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opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes [2024/10/05 14:47]
frater_secessus [Staying in one place] 		opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes [2025/06/21 16:49] (current)
frater_secessus [mounting or deploying panels where they will be shaded]
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 ==== believing that "I don't know anything about electricity" means there are easy answers to power questions ==== ==== believing that "I don't know anything about electricity" means there are easy answers to power questions ====
  
-If you "don't know anything about electricity" you have a few choices:+If you "don't understand this stuff" you have a few choices:
  
-  * [[electrical:12v:intro|learn enough to get the job done]] (traditional and recommended); or+  * [[electrical:12v:intro|learn enough to get the job done]] (traditional and //highly// recommended);((if/when the system breaks later you will know where and what everything is and how to replace it)) or
   * buy random stuff and hope (depressingly common after 2018); or   * buy random stuff and hope (depressingly common after 2018); or
   * sit in the dark with no power; or   * sit in the dark with no power; or
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   * [[http://rvwiki.mousetrap.net/doku.php?do=search&id=tweaking|tweaking the system]] for max power generation   * [[http://rvwiki.mousetrap.net/doku.php?do=search&id=tweaking|tweaking the system]] for max power generation
  
-==== Wanting to charging from EV charging stations ====+==== Wanting to charge from EV charging stations ====
  
 While most things are technically //possible//, recharging deep-cycle batteries from EV stations is impractical.  Our batteries are not set up to take the extreme charge rates, and they are at radically different voltages.   While most things are technically //possible//, recharging deep-cycle batteries from EV stations is impractical.  Our batteries are not set up to take the extreme charge rates, and they are at radically different voltages.  
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 ==== believing 100w of panel will make 100w all year ==== ==== believing 100w of panel will make 100w all year ====
  
-Solar harvest is greatly affected by the position of the sun in the sky (see above) and how many hours of that sun are available.  A crude generalization is that [[https://mouse.mousetrap.net/blog/2021-12-12-Summer-vs-Winter-solar-harvest-.html|winter harvest will be about half]] of summer harvest.  +Solar harvest is greatly affected by the position of the sun in the sky (see above) and how many hours of that sun are available.  [[https://mouse.mousetrap.net/blog/2021-12-12-Summer-vs-Winter-solar-harvest-.html|Winter harvest will be much lower]] than summer harvest but you'll have to [[electrical:solar:pvwatts|run the numbers for your time/place]] to get specifics.   
 + 
 +Note:  folks who will use the rig year-'round would do well to choose array wattage based on deep winter((typically December in the northern hemisphere)) when yield is lowest.
  
 ==== believing 100w of panel will make 100w in all conditions ==== ==== believing 100w of panel will make 100w in all conditions ====
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 Rule of thumb:  nothing on the vehicle should be taller than the surface of the solar panels Rule of thumb:  nothing on the vehicle should be taller than the surface of the solar panels
 +
 +Unforced errors include mounting the panels 
 +
 +  * on a rack that has ladder retention uprights
 +  * on a rack that has raised sides
 +  * on the bottom of a roof basket
 +  * below a roof basket (!!!) 
 +  * near taller objects like vent hoods, antennas, cargo boxes, awning mounts, etc
  
  
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 Rules of thumb:   Rules of thumb:  
  
-  * if panels are tilted and won't be repositioned they should face south in the northern hemisphere, and north in the southern hemisphere.  +  * if panels are tilted and won't be repositioned they should face south in the northern hemisphere, and north in the southern hemisphere.  Look up monthly tilt calculator to see how they should be positioned. 
   * if they *will* be repositioned then you have to keep up with the moves or harvest can be worse than just facing south.    * if they *will* be repositioned then you have to keep up with the moves or harvest can be worse than just facing south. 
  
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 Be realistic:  if you are a person whose phone battery and gas tank is perpetually below 1/4 you probably won't set the panels out often enough or for long enough to derive much benefit.  This is not a moral judgement -- it just means you need to focus on mounted panel or increasing yield from the alternator.  Be realistic:  if you are a person whose phone battery and gas tank is perpetually below 1/4 you probably won't set the panels out often enough or for long enough to derive much benefit.  This is not a moral judgement -- it just means you need to focus on mounted panel or increasing yield from the alternator. 
  
- 
-==== shade ==== 
- 
-[[electrical:solar:shading|Shade]] will wreck solar harvest.  Beginners often don't pay attention to shade conditions, including shade thrown by objects on the van roof or the rack itself.   
- 
-Unforced errors include mounting the panels  
- 
-  * on a rack that has ladder retention uprights 
-  * on a rack that has raised sides 
-  * on the bottom of a roof basket 
-  * below a roof basket (!!!)  
-  * near taller objects like vent hoods, antennas, cargo boxes, awning mounts, etc 
  
  
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 .  . 
  
->> I have [a Renogy DCC50S with a 25v input limit], 6x 100w panels, currently wired as 3x 2 panel **series** in parallel, [and destroyed the controller].  I already replaced it once for the same issue and I can’t figure out what’s going on...+>> I have [a Renogy DCC50S with a 25v input limit], 6x 100w panels, currently wired as 3x 2 panel **series** - parallel, [and destroyed the controller].  I already replaced it once for the same issue and I can’t figure out what’s going on...
  
 .  . 
  
 >> I just got a MaxxAir fan, but due to the space on my roof, I can only install it facing sideways >> I just got a MaxxAir fan, but due to the space on my roof, I can only install it facing sideways
 +
 +===== bottom feeding =====
 +
 +Buying something blindly because it's the cheapest you could find is not a path to success. 
 +
 +  - figure out what you need
 +  - find products that meet those needs
 +  - //only then// start looking for sales
 +
 +
 +
 +
 ===== Advice ===== ===== Advice =====
 Good advice can save time, money, and heartbreak. But getting good advice is not simple or even natural. We have to slow down and force ourselves to think about the issues, our questions, the existing body of knowledge, the answers we receive. Good advice can save time, money, and heartbreak. But getting good advice is not simple or even natural. We have to slow down and force ourselves to think about the issues, our questions, the existing body of knowledge, the answers we receive.
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 ==== making helpers guess ==== ==== making helpers guess ====
  
-If you are asking for help don't make the helpers guess what you are trying to accomplish, what gear you have, whether or not it has ever worked, etc.  People across the internet cannot see what's in front of you -- all we have to go on is what you tell us.  +If you are asking for help don't make the helpers guess: 
 + 
 +  * exactly what gear you have and how it is connected & configured.  Links to the product or documentation will be helpful.   
 +  * whether or not it has ever worked 
 +  * what you are trying to accomplish 
 +  * etc. 
 +    
 +    
 +People across the internet cannot see what's in front of you or what it's doing -- all we have to go on is what you tell us.  So please tell us as clearly as you can.  If you find yourself having to say "you know what I meant" this is an indicator people really //didn't// know what you meant because your words were not clear.
  
 You may want to start a text document that lists all the installed gear and significant settings so  You may want to start a text document that lists all the installed gear and significant settings so 
opinion/frater_secessus/beginner_mistakes.1728139645.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/10/05 14:47 by frater_secessus

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