by admin | Jan 25, 2014 | Tech Updates
Finally, after a few weeks without sunshine, the weather cleared up and the sun was shining brightly and the batteries on my solar energy system finally got some serious charge, reaching close to full charge by Friday afternoon. It was also the ideal time to take current measurements and figure out what should be expected of a solar energy system in different weather conditions. For optimal energy production, a solar panel should be inclined about 30 degrees facing south. The panel I used is installed on a roof deck tent structure which is currently not an ideal position for a solar panel. It is facing east more than it is facing south, thus, solar energy production is highest between 10AM to 12NN and would start to decrease by 1PM. That means I should soon modify the roof deck structure so that the panels are in the ideal position. I took various measurements of the current going into the batteries when the clouds cover is very thick, when there is just a thin layer of clouds and when the sun is fully out. This week, I was taking measurements between 10AM to 12NN so I can compare the results for various cloud coverage. When tropical depression Agaton was still in full swing, cloud cover was very thick and the sun was never out. In a previous issue, I measured about 0.4 to 0.7A at about 4PM. I measured between 0.6A to 1.1A between 10AM to 12NN. Last Thursday and Friday, the cloud cover was such that the sun would be fully out for a few minutes then get covered again....
