Thinking about solar panel tilting ....

Go for it! I had some custom brackets made out of stainless to do the same...
You will need 2 solid 'stays' to make sure the panel doesn't go airborne, these will need to be firmly anchored to the panel and roof.
You can use the two unused hinge halves to fix the stays! Adjustable stay length would be a bonus for the different seasons.
 
Cozican said:
Go for it! I had some custom brackets made out of stainless to do the same...
You will need 2 solid 'stays' to make sure the panel doesn't go airborne, these will need to be firmly anchored to the panel and roof.
You can use the two unused hinge halves to fix the stays! Adjustable stay length would be a bonus for the different seasons.
Click to expand...

That sounds interesting, Cozican.
Do you have any photos to post here? I'd really appreciate seeing the detail of your installation and perhaps some photos of the panel in the raised position.
Do you have any data or even feelings as to how useful tilting your solar panel is in practice?

Colin ???
 
I wish I had come across those hinges a few years ago Colin, it would have saved me £75! I plan to use the tilt in Scotland hence, I need them to be solid..the problem I had was that the panel frame was not strong enough just putting the hinge on the edge, so I had to reinforce the frame and eventually came up with aluminium engineering extrusion (pic) luckily, I found a size that was a perfect fit after a Lot of surfing! The extrusion has a channel for sliding nuts which was ideal! The panel is 164 x 99 x 3.5 cm and I can tilt it to the left or right, by undoing two security bolts on the opposite side..The idea of the hinge is that and branches will ride over the panel....
As far as tilting the panel this time of year for instance, it would need to be at something like this angle (pic)
Hope this helps!
 

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Cozican said:
I wish I had come across those hinges a few years ago Colin, it would have saved me £75! I plan to use the tilt in Scotland hence, I need them to be solid..the problem I had was that the panel frame was not strong enough just putting the hinge on the edge, so I had to reinforce the frame and eventually came up with aluminium engineering extrusion (pic) luckily, I found a size that was a perfect fit after a Lot of surfing! The extrusion has a channel for sliding nuts which was ideal! The panel is 164 x 99 x 3.5 cm and I can tilt it to the left or right, by undoing two security bolts on the opposite side..The idea of the hinge is that and branches will ride over the panel....
As far as tilting the panel this time of year for instance, it would need to be at something like this angle (pic)
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Cozican, that's a great post. There's an awful lot of interest in tilting solar panels on Mohos right now as folks try to wring the last few electrons from their solar panels.
Do you have a feel as to how effective your installation is in winter?

Colin :):):)
 
Full Member said:
Thanks, Cozican, that's a great post. There's an awful lot of interest in tilting solar panels on Mohos right now as folks try to wring the last few electrons from their solar panels.
Do you have a feel as to how effective your installation is in winter?

Colin :):):)
Click to expand...
To be honest Colin, I got the tilting sorted but never got round to the stays! I am thinking of 2 hinge stays on the roof with holes drilled for the Summer/Winter angle and maybe a ratchet strap for extra security...I know without a doubt that to get the most watts out of the panel it has to be pointing straight to the Sun. Even thought of a tracker (plenty of info on youtoob) something I would consider for long stays definitely!
 
Using a pivot like you have (I think?) rather than a hinge makes a lot of sense to me.

In terms of adjustable stays, I think (and will know quite soon) that heavy duty gas struts will do the same job and in conjunction with an adjustable strap will allow you to alter the angle as required with the natural inclination of the strut to go full length, but kept in check by the strap.
 
Cozican said:
To be honest Colin, I got the tilting sorted but never got round to the stays! I am thinking of 2 hinge stays on the roof with holes drilled for the Summer/Winter angle and maybe a ratchet strap for extra security...I know without a doubt that to get the most watts out of the panel it has to be pointing straight to the Sun. Even thought of a tracker (plenty of info on youtoob) something I would consider for long stays definitely!
Click to expand...

If/when you fit stays then I'm one of many who'd appreciate you updating this thread, Cozican.
Once again, thanks for your input.

Colin ???
 
Car tailgate struts would probably be heavy duty enough for tilting processes OR 12v linear actuators if you wanted to be posh ....

mounted in the right position you'd be able to control the direction of tilt by removing hinge pins

 
wildebus said:
Using a pivot like you have (I think?) rather than a hinge makes a lot of sense to me.

In terms of adjustable stays, I think (and will know quite soon) that heavy duty gas struts will do the same job and in conjunction with an adjustable strap will allow you to alter the angle as required with the natural inclination of the strut to go full length, but kept in check by the strap.
Click to expand...
I never thought of gas struts Wildebus! What a good idea! they would absorb the energy from the wind wouldn't they?
mriceiceman "12v linear actuators " now that's dirty talk! o_O(y) Now with these ideas and a Sun tracker, it would look like Jodrell Bank on wheels! :ROFLMAO:
 
Cozican said:
I never thought of gas struts Wildebus! What a good idea! they would absorb the energy from the wind wouldn't they?
mriceiceman "12v linear actuators " now that's dirty talk! o_O(y) Now with these ideas and a Sun tracker, it would look like Jodrell Bank on wheels! :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
If the struts are not strong enough to be solid, yes they will absorb energy from the wind, but that will make a terrible banging noise as the panels spring back and will probably break the glass if one strut gives more than the other.
The struts need to be strong enough to be effectively solid in all conditions they are used.
 
Silver sprinter said:
Might just be silly me, I take it using gas struts will still have to be put up and closed manually
Click to expand...
hairydog said:
If the struts are not strong enough to be solid, yes they will absorb energy from the wind, but that will make a terrible banging noise as the panels spring back and will probably break the glass if one strut gives more than the other.
The struts need to be strong enough to be effectively solid in all conditions they are used.
Click to expand...
Yes absolutely SS! A lot of thought needs to be thunked about the installation.....My imagination has just got off the lead as to how you could build a wind speed related automated alarm so you could secure flat the panel before things go airborne...then back to reality, you could always turn your vehicle so the panel is facing into the wind? Are you beginning to think I'm mad? I have experienced trying to put a tent up in the valley that Glenbrittle is situated in...we ended up sleeping in the back of my 110 for TWO NIGHTS the wind was that bad!
But when the Sun shines, it's Heaven on Earth there!
 
Exwindsurfer said:
I’ve just priced gas struts for my panels and the company say I need to use stainless steel ones 200 quid ouch lol
Click to expand...
TBH Exwindsurfer, I would go with Alloy box section with a coupler of holes to angle the panel for the diff seasons, and a ratchet strap of course!
 
Cozican said:
Yes absolutely SS! A lot of thought needs to be thunked about the installation.....My imagination has just got off the lead as to how you could build a wind speed related automated alarm so you could secure flat the panel before things go airborne
Click to expand...
Given that angling a panel only doubles the output at best, why not just install twice as many panels flat on the roof? No hassles, better result.
 
I can see using SS struts would be good if exposed, but if you mounted them underneath the frame of a PV panel they would be no more exposed than a gas strut on a car tailgate.
 
hairydog said:
Given that angling a panel only doubles the output at best, why not just install twice as many panels flat on the roof? No hassles, better result.
Click to expand...
not if the roof has no more room for twice as many panels, which is often the case for people thinking of tilting panels (as otherwise they would probably already have chucked up more panels)
 
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