of your equipment - or you cannot design a system to suit it. I attach a couple of links below, and you could also find at least a copy of Miner Brotherton's 'The 12 Volt Bible for Boats' before you go too much further. Use only VSR (voltage sensitive relays) and design a series of battery connections that keep at least one starting battery separate from house drain to start main engine and some power to run bilge pumps and other critical equipment. This is not a difficult task, but rather a specialised skilled trade, so you have to get your head around the facts rather than the advertising spin when it comes to actual practical experience. This you are finding out I think - it is quite do-able. I took our family to a remote 100 acres to live for two years with no power or anything else - it was interesting to get my teenage kids to cope with a max. of 5kW/day. On a boat I aim for 1 - 2.5kW/day of power. Sometimes much less. The average Aussie city family needs 22kW/days at least for comparison. Good luck.

Solar Panel Ventilator Vent Fan for House, Home, Roof, Shed, Boat - Mounts on Roofing, Fiberglass, Wood, Metal, Glass almost any type of Surface $31.79 This solar ventilator removes hot humid air from roof spaces much more efficiantly than normal wind turbines Simple instructions show you how to cut a 3 inch hole or drill a pattern of small holes in your structure. The solar vent comes with a mounting base plate for the outside and a vent grill plate for the inside Specs: Voltage Voc: 2V Current Isc: upto 400mA Inside grill size; 6x6 Outsi...

HQRP 30W Flexible Solar Panel Power 30 Watt 12V Mono-crystalline PV Module for RV Boat Yacht plus HQRP Coaster $149.91 Products trademarked HQRP® are marketed and sold exclusively by Osprey-Talon. HQRP 30 Watt (30W) Flexible Solar Electric Power Panel. Being reliable in service and compact this unite is right for using it outdoors and during travel. Durability of the panels gives you a good opportunity to produce unlimited quantity of energy and charge batteries and accumulators for your cars, boats, snow mobile,...

Tektrum 30w Solar Panel/Blocking Diode Cable/2m long Cable and Clamps Battery Charger Kit for RV, Home, Boat, Pool $149.95 30w Solar Panel/2m Cable/Clamps Battery Charger Kit Package Includes One 30 watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel, One Blocking Diode Cable and One 2-Meter Long Charging Cable with Clamps. This solar panel generates free electricity by charging under sunlight during daytime for use with house, RV, boat, yacht, car, camping, as well as many electronics such as laptop, stereo, television, radio, fan, out...

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Solar Roof vent for Car, RV, Shed, Boat, Greenhouse $23.78 This Solar Roof Vent can be mounted on a wall if the sun will directly hit the solar panel. It is made for venting small structures like RVs, Sheds or Cars. It uses its built in solar panel to power its built in fan motor. It moves air slowly and quietly....

HQRP 12W (Size of 10 Watt / 10W) Monocrystalline Solar Panel 12 Watt Power 12V DC Battery Charger for RV Car Boat Caravan Bike plus HQRP Coaster $59.91 Products trademarked HQRP™ are marketed and sold exclusively by Osprey-Talon. HQRP 12 Watt (12W) Solar Electric Power Panel. The solar cells are encapsulated beneath high transmission tempered glass. The rear surface of the module is completely sealed from moisture and mechanical damage. Construction of the module minimizes weight while providing a durable, protective environment for the sol...

HQRP 15W Mono-crystalline Flexible Solar Panel 15 Watt 12V / 12 Volt for Car Caravan Bus Trailer Bike plus HQRP Coaster $82.91 Products trademarked HQRP® are marketed and sold exclusively by Osprey-Talon. HQRP 15 Watt (15W) Flexible Solar Electric Power Panel. Being reliable in service and compact this unite is right for using it outdoors and during travel. Durability of the panels gives you a good opportunity to produce unlimited quantity of energy and charge batteries and accumulators for your cars, boats, snow mobile,...

HQRP 10 Amp 12V / 24V Solar Two Batteries Charge Power Controller / Regulator 10A 150W for RV Caravan Car plus HQRP Coaster $39.91 Products trademarked HQRP™ are marketed and sold exclusively by Osprey-Talon. Two battery charging eliminates the added cost of two separate solar charging systems; With battery type selection; With charging priority setting; Temperature compensation (option: Remote temperature sensor & Local temperature sensor); Remote meter(option); Protection against over charging, short-circuit, revert c...

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