How Many Solar Panels For A Sail Boat

The most popular use of this type and the sunpower marine solar panels is to recharge the batteries in the boat but it can be used to power the electrical system of the sailboat.

How many solar panels for a sail boat.

July 2016 i just took an informal poll from my boater and rv camper friends. A solar power installation on a sailboat is made up of two independent systems. Having multiple solar panels also allows you to have smaller panels which tend to get in the way less. How to work out how many solar panels you need.

The number of solar panels you ll need for your boat not only depends on the type and size of your boat but also the quality of the equipment you choose how many sun hours the boat sees and the amount of electricity you require. This is far below the rated capacity sailors in the tropics will do better and sailors farther north or sailing in the winter more poorly but this is. Don t be fooled by solar panels showing 150 watts of energy you will rarely get that out of your solar panel. For solar take the rated wattage x 5 hours 12 amp hours while on passage and wattage x 7 hours 12 amp hours while at anchor sails do not shade and the boom can be rigged out to the side.

Some boats can get by with one 100 watt solar panel or even smaller while others require a multi panel setup. One system to charge the batteries and another system to provide 120 volt ac power for household appliances. If you need 200w a day then you could have three 90w solar panels on different parts of the boat and be covered power wise even on different tacks. If you think you will need twice the power of the above energy budget then install 2 separate 100 watt panels.

We have found in the winter sun here at the moment our 150 watt rated panels are only producing around 80 watts for about 6 hours per day. In the charging system the solar panels convert sunlight into electrical current and deliver it to the batteries via a solar charge controller.