Canine
Well-known member
For those who are interested in tilting their panels in snowy weather, mounting either portrait or landscape can make or break solar production.
Solar panels are made of several individual cells. Those cells are all connected to make one big solar panel. Those cells are connected in a combination of both series and parallel to make the proper voltage/amperage. You don't need to understand how that is specifically wired to know how to best mount your panels. Remember the old Christmas tree lights? If one bulb burned out, the rest went out too? They were wired in series. Eventually those manufacturers wired the Christmas tree lights in parallel so when one bulb was removed or burned out, the rest of the bulbs remained on.
(This is why most people wire their solar panels in parallel. If one panel goes out (due to shade, damage, loose wire, or whatever), you still have juice from the other panel(s). When you wire in series, you get more volts, which has its advantages in low light situations and decreased size/cost of wiring, but overall, most people find more advantage in parallel.)
Solar panels are made of 3 "strings" or rows of several individual cells connected in series. Those 3 long, skinny rows are then placed side by side and connected in parallel to make the one rectangular solar panel that we are familiar with. Some panels are made differently, but what I say will apply to the vast majority of panels, even if the number of rows varies. Again, you don't need to understand how to wire a solar panel; what you need to know is this:
If you block one cell in one skinny row of cells, that skinny row (one third of the panel) is now off. If you block two or three more cells in the same row, that row will not work any less well because all it takes is one bad cell to kill that row.
Good news is the other 2 rows are still pumping out juice provided their cells are not shaded or damaged.
Now we get to portrait and landscape. I was going to mount my panels on a tilt on end because of how the panels fit on the top of my rig to best utilize the limited space I have. However, if I tilt a panel up on end (the narrow end) and snow slides down but gets stuck on the bottom of the panel, all 3 rows are now off- the entire panel is dead because one individual cell in each row is blocked by snow.
If I tilt a panel on its side and the snow slides off but gets stuck at the bottom, all the cells in that row are blocked, but only 1 row is blocked. The other 2 rows are pumping out juice because they aren't blocked. It's running at 66% capacity, but that is better than 0% capacity. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
I'll take 66% of something instead of a 100% of nothing any day.
This doesn't mean landscape is absolutely the best way or if you tilt or not. If your environment shades or blocks cells on the side instead of the bottom of your panels, then portrait would be the best way to go. Whatever orientation works best for your application.
Solar panels are made of several individual cells. Those cells are all connected to make one big solar panel. Those cells are connected in a combination of both series and parallel to make the proper voltage/amperage. You don't need to understand how that is specifically wired to know how to best mount your panels. Remember the old Christmas tree lights? If one bulb burned out, the rest went out too? They were wired in series. Eventually those manufacturers wired the Christmas tree lights in parallel so when one bulb was removed or burned out, the rest of the bulbs remained on.
(This is why most people wire their solar panels in parallel. If one panel goes out (due to shade, damage, loose wire, or whatever), you still have juice from the other panel(s). When you wire in series, you get more volts, which has its advantages in low light situations and decreased size/cost of wiring, but overall, most people find more advantage in parallel.)
Solar panels are made of 3 "strings" or rows of several individual cells connected in series. Those 3 long, skinny rows are then placed side by side and connected in parallel to make the one rectangular solar panel that we are familiar with. Some panels are made differently, but what I say will apply to the vast majority of panels, even if the number of rows varies. Again, you don't need to understand how to wire a solar panel; what you need to know is this:
If you block one cell in one skinny row of cells, that skinny row (one third of the panel) is now off. If you block two or three more cells in the same row, that row will not work any less well because all it takes is one bad cell to kill that row.
Good news is the other 2 rows are still pumping out juice provided their cells are not shaded or damaged.
Now we get to portrait and landscape. I was going to mount my panels on a tilt on end because of how the panels fit on the top of my rig to best utilize the limited space I have. However, if I tilt a panel up on end (the narrow end) and snow slides down but gets stuck on the bottom of the panel, all 3 rows are now off- the entire panel is dead because one individual cell in each row is blocked by snow.
If I tilt a panel on its side and the snow slides off but gets stuck at the bottom, all the cells in that row are blocked, but only 1 row is blocked. The other 2 rows are pumping out juice because they aren't blocked. It's running at 66% capacity, but that is better than 0% capacity. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
I'll take 66% of something instead of a 100% of nothing any day.
This doesn't mean landscape is absolutely the best way or if you tilt or not. If your environment shades or blocks cells on the side instead of the bottom of your panels, then portrait would be the best way to go. Whatever orientation works best for your application.
