Solar Panel Install
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Today we finally mounted this commerically manufactured panel outside. I was able to assemble this mounting strategy with minimal hardware from the store and some scrap lumber. The goal was to make it adjustable, so the front of the panel is mounted with hinges and the back uses threaded rod (see pics below). Unfortunately I didn’t realize that a 70 degree angle would be optimal for winter at this lattitude, so even at its maximum it only goes up to about 55 degrees - some shims will be necessary. In general though, I’m happy with the result - the hinges on the front still ensure it’s adustability. This is a 40 W panel, so even with an average of 4-5 hours of direct sunlight in Michingan winter, I’m hoping to be able to run all the lights (compact flourescent) in our loft off this one panel - we should be able to store over 160W/h a day on average, which is significant. The wires run inside through a hole in the wall to a charge controller, which charges a battery. Thanks again to Hong, who is the actual owner of this panel.