Community Forums

Christian51 · 07-02-2013, 07:24 PM

Has anyone tried the solar tracker system from Universal Solar? To pull down 1 kw and for most of the day while it tracks is a game changer from all I have seen. With wind retraction it's a nice package.

Universal Solar Solutions

Pigman1 · 07-02-2013, 08:15 PM

Pretty pictures and a lot of words, but no concrete info. Prices, sizes, power consumption, weight, mounting instructions, snow loading, warranty, retracted wind speed allowances, etc. Looks like a trial balloon. Promises and a fast talking salesman. How about some INFORMATION.

hdossett · 07-02-2013, 08:53 PM

Don't get me wrong, this would be nice but I could not get past all the bull-hype marketing. They really need to go back to selling the new Sham Wow!

I really liked the lines ..."2-400 watt panels would produce 1KW of power if it was on their system"... really!!

and ..."The air conditioner?? Forget about it. You need to have a large inverter say 3000 watts or more. And you would need a big enough battery bank to run that big of an inverter."

...what you don't need them with their system??

And the best one ..."just get the Solar Seeker tracking system and add your panels then you will have a tracking system. This will increase your current power 10 fold."

Well, I have see the research, at most dual axis tracking will increase output by 38% over flat panel installation! Not 1,000%!

And where I live I need near 60 degree tilt for maximum winter output, they only go 45 degrees!

I think there was a reason that 45 footer was sitting next to a 50 Amp hookup!

If you look at the large system going in now, more fixed panels are going in because that is more cost effective than tracking! (Unless real estate is limited.)

H (who full time boondocked on solar for a few years)

Christian51 · 07-03-2013, 12:23 AM

Well it will be interesting to look into. I'm going to have a lot of power needs and the Prevost I am looking at will need beefed up. This system is also worth some study Global Solar Energy - POWER the Possibilities but just flat panels haven't impressed me so far. Most are little more than battery ticklers. Even this system would just beef your batteries while away during the day but it would still take a good load off the gen. It is easy to study by finding out what panels they are using. Beyond that if the tracker works and is built to take the strain then it could be the most effective I've seen. One could buy your own panels so why wouldn't it work? It's not rocket science to build a good tracker. There are a lot of tracking systems to compare power production charts so one doesn't need to rely only on what they say. Interesting to find out!

hdossett · 07-03-2013, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdossett

Well, I have see the research, at most dual axis tracking will increase output by 38% over flat panel installation! Not 1,000%!

And where I live I need near 60 degree tilt for maximum winter output, they only go 45 degrees!

That should have been "fixed mounted installation", fixed to degree of latitude. So the increase over flat would be greater, on an annual basis but only a few percentage points.

H.

kellylipp · 10-01-2013, 11:34 AM

I'm going with no way will a tracker pay for itself over simply having more panels than you need. Especially on a bus where you have tons of real estate to work with. If you park in one place for long periods you can build a simple method to articulate the panels to some degree. In the winter months this becomes more important. Getting some tilt on the panels will help a bunch if you have your rig parked in such a way as to take advantage of that. A tracker would eliminate the need to park in a certain way. But what about securing it during take off and landing? And the weight? I just don't think so.

I have my panels flat on the roof (OK, more or less flat they do have a bit of tilt toward the rear of the rig). In the summer months I'm charged from 70% to full usually by noon. In the winter it takes until about 2:00 PM (in Arizona). I have 735 watts. In summer, I can see the max 60 amps the controller can handle. In the winter I've seen maybe 45 amps (I'm usually charged or at least beyond bulk before the sun is directly overhead).

The key is having "enough" solar to do the job you want to do. Maximizing the potential is nice but not a goal. Certainly not at the expense of cost. For most applications if you can get 750W you are good. If you need more you have to double up on controllers anyway. And you would have to have a huge battery bank. I would start my design from how much power I need during non daylight hours, figure out how many batteries that is and then figure out how to charge them during daylight. If your rig is small you may have a real estate problem. If your rig is big, probably not. Then it's a matter of cost effectiveness.

My blog (URL below) has a number of installs including my own 735W system.

PyrateSilly · 10-01-2013, 01:34 PM

EarthRoamer » Solar Power

Try this for solar .... lol

vsheetz · 10-01-2013, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellylipp

The key is having "enough" solar to do the job you want to do. Maximizing the potential is nice but not a goal. Certainly not at the expense of cost. For most applications if you can get 750W you are good. If you need more you have to double up on controllers anyway. And you would have to have a huge battery bank. I would start my design from how much power I need during non daylight hours, figure out how many batteries that is and then figure out how to charge them during daylight. If your rig is small you may have a real estate problem. If your rig is big, probably not. Then it's a matter of cost effectiveness.

Christian51 · 10-02-2013, 09:38 AM

thanks for the info guys. I'm looking at a 45 footer to install solar so making room for 750 watts or more shouldn't be to much of a problem. I plan on adding solar and converting to Lithium batteries in the process. I don't want the wife griping that she can't do something cause the batteries aren't charged and running the gen isn't allowed.

Ed-Sommers · 10-02-2013, 09:55 AM

Back when solar panels were running five bucks a watt, a tracker was considered optimum for getting all you can from the panels.

Now that panels are in the $1 to 1.25 range, and the output of panels being higher, and the use of MPPT technology is with us, tracking has become obsolete for most people.

I have a 35 foot RV and have 1200 watts on the roof. If my battery bank is not full before noon, it's probably due to dark, heavy overcast.

Used to be that the period between 10 AM, and 2 PM were the optimal periods for solar (and still is in reality), but most people that have a sufficient system, find that they are topped off before noon on even low light days.

Ed

Reed Cundiff · 11-24-2013, 05:30 PM

Solar is down to $.50/watt. Talked with son (who is in solar business) about being able to tilt and he said that the cost is so low that it is cheaper and a lot safer to just add panels. We have 1420 W and have charged (through controller) at 1150 and 1200 but that was with sun dead overhead. We can generally get 900 W from 11 am to 3 pm in winter. We do run the fridge off the inverter on sunny days and have inadvertently run it overnight but that drops us to -3000 w-hours by morning. This is no problem if the next day is sunny. We can run fridge off inverter on winter sunny days for about seven hours.

Have discussed absolute satisfaction with LFP on other threads (9.72 kw-hours for 160#). The two (plus PSW inverter) are excellent combination. We have gone 5 months without generator or shore power)
Reed and Elaine Cundiff

terry735001 · 11-24-2013, 07:43 PM

just go to redrock and get the parts to make your own system

i only payed 99$ usd for all the ECM parts and controllers

under 100$ for 2 DC motors and made a frame i had 15... yes 15.. 90 watt panels installed on the syetem here in FL to track the sun this ran my stick home

but after becoming a full timer this system was moved to the RV with out the tracker as just the panels alone was 1200 lbs

have pics if any one wants to see of making this monster