Those links are like a treasure chest for me...Mark Brunnr wrote:BuildItSolar has a list of sites here: https://builditsolar.com/References/SunChartRS.htm one of those might have some info for you.
There are sites like https://unboundsolar.com/solar-information/sun-hours-us-map which give some general numbers for the annual average hours per day. I would think that it really depends if you are doing this on-grid or off-grid though, as on-grid it's usually about generating the most power on average and filling in with grid power otherwise.
S Bengi wrote:
It's usually cheaper and better to just install more solar panels on the roof vs fussing about tilt angle or worse solar tracking.
Once found an app with its location always defaulting to Spain. The all around optimum angel it gave was horizontal, all year around. Great output but also a lot of cleaning.A 10degree tilt angle is enough for the solar panel to be self-cleaning.
For example, when I set my tilt angle to 25° - a pretty large deviation from the optimal tilt - it results in only a 1% reduction in overall annual power generation.
Why is this? Buffalo is often fairly cloudy, which means that diffuse light plays a large role in the power generation for my system. Because the light is diffuse, it doesn’t matter as much if the panels are perpendicular to the sun.
r ranson wrote:total noob question: can people live in a van in the winter? Are there ways to heat a van that doesn't involve a lot of fuel?
S Bengi wrote:The newer batteries, LiFePO4 cost a little less than $1000 per 1000Whr. Technically someone could build one for about 1/3 that cost.