When we go deeper into autumn, the days grow briefly and the shadows grow longer – which is bad news for their sunlight when a massive palm is positioned in the wrong place. In this way, an array can be set up in one season to fail another.
The difficult thing about shadow is that it is never where you left it: it is in motion from hour to hour and also from the season to season. For Solar, this is a great headache: you can design a system for a system that takes into account the summer shadow conditions, only so that all of this goes out of the window in autumn.
This happened to a relative of me, who did not know what he did from a dodgy installer who did not know: the installation program was, a shady installer who did not know that a relative of me was set up in her 2 bedroom unit.
I was driven to install the system by December 31, with three decent rows of panels were set nicely and square so that I could click on the MC4 connections together, instruct the system and claim the STC money before the discount fell off as at the end of each year.
With 24 plates north and another series of 11 to the south, the system was initially cut off well on these long summer days, which was many kilowatt hours, but a dark shadow was thrown shortly before my work.
After all, nothing turns out to be well.
Palm No Sun Day
The problem with this place was a massive palm that penetrated into the fence line. It put a shadow over the lawn in midsummer, but it rattled in strong winds and dropped dead fronds.
What was more annoying was the huge shadow that it painted over the house when the days shortened and precious hours of sunshine became scarce.
Shadows extend over the year, so that it does not always recognize where they land when they are on the roof to measure.
Shadow is a solar conveyor
When autumn pushed, it soon became apparent that the entire northern array was limping because I simply wired it as two horizontal rows.
When the morning color killed the westernmost panel, the entire cord was affected. It got worse than the shadow swept over more panels, so that a solar seller tried to improve the problem with optimizers or micro interruptions.
The shame was that we soon lost good business from both upper and lower rows.
Production increases until the shadow hit
Since more is shaded into winter from the array, the MPPT algorithm finds more work and the shadow even reaches the southern array. (Green track)
Wired for success
The solution for maintaining the output was to reorganize the Array cabling.
By adding a few additional cables, I separated the Array 12 left and 12 right instead of straight upper and lower rows. Although the shadow remained, at least one of the parallel strings would be kept in the sun to be at its best.
This also meant that the MPPT algorithm would maintain a higher output, since it constantly scans after the best combination of electricity and voltage from the fully exposed fields, while the shaded array would only contribute to what it could.
The array could have put the adjacent neighbors in the shade, but the shadow in the afternoon still kills him.
Know where the shadows fall
While shadows can sometimes not be avoided, some customers I have met see the responsible trees as vertically stacked firewood. Solar becomes the reason for a chain sowing massacre.
If I did this job again today, he would have a 10 -kW inverter and more solar on the south side to reach a total of 13 kW or possibly 20 kW solar with a battery and a new roof over the terrace.
If you want to receive solar energy, it is worth doing it right from the start, and this can mean that you have to convey a local knowledge to your sale or team. It is worthwhile to have an idea of where the shadows fall on your roof.
An additional factor is whether trees are decident: solar that is installed in the middle of winter when the local trees are free of leaves, undesirable summer shadows could affect as soon as the green canopy grows back.
Ask for a solar shadow assessment
Would you like to know how much your solar is influenced by local trees? Ask your installer for a shadow rating.
Your installer has used a Suneye or Solar Pathfinder device when it has won your solar acid loan. However, it is probably the only time.
With progress in digital tools, most quotation platforms offer a virtual color analysis using aerial photos. It is not quite as precise, but much faster and cheaper, similar to Solar itself.
Another option is the optimization at panel level in your solar: smart electronics, which optimizes the performance of each panel independently in one character. Read more about it here.
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