I agree with the other recommendation to reduce the number of solar panels, rather than increasing it. I have (2) 100-watt Solbian flexible panels and they work great but I am noticing that in the Fall when the days become shorter, my generation is reduced. So, I will be adding another 100 watts in the Spring. With my panels and their locations, shadows are of no concern. I usually pull my boom off to one side of the boat when in the slip or at anchor. I have heard stories about tremendous impacts of shadowing and I think these cases use one controller for multiple panels--with this arrangement, if one panel is in a shadow, all of the panels on the same controller are reduced in output. I have separate controllers on each panel.
The 100 watts I'm adding next Spring will be on two panels because my backstay comes through my bimini where I want to add the panels--so, I will be adding (2) 50-watt panels with a single controller since it is hard to imagine how one could be shadowed and not the other. Make sure that you allow for stretch ion the bimini and that the load does not go into the solar panel! My blog post of April 6, 2014 describes how I dealt with this problem. Also, my canvas guy did not want the responsibility of putting the fasteners on the panel in case he screwed it up (too much liability)--so, I did it. I believe that, in general, the cheaper panels don't last as long as more expensive ones (like Solbian) but I have no data to back this up. In my case, I am using my panels for cruising and I don't want to have to deal with problems with them into my retirement and I need them to last 10 years. If you are simply sailing in the U.S. or Canada and can change them whenever they have a problem, you don't need to think this out like I did. Bob Bob Boyer S/V Rainy Days (1983 C&C Landfall 38 - Hull #230) email: dainyr...@icloud.com blog: dainyrays.blogspot.com "There is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." --Kenneth Grahame
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