Off grid boat uk story so far... PV, hot water solar,vxwt

[nick]

This is what I am thinking.

Battery bank 4 x 180ah deep cycle batteries.
2 x 120watts solar PV panels and 200watt VAWT running through its own charge controller to battery bank ( this is my current setup)

I will add 4 x 100 watt solar pv panels running on their own charge controller to charge battery bank.

Everything on the boat is at 12v dc.
I have not worked out my energy usage as I have not finished my boat yet ....but at the moment my setup I have now keeps up with my usage, but I need more

Now onto my hot water....I have 2 solar flat plates which will run a 100 litre hot water cylinder via a heating coil on the flow will be a 3 way *motorised valve connected to copper radiator or 2 soldered together,*
So summer months solar flat plates will produce hot water.
Winter months solar flat plates will heat a radiator to heat my boat. As it is an ex lifeboat it has alot of insulation (self righting buoyancy) my roof is 450mm thick tapering down to 250mm thick !!!!!!

So in the winter when I am at work and my battery bank is full I want to divert the excess electric *to heat my hot water via an Immersion *heater has anyone got any ideas on how to do it ? Maybe a grid tie in inverter instead if dumping excess electric to the grid send it to heat the water???*

That's the basics would love ya thoughts on my thoughts....namaste nick.*

[Mike90250]

So in the winter when I am at work and my battery bank is full I want to divert the excess electric *to heat my hot water via an Immersion *heater has anyone got any ideas on how to do it ? Maybe a grid tie in inverter instead if dumping excess electric to the grid send it to heat the water???*

Please tell me about excess power in winter

But with a 12V system, you cannot really move enough electrons to make much heat (in winter) If you have sun, then you have Solar Heating panels to do the work.

I don't really expect you will see much contribution from a 200w VAWT. Do you have any way to measure/record/totalize the output from it ? (most good charge controllers keep a running total of harvest)

[inetdog]

The most common, and practical, use of wind turbines on a boat is for sailboats which tend to have a predictable relative wind while actually sailing. When moored the effects of turbulence from nearby boats and structures reduce the potential output significantly.

Keep in mind that a VAWT is no less subject to turbulence losses than an HAWT. And the "wind from any direction" advantage, if any, is overstated by those selling them.

[nick]

Please tell me about excess power in winter

But with a 12V system, you cannot really move enough electrons to make much heat (in winter) If you have sun, then you have Solar Heating panels to do the work.

I don't really expect you will see much contribution from a 200w VAWT. Do you have any way to measure/record/totalize the output from it ? (most good charge controllers keep a running total of harvest)

Hi again, I have done afew winters with my current setup and yes your right not enought light but with the turbine this year I have had better results, my charge controller is not so modern so I will be upgrading it in the future and I will be able to tell you production

Also this winter I will have 400 more watts of solar and mppt controllers

[nick]

The most common, and practical, use of wind turbines on a boat is for sailboats which tend to have a predictable relative wind while actually sailing. When moored the effects of turbulence from nearby boats and structures reduce the potential output significantly.

Keep in mind that a VAWT is no less subject to turbulence losses than an HAWT. And the "wind from any direction" advantage, if any, is overstated by those selling them.

Hi again I hope to have a better charge controller soon so this time next year I can give you some better idea of how the set up works I know what you mean by vertical verse horizontal, I am due to move to a slightly more open part of the river and hope for better results from the turbine it has deffo helped since I have put it on.

[PNjunction]

Nick - as nice as we are, you may also want to look at this site for more detailed marine use similar to your setup...

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14/