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--- opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes [2024/11/26 20:14]
frater_secessus [mounting or deploying tilted panels facing the wrong direction]
+++ opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes [2025/06/21 16:49] (current)
frater_secessus [mounting or deploying panels where they will be shaded]
@@ Line 234: / Line 234: @@
   * [[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.
@@ Line 304: / Line 304: @@
 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
@@ Line 325: / Line 333: @@
 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
@@ Line 703: / Line 699: @@
 If you are asking for help don't make the helpers guess:
-  * exactly gear you have and how it is connected & configured.  Links to the product or documentation will be helpful.
+  * 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
@@ Line 709: / Line 705: @@
-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.
+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

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