Solar Panels Exceeded Ratings

Coach Dad
Coach Dad Solar Expert Posts: 154 ✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
I know that it has been said in the past but I actually saw it happen last Sunday.

We were at the cabin last weekend. We currently have about 2 feet of snow on the ground... and it is quite cold up there.

My panels are set to their winter angle (completely vertical)... which does a great job of keeping the snow off.

We had some snow Sunday Morning.
The sun came out around 10:00 AM,, and I decided to nail up a few 2x4's.. So I started up the air compressor and just happened to walk by the Charge Controller display panel... I looked at it and watched the power from the panels raise to 1499 watts... I have 1410 watts worth of panels... I thought that was cool so I decided to post it.8)
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  • vtmaps
    vtmaps Solar Expert Posts: 3,741 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Solar Panels Exceeded Ratings
    Coach Dad wrote: »
    I looked at it and watched the power from the panels raise to 1499 watts... I have 1410 watts worth of panels...

    Yes, it is cool! I hit 1250 watts with 940 watts of panel yesterday. I think there was some edge of cloud effect there. A few times I have seen sustained 1000 watt production from cold weather with no edge of cloud effect. :cool: --vtMaps
    4 X 235watt Samsung, Midnite ePanel, Outback VFX3524 FM60 & mate, 4 Interstate L16, trimetric, Honda eu2000i
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  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Solar Panels Exceeded Ratings
    Coach Dad wrote: »
    I know that it has been said in the past but I actually saw it happen last Sunday.

    We were at the cabin last weekend. We currently have about 2 feet of snow on the ground... and it is quite cold up there.

    My panels are set to their winter angle (completely vertical)... which does a great job of keeping the snow off.

    No need for cloud edge effects or even cold temperatures to explain this one (although both may contribute.) When the ground surface is covered with snow and the panels are set so that they have a good view of the ground, the amount of insolation on the panels can easily be a lot greater than even the light directly reaching the panels from the sun on a clear day.
    This increased total distributed incident light over direct sunlight is a major factor in snow-blindness (retinal sunburn).
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
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