rayra
Expedition Leader
Martin the only time that's an appropriate position for a solar panel is high noon or flying down the road with a flat roof mount.
You need to aim the panel at the sun to generate anywhere near the rated power output. The face of the panel has to be as close to perpendicular to the sunlight as possible, due to the layered structure of the solar cells. Think of the panel structure like a well. The more off angle it is from teh sun, the less light gets in it. Just laying it in direct sunlight likely won't get half the rated output.
And unmentioned in all the talk about which controller is the basic explanation that Watts basically equals Volts times Amps. If you have a 100 watt panel that puts out 12v, then the flow is 8.3 Amps as a max, with the panel operating at max efficiency.
Solar systems aren't hard, but you have to get the basics correct to make it work.
And in North America in the summertime, you'd want the panel tilted up off the ground something around 30degrees. And as steep as 70 degrees near the winter solstice. It would be easy to add a flat metal bar to the side frame of the panel, of a proper length to create the desired angle, like a kickstand.
And as for fiddling with your panel placement in spotty light, take some care to figure which way the sun is moving and set your panel at the eastern edge of any patch of light so it will stay in the light for the longest stretch of time. That way you have to fiddle less. And relying on solar you'll really need to figure that into your camping locations. The north side of any east-west valleys, the east side of any north-south ones, west of any obstructing trees. Think about how the sun will move and generate light and shadow in any new location and factor that into your campsite.
You need to aim the panel at the sun to generate anywhere near the rated power output. The face of the panel has to be as close to perpendicular to the sunlight as possible, due to the layered structure of the solar cells. Think of the panel structure like a well. The more off angle it is from teh sun, the less light gets in it. Just laying it in direct sunlight likely won't get half the rated output.
And unmentioned in all the talk about which controller is the basic explanation that Watts basically equals Volts times Amps. If you have a 100 watt panel that puts out 12v, then the flow is 8.3 Amps as a max, with the panel operating at max efficiency.
Solar systems aren't hard, but you have to get the basics correct to make it work.
And in North America in the summertime, you'd want the panel tilted up off the ground something around 30degrees. And as steep as 70 degrees near the winter solstice. It would be easy to add a flat metal bar to the side frame of the panel, of a proper length to create the desired angle, like a kickstand.
And as for fiddling with your panel placement in spotty light, take some care to figure which way the sun is moving and set your panel at the eastern edge of any patch of light so it will stay in the light for the longest stretch of time. That way you have to fiddle less. And relying on solar you'll really need to figure that into your camping locations. The north side of any east-west valleys, the east side of any north-south ones, west of any obstructing trees. Think about how the sun will move and generate light and shadow in any new location and factor that into your campsite.