Optimizing the Efficiency of your Solar Panels

The placement of Solar Panels is for  most people a substantial investment.  And naturally we want to maximize the returns on that investment.  We therefore want to achieve a maximum output. In this article I will discuss a few items that can dramatically improve the performance of your Photovoltaic System.

While a lot of factors are beyond our control, some simple rules can result in a gain of 10 – 20% on your Solar production.

Conversion of Energy means loss of Energy

Conversion of energy will always result in a loss. The efficiency rate of the panels is already  at the low side of the scale. Depending on type of panel you have the Photovoltaic  conversion of sunlight into electricity has an efficiency rate of about 12 -18%.

Converting the DC current to AC grid power is efficient but losses do occur. When I moved from 4 individually inverted and grid connected panels to a configuration where I placed those panels in a string and inverted via one bigger grid connector I achieved an output increase of about 10%.

 At low voltages the amperage within your system is high. A lot of electrons want to travel through the wires that connect your panel to the inverter. Just like a highway, a lot of traffic needs more lanes to keep cars moving smoothly. Under dimensioned wiring means resistance and that equals loss. Since heat is not what we are after we have to decrease the resistance of our wiring by slightly over dimensioning them. The change from . Changing my wiring further increased output with 5%.  

By changing the design of my system I gained about 15%.

The Power loss in your wiring is easily calculated with this equation:

 power loss % =  (1.7 * current * length of wire)/(voltage * wire area)

Temperature and Solar Arrays – Increase in Temperature means Decrease in Efficiency

The moment the sun starts to shine on your Photovoltaic panels  their  temperature will rise. We have said before that solar panels work with an efficiency rate of about 15 – 18%. That is the amount of incoming solar energy which is actually converted into electricity. The rest of the incoming energy is converted into heat.  

Good ventilation means better performance = higher output = more money is the pocket.

Positioning of your PV panels – Rule of thumb is South on a 30 degree angle.

As a rule of thumb we have our panels face southwards in a 30 degree angle to the horizon.  This is the practical solution to the fact that the position of the Sun changes during the day, the season and the latitude we live on.

Practicality and Hobby

Still most home owners that install Photovoltaic Panels have a certain degree of enthusiasm and willingness to experiment.  It’s great to exchange ideas and output rate with likeminded people.

Whatever the future holds in store in my opinion we have to fase out fossil energy generation. Now is the time to get involved. Traditional energy prices go up, the price of PV systems is coming down. But before you make decisions study the possibilities.

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