IT’ S ALL ABOUT ANGLES
Everyone knows that during winter, the sun is positioned lower in the northern sky. It’ s why most solar panel installations are placed on an angle facing north. What many people don’ t realise is just how low in the sky that can be, even in the northern parts of the country. Have a look at the picture below. This was taken in the middle of the day in the middle of July at Theresa Creek Dam in Queensland. This is located at a higher latitude than the Tropic of Capricorn! Just have a look at how low in the sky the sun is sitting.
Now, consider that the rating of the solar panels on the roof of your caravan is supposedly based on what they are capable of generating under absolutely ideal conditions. The panels on your caravan’ s roof are in the worst possible position. So if you have 300W of panels on your caravan, even in cloudless conditions, they would be lucky to make half of that.
Solar blankets are great but prop them up to face the winter sun to get the best out of them.
Fortunately, it’ s not all bad news. You can dramatically improve your solar charging by utilising an external solar panel that can be placed at an angle facing the sun. We’ ve found that even a small 100-200W panel correctly placed, facing the sun, will improve solar charging dramatically.
This is Theresa Creek Dam campground in the middle of July at around midday. Look how low the sun is sitting in the sky!
52 \