hour
Observer
Hi all..
I currently have 2 x 100w Renogy Compact solar panels on my roof rack that clock in around 40x40" side by side. This is an improvement over my previous setup which used the non-compact versions, which occupied a 40x47" footprint. I was pretty thrilled to reclaim 7 inches of rack space while keeping the power output the same. I bought 3 of the compact panels but due to mounting challenges (supports running front to back instead of side to side like I currently have), the third panel remains unused in my garage.
I'm not opposed to replacing the whole thing with a single large panel but the standard dimensions kind of suck. Example: I can get a 270w-350w+ panel that's 39x66". For people like me who are more concerned over dimensions and power output over price, there's really no point to get a 270w. But... 65" would eat up my entire roof rack. At that point I'd be best to just remove the megawarrior basket but my fancy low profile mounting solution using carriage bolts had the consequence of making some bolts impossible to remove. It's a permanent fixture on the shell.
I've been drawn to panasonic HIT panels because they seem to be defying these standard dimensions (340w in a 41.5 x 62.5 footprint) which is great, since I do have a hair over 42" width to play with. But alas, they're still 62" long - most of the basket would be consumed and 340w is more than I need. The unicorn would be finding something 39-42" wide x (as short as possible) producing over 240w. But yeah, standard dimensions conundrum - and difficulty searching for panels by dimensions. I've opened about a million PDF spec sheets at this point and converted mm to inches, gotten skunked, rinse/repeat.
If anyone has any leads on ways to search by panel dimensions I'm all ears.
I'd be game for putting the third, unused, 100w compact panel I have on drawer slides that tuck beneath the existing panels (that's mostly dead space anyway) but I'm in love with series connections and their benefits. I'd hate to go back to parallel to sidestep shading issues.
The current vacancy in the rear of the rack is awesome the couple of weeks a year that I load it up (mostly plano 42" tactical rifle cases, perfect fit width-wise) so it's unfortunate to reserve that space for 300+ days a year when it's not needed, but removing the third panel (if in a non-sliding configuration) for those trips would be a pain. Plus, if the rear of the rack is loaded I'm almost certainly camping and needing the additional panel even more. The third-panel-on-drawer-slides solution would allow me to get to camp and unload->pull panel out... but not wanting to go back to parallel wiring is big oof. Adding another charge controller could solve this, but my bed setup is already screwy due to a bed slide with battery on it. Two PV wires playing accordion to not get pinched by bed slide already sucks, four would be worse. Mounting the battery in a static location is unfortunately a pipe dream.
I currently have 2 x 100w Renogy Compact solar panels on my roof rack that clock in around 40x40" side by side. This is an improvement over my previous setup which used the non-compact versions, which occupied a 40x47" footprint. I was pretty thrilled to reclaim 7 inches of rack space while keeping the power output the same. I bought 3 of the compact panels but due to mounting challenges (supports running front to back instead of side to side like I currently have), the third panel remains unused in my garage.
I'm not opposed to replacing the whole thing with a single large panel but the standard dimensions kind of suck. Example: I can get a 270w-350w+ panel that's 39x66". For people like me who are more concerned over dimensions and power output over price, there's really no point to get a 270w. But... 65" would eat up my entire roof rack. At that point I'd be best to just remove the megawarrior basket but my fancy low profile mounting solution using carriage bolts had the consequence of making some bolts impossible to remove. It's a permanent fixture on the shell.
I've been drawn to panasonic HIT panels because they seem to be defying these standard dimensions (340w in a 41.5 x 62.5 footprint) which is great, since I do have a hair over 42" width to play with. But alas, they're still 62" long - most of the basket would be consumed and 340w is more than I need. The unicorn would be finding something 39-42" wide x (as short as possible) producing over 240w. But yeah, standard dimensions conundrum - and difficulty searching for panels by dimensions. I've opened about a million PDF spec sheets at this point and converted mm to inches, gotten skunked, rinse/repeat.
If anyone has any leads on ways to search by panel dimensions I'm all ears.
I'd be game for putting the third, unused, 100w compact panel I have on drawer slides that tuck beneath the existing panels (that's mostly dead space anyway) but I'm in love with series connections and their benefits. I'd hate to go back to parallel to sidestep shading issues.
The current vacancy in the rear of the rack is awesome the couple of weeks a year that I load it up (mostly plano 42" tactical rifle cases, perfect fit width-wise) so it's unfortunate to reserve that space for 300+ days a year when it's not needed, but removing the third panel (if in a non-sliding configuration) for those trips would be a pain. Plus, if the rear of the rack is loaded I'm almost certainly camping and needing the additional panel even more. The third-panel-on-drawer-slides solution would allow me to get to camp and unload->pull panel out... but not wanting to go back to parallel wiring is big oof. Adding another charge controller could solve this, but my bed setup is already screwy due to a bed slide with battery on it. Two PV wires playing accordion to not get pinched by bed slide already sucks, four would be worse. Mounting the battery in a static location is unfortunately a pipe dream.