THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOLAR PANELS FOR MARINE
29th Mar 2022
Whether you have a cruiser, sailboat, yacht, or even a trawler, you could benefit from having solar. Smaller boats typically don’t have very high energy requirements, hence having solar would be beneficial for keeping your batteries charged while docked or moored. Since most batteries self-discharge, a solar panel will eliminate any dead battery problems and can be used as a charger if it has a regulator built in the circuit.
Many cruisers and similar sailboats can get stuck for hours at a time having to recharge their batteries using their generators, however acquiring a solar setup helps manage your daily energy consumption, while minimizing the need to run your generators.
There are some tips you can follow to optimize the performance of your solar panel system:
1. It’s important to keep your solar panels cool. Since a solar panels’ output decreases as the temperature rises, having proper ventilation for your solar panels is crucial to prolong the lifespan and increase the performance of your system.
2. You should angle your solar panels with relation to the sun to generate the highest amount of energy from optimal sun light.
3. You should avoid shaded areas for the solar panels. Even the tiniest amount of shade on a panel can decrease its output significantly.
Find out more on how you can benefit from solar at https://www.newpowa.com/a/blog