Opinions on this Job

[Gavin A]

They entirely miss the point about the different between the panels being in landscape vs portrait, and only discuss the possibility of spacing them wider apart.

As far as I can see they should have been able to get exactly the same number of panels in, possibly even an extra few had they done it in landscape, the rows would have been about 25cm wider, but there looks to be space for that albeit with probably a relatively minor increase in shading from the edge protection fencing.

That would then have massively reduced the shading impact during the shaded months, even if the overall shaded area of the panels was identical (assuming the use of an inverter with a full scan shading function, such as ABB / SMA tripower.

Their response would seem to indicate that they don't seem to understand this vital point of solar PV system design.

 

[SibertSolar]

I've already posed that point Gav....will update as and when

 

[Gavin A]

Love the way their reaction was to remove the photo, PR first eh. still on twitter though.

 

[whinmoor]

Love the way their reaction was to remove the photo, PR first eh. still on twitter though.

I reckon that case study has been up for ages and it took a bored solar junkie to raise the issue :goofy:

They've now replaced the photo with a different one which shows plenty of space to the side. Now we can assess the spacings more accurately....

Each panel is about a metre wide and there are 8 of them. They could easily have put 5 in landscape as that would only take up an extra 50cm which is clearly available at the side. Then the bypass diodes might be in play. However, it might be possible to adjust the tilt and spacings such that there's hardly any shading whatsoever.

Maybe they didn't want to pay for extra mounting kit to fit more rows in :sad_smile:

 

[Gavin A]

I suspect they did their due dilligence on the frame and manufacturer etc before considering the design, and placed more priority on that due dilligence than on actual proper design.

box ticking over performance would seem about right.