On Sat, 7/2/16, eamonn.washington@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: Amel solar panels
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Saturday, July 2, 2016, 9:22 AM


 









Hi

Solar panels: I
did a lot of research, including in this forum to find out
how much power is required (about 140Ah a day).  So I opted
for the most powerful panels with the smallest footprint,
that being the Panasonic N330.  Two of these deliver 660W
in theory.  I got up to 590W peak in the first month. 
They are roughly 3m2 for 2, about 2.1m wide when side by
side, and 1.59m long.  Most other brands are closer to 4m2
for the same power with monocrystalline cells.  Installed
flat on an arch over the transom.  I also took advantage to
install LED lights with an outside switch over the
transom.

The Voc is 69.7
and Isc 6.07.  Allowing for 25% more in extreme conditons
(eg very cold and sunny), I opted for the Morning Star
Tristar MPPT 60 controller.  It's an overkill, but the
MPPT 30 and 45 were out of stock and this was only slightly
more expensive with better features (eg Ethernet connection
to browse performance history).  Each of the 2 panels has 4
zones, so if any zone is in shadow then the other 3 continue
to work at full power.

By
the way, a great place to locate the MPPT is the hanging
space just before the battery bank.  Remove the false cover
to reveal a shelf.  The outer tube is a direct connection
from the lazerette to the chart table, so I broke into it
for the wiring.  I installed 2 breakers, 16A from the
panels and 32A from the batteries. If battery circuit
breaker is triggered then the solar panel is also triggered,
to avoid damaging the MPPT.

Together with new AGM batteries I have a power
transformation.  I used the Generator just for 1h in 5
weeks, thus saving diesel.  I reduced gas cooking by
running an induction plate and microwave off the invertor. 
I added a Torqeedo Travel 1003 electric outboard, which is
also charged indirectly form the solar panels, and saving
petrol costs.  On sunny days the batteries were always 99%+
charged after about 11am, even when running autopilot,
making tea, etc.

Yes I
opted for the more expensive ACMO rigging, including all new

turnbuckels etc.  It was rigged in France by Gremco.  I
had also
contacted Amel to do it, but they no longer use ACMO on SMs.
Although
Amels quote was less, I thought it better to go with ACMO. 
However,
within a week I noticed rust appearing on the 12mm ACMO
swages.  The
others were OK.  I hope that between Gremco and ACMO that
they will sort
that out.

Regards
Eamonn

#151 SM
Travel Bug, Cleopatra Marina









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