Are marine solar panels worth the extra money?

softdown

In my efforts to eventually go liveaboard, I have joined some sailboat forums. Pretty clever fellows with a touch of arrogance now and then...

We are having a lil debate about the economics of "marine grade" panels. I thought "Who better to ask than the old pros at solar-electric. Gimmicky marketing or the real deal?

dennis461

Well, my roof panels have an exclusion in the warranty, ".. Use of products on mobile units such as vehicles or water vessels.".
So, that alone might be a good reason to check your proposed panels and buy "marine grade"..

oil pan 4

Marine rated stuff is usually pretty tough.
What are the specs on these "marine panels"?

softdown

oil pan 4 said:

Marine rated stuff is usually pretty tough.
What are the specs on these "marine panels"?

Sorry....I don't know. Did not know of their existence until yesterday. I watch a lot of sailing videos on youtube. Nobody has mentioned marine grade solar panels. I have the impression that ordinary panels do pretty well for quite some time. Just trying to make sure...

Where is Angelini? I'll bet he knows a thing or two about this.

mcgivor

Everything marine grade needs to cope with harsh salt air environments, PC boards are coated, different metals in contact with one another need to be avoided, sacrificial zink anodes need to be placed on the hull, the list goes on and on, much to research, Im no expert by any stretch of the imagination but have worked in comercial fishing for a short while to have scraped the surface.
http://www.marinewireandcable.com/2013/10/basic-considerations-for-marine-wire.html

Estragon

I'm pretty sure if they could get twice the price for "marine" Corn Flakes, they would sell such a thing. The only reason they don't is the limit to consumers' gullibility.

That said, a "marine" panel may be worth something of a premium. As well as *maybe* better protection against corrosion and vibration, they *may * be higher efficiency, which is a factor given limited space on a boat. I might be willing to pay a modest premium for panels that really offer these advantages.

If they're talking about flexible "marine" panels though, I wouldn't.

Photowhit

I hope they aren't just talking about the flexible panels, I could not find anything in terms of a marine rating.


I loaned my dad a solarex solar panel, for his pontoon boat, It lasted 2-3 years, the old Solar charge controller (an old Specialty concepts with contact points eventually failed. This was in the 1990's in salt air on Florida's gulf coast, I used the solar panel for many more years, until the portable array I created, was blown over in 60-70mph straight line winds.

Arth777

I made a DIY street light solar that used normal PV and after a year the PV frame got corroded by the hi humidity and salt spray because I lived in Phuket that near by the ocean then I changed to Victron Energy marine grade and found they built tough and seal the silicone on the back sheet better than the previous .I think its worth the money if you live near the ocean.

Photowhit

Arth777 said:

I made a DIY street light solar that used normal PV and after a year the PV frame got corroded by the hi humidity and salt spray because I lived in Phuket that near by the ocean then I changed to Victron Energy marine grade and found they built tough and seal the silicone on the back sheet better than the previous .I think its worth the money if you live near the ocean.

I guess I should say the frame did oxidize a bit in the salt air, but pretty much just dulled the finish. The output was not effected.

kaipo_boy

Softdown, the touch of arrogance is required in order to face the sometimes adverse environment
Agree, where is Dave? He's lived on a boat a few years...

softdown

kaipo_boy said:

Softdown, the touch of arrogance is required in order to face the sometimes adverse environment
Agree, where is Dave? He's lived on a boat a few years...

I think Dave left the boating scene in the 90's. I may tend to doubt that marine grade solar was a big deal in the early 90's. Could be wrong of course.

Solray

Find out if any panels are warranted for use on boats and if warrantee is an issue to you , use the ones that are. If you don't care about a warrantee it doesn't matter. Warrantees won't cover any incidental damage the panel causes to other equipment and panels are so cheap the warrantee is irrelevant to some people. It's easier to have a spare panel or 2 tucked away and just swap it out rather than mess around with returns and shipping costs that may or may not be covered.

mike95490

If you are cruising the open oceans and absolutely will die if you loose power, then the added reliability of a "marine grade" (whatever that means this week)  might be for you.  But if you are just doing weekend jaunts, save money.

softdown

mike95490 said:

If you are cruising the open oceans and absolutely will die if you loose power, then the added reliability of a "marine grade" (whatever that means this week)  might be for you.  But if you are just doing weekend jaunts, save money.

I plan to cruise the open oceans and own six unused Topoints at ~195 watts/panel. Think I will silicone seal the junction box and "see how they do".  Using 3 or 4 at a time. A smaller boat may not have room for four off of the stern.