Sunday, Jul 07, 2013 at 20:58
Yeh there are sofisticated formulars but they require information like the location within Australia so it can be related to a solar radiation map and the time of the year....and of course shading factors due to overcast and tree cover.
The actual output of solar panels varies a great deal depending on the situation.
If you where located in the highest radiation areas in the country in summer with clear skies , you could expect to get pretty close to 100% of the rated output of your panels in the 3 hours either side of solar noon and useful charging at a reduced rate for up to 12 hours total.
If however you where in Tasmania in winter, even with clear skies you would be doing
well to get 30% of the rated capacity and for no more than 4 hours and less than 12 hours of daylight so maybe 8 hours of useful charging total..
When calculating for reliability, its not unreasonable to work on 50% of the rated capacity over an 8 hour period each day in middle Australia...in good weather.
NOW
the question is will this panel be on the boat or back at
camp.
Remember people are general far to optomistic about solar, depth of discharge and how long batteries take to charge.
cheers
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