How to make your solar panels more efficient


weather

The biggest concern (and biggest headache) with using solar panels to generate electricity is the weather. On cloudy or rainy days, your power generation capacity will be greatly reduced.

It is also important to clean the panel. Some dust or debris can also affect your power generation. Make sure to check your solar panels weekly for debris such as dust and leaves.

solar panel angle

A nominal 100W solar panel is measured using an instrument to simulate sunlight in an environment of 25 degrees Celsius. Therefore, when used in an actual outdoor environment, a 100W solar panel can only generate power of 70W~80W. This is still aimed at the sun. The power generated during light hours, because the roof of the RV is flat, so it still needs to lose some power. It would be good to reach 60W. If you can install a tilt bracket for the rigid solar panel, you can increase your solar power generation capacity by 20%.

shadow

Another big thing to note about solar panels is that most are very sensitive to shade. Every little square on the panel is connected in some way, and if one of them is shaded, the entire row won’t generate electricity. Therefore, if approximately 10% of the panel is covered, it is possible to reduce power generation by 90%.

So the location where solar panels are installed is important, and these factors should be considered when planning the roof layout. If your roof rack, exhaust fan, or storage box obscures the panel, it may significantly reduce power generation.

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