Subscribed and liked from SE Michigan, USA. Seems we have similar set ups and used panels do work in my back garden better than in a land fill. I have resorted to a solar salad of multiple arrays and MPPTs to heat one room to save on the natural gas bill. Figured, turn the hobby into a way to learn and save $$. Enjoyed the short video Jon. Gary
Appreciate your subscription, hope it’s not too cold in Michigan now, last time I was there it was the coldest I have ever felt in my life. Any way you can turn a hobby in a way to save $$ is a huge bonus, stay warm this winter JT
Look forward to your video to see how they perform over winter. I’ve mounted 2 panels on my south facing wall to compare against my south facing roof panels. I’ve just got a MPPT controller driving a resistive load but the load isn’t big enough to compare on sunny days but on overcast days it’s been interesting to see its performance.
@ the only day I’ve got where they didn’t start clipping they generated 60% of the roof panels. But it was very overcast which I suspect favours the roof panels more. They are mounted vertically, with the bottom of the panel being 3m off ground, and at this time of year get shaded for an hour each by the neighbours chimney. It’s an experiment to see if it’s worth covering the whole side of the house.
Yeah if I could get mine onto the side of the house they probably would not be as impacted by the trees but I don’t want to annoy my neighbours too much
@@JonathanTracey when you say you’re concerned about annoying your neighbours, is it because it will look weird or you’re worried about sunlight reflecting into their windows? (I’m fortunate it’s the side of my house and my neighbour has no windows windows that side)
JT = ❤ it ; we do the same as have just (almost) cleared an old paddock inherited full of brambles which we rent for £150 / year. So have just laid the panels on the ground to surpress brambles. In the summer 300kw / month, and in Nov got 40Kw, cost was 1-2k. 👍👍
1:43 Thank you for the data and I will definitely try the sun on track app. Just to add that kWh is a unit of energy, not power. The pv panels produced 191.33 KWh of energy.
A friend of mine fixed two 420w panels to his south facing fence just over a year ago. I'm looking forward to your next video, it will be interesting to compare your system with his.
Looking forward to the follow up video JT, i have a south west facing shed that I could get two or three panels on. Its how you connected it into the house I'd like to know.
You might want to point these more toward the sky in winter in order to catch dispersed light on cloudy days. The vertical position only works well with a clear line of sight.
@ Yes, it would take some more work. There are adjustable mounting brackets for solar panels, but these assume a brick wall or similar. Another option would be a ground mount for winter, but you need to be sure it's strong enough and has enough weight to prevent flying solar panels.
Hi Jon nice app. With regards to hanging on the fence panels you need to be considering planning permission as you are within 5 metres of your neighbours. But I do like the idea.
Yes, will be interested to see your video on the solar setup for £200. Including hopefully all the bits required to hook it to the house.
shooting to have it done for next weekend
Subscribed and liked from SE Michigan, USA. Seems we have similar set ups and used panels do work in my back garden better than in a land fill. I have resorted to a solar salad of multiple arrays and MPPTs to heat one room to save on the natural gas bill. Figured, turn the hobby into a way to learn and save $$. Enjoyed the short video Jon. Gary
Appreciate your subscription, hope it’s not too cold in Michigan now, last time I was there it was the coldest I have ever felt in my life. Any way you can turn a hobby in a way to save $$ is a huge bonus, stay warm this winter JT
Look forward to your video to see how they perform over winter. I’ve mounted 2 panels on my south facing wall to compare against my south facing roof panels. I’ve just got a MPPT controller driving a resistive load but the load isn’t big enough to compare on sunny days but on overcast days it’s been interesting to see its performance.
i do t think they will product very much as the sun is just too low in the sky this time of year, once we get to march it will be a different story.
@ the only day I’ve got where they didn’t start clipping they generated 60% of the roof panels. But it was very overcast which I suspect favours the roof panels more.
They are mounted vertically, with the bottom of the panel being 3m off ground, and at this time of year get shaded for an hour each by the neighbours chimney.
It’s an experiment to see if it’s worth covering the whole side of the house.
Yeah if I could get mine onto the side of the house they probably would not be as impacted by the trees but I don’t want to annoy my neighbours too much
@@JonathanTracey when you say you’re concerned about annoying your neighbours, is it because it will look weird or you’re worried about sunlight reflecting into their windows? (I’m fortunate it’s the side of my house and my neighbour has no windows windows that side)
Wow - very interesting....thanks for the great content
thanks, I appreciate you watching
Very interesting, I'll look forward to seeing your follow-up videos Jonathan
thanks appreciate you watching the videos
Brilliant video
Thanks appreciate it
JT = ❤ it ; we do the same as have just (almost) cleared an old paddock inherited full of brambles which we rent for £150 / year. So have just laid the panels on the ground to surpress brambles. In the summer 300kw / month, and in Nov got 40Kw, cost was 1-2k. 👍👍
nice, how are you getting the power from the paddock into your house/grid
1:43
Thank you for the data and I will definitely try the sun on track app.
Just to add that kWh is a unit of energy, not power. The pv panels produced 191.33 KWh of energy.
Thanks for the correction, I always muddle them up
A friend of mine fixed two 420w panels to his south facing fence just over a year ago.
I'm looking forward to your next video, it will be interesting to compare your system with his.
Mine are kinda east south east facing but as you see in the video in the winter the sun just does not get high enough in the sky to be effective
@@JonathanTraceyat least when you do get a sunny day, their angle is great. Almost facing directly towards the low winter sun.
Yep except the winter sun is behind the trees 🤦
true 😅
Looking forward to the follow up video JT, i have a south west facing shed that I could get two or three panels on.
Its how you connected it into the house I'd like to know.
aiming to have something up next weekend
Interested to keep seeing more about this. Have been wondering if a fence made with BiFacial panels would be a viable option.
That's exactly where my head is going, depending on the data I get maybe its a summer 2025 project
@@JonathanTracey I subscribed and will keep watching to see your progress on this.
Thanks I appreciate it
You might want to point these more toward the sky in winter in order to catch dispersed light on cloudy days. The vertical position only works well with a clear line of sight.
I have tried that but it puts too much stress on the wooden fence panels, they would need to be built up to take the stress especially in the wind
@ Yes, it would take some more work. There are adjustable mounting brackets for solar panels, but these assume a brick wall or similar.
Another option would be a ground mount for winter, but you need to be sure it's strong enough and has enough weight to prevent flying solar panels.
i’m looking at a single axis tracker but i worried the panel may become a sail in winter winds,
@ Yes, wind is always a concern. Maybe the vertical option is just the most logical one in terms of cost and complexity.
Could be but I’m looking at other options
Like the ability to see the sun position. Which one is it?
it’s called sun on track
Hi Jon nice app. With regards to hanging on the fence panels you need to be considering planning permission as you are within 5 metres of your neighbours. But I do like the idea.
Neighbour is cool with it, but I will check local planning portal and see what they say
👍👍👍
Thanks
My 1.5 kWp wall system generated 42 kWh in November, my whole 15.5 kWp system generated 289 kWh, predicted generation was 400, so we'll down.
That’s 40kWh more than my fence mounted panels
@JonathanTracey Brand new panels, facing SSW, and when the sun comes round they work very well, when it's cloudy they hardly generate anything.
Subbed and awaiting your howto with interest!
thanks will be more a “what i did” than a “how to”
My mistake
Oh, I have to be very clear about it. Otherwise every electrician on the planet will be jumping up and down on me.
I think you’re being a bit opportunistic there. I’ll do a video when the weather improves in a few weeks?!?! You mean in April 😂😂
we usually get one good day a month in the winter, even if the snow on the ground😂
Not good to look at that's for sure
Nope but this is just a prototype, if it works I will build them into the fence panels