Solar panel(s)on a 455

I fitted 3x 125W rigid panels on an A-frame above the helm, mated to a Victron MPPT controller and a 1600W invertor. They work great for extended cruising and at anchor, giving enough AC to power the water heater or microwave! As with any though, shade from the wrong tack does cause a big drop. Any panels mounted under the main will be rendered ineffective if shaded by the main so fine in port or motoring but not so good when cruising under sail.

When positioning your Panels, be aware of shading as 10% of shading on a panel will kill that panel and you won't get very good charging from it. Shading from your mainsail is the main issue. I built a frame over the Bimini with 100mm gap for air movement and that was behind the Back stay.I put two 240watt 24V panels that go through a good Charge Controller and in the Tropics can produce 35 amps of charging. I also doubled up the Batteries to give us 660 amp Hrs usage.  We could run our Watermaker that draws 38amps for two hrs making 100 litres from 1100 to 1300 and the Panels would top up the power used by end of the day

Samtutuki wrote: Flexiblible panels particularly when mounted on bimini canvas have been known to catch fire.  Of course they are light weight which is often an advantage. On my previous 445 I mounted two rigid panels above the bimini so that air could circulate underneath them to remove the considerable amount of heat generated by the panel.   Equally important is to use one MPPT controller per panel to maximise energy harvesting.

Samtutuki wrote: Nothing on internet. Anecdotal from local Hanse agent. Problem stems from a) bikini canvas not tight enough and b) solar panels installed across structural bow of Bimini.  Panels get very hot in direct sunlight.

Hi Marco, thank you for sharing this, great installation! Are these walkable panels? How much did you pay for them if I may ask?