The effect of clouds...

For those that wonder how much clouds effect production; I was getting 385 watts yesterday.

My 2kW array can be down to 100 watts in really heavy cloud, with normal clouding right now I'm making 270 watts, normally would be up around 1000 watts at this time of day. (cloud opened up shortly after and output rose up to 1100 watts)

Rain came through here from Tucson east and heading into your area last night and all day today. Got my batteries down to 45% SOC after all night outside Xmas lights and area lights. Tomorrow the sun returns. Finally clearing
up now that the sun is setting. ?

While my massive .2KW array does fully charge my immense 40 amps of lifepo storage on a sunny day; charging is negligible on a cloudy day. I know it, I never suspected such minimal performance from my massive array, guess I will have to add more panels. ~ For example, if I upgraded to 100 amps worth of batteries and increased to six, 100 watt panels producing about *5 or 6 Amps each in peak sun, less reasonable line losses between the panels and my 40 amp, 24 volt input, MPPT charge controller, I could expect to fully charge a 100 amp battery over a mostly sunny, 8 hour period as long as there are no other loads present, no? Is that a reasonable assumption? Note: * There is current loss in the 150' of #6 stranded copper wire, including connectors and fuses, I haven't calculated yet. But either way, even with a larger array, a no gain day is a no gain day, right? ~ Well, it's Christmas eve, me and the dog are watching Star Trek on the 60 watt hour led tv powered by lifepo's and a department store 800 watt invertor and I'm just too lazy to compute the cable loss right now.

MrNatural22 said:

Rain came through here from Tucson east and heading into your area last night and all day today. Got my batteries down to 45% SOC after all night outside Xmas lights and area lights. Tomorrow the sun returns. Finally clearing
up now that the sun is setting. ?

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Quit sending that #$%@ over here!

New Mexico Will said:

Quit sending that #$%@ over here!

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LOL ? That’s what I’ve been telling Califurnia and Mexico for months!!

Look at the 11th and then the days around it. Total cloud cover takes production down to 5% or less of what a good day's production is.

MrNatural22 said:

Rain came through here from Tucson east and heading into your area last night and all day today. Got my batteries down to 45% SOC after all night outside Xmas lights and area lights. Tomorrow the sun returns. Finally clearing
up now that the sun is setting. ?

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I can see the light! Hey, since you have photons, could you put a box fan or something outside, and point it east? Much appreciated.

Ho Ho Ho Here ya go ?CATCH? LOL

7 days in December:
12th Nearly clear day
13th Nearly clear day
14th Yep clouds all day.
15th mean clouds all day.
16th What you mean the sun can't go through the snow?
17th See you dirty snowflake! Melt, Melt I say!
18th Clean panels, thanks to the snow! Not a cloud all day!

New Mexico Will said:

I can see the light! Hey, since you have photons, could you put a box fan or something outside, and point it east? Much appreciated.

View attachment 3943

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Very pretty view looks like a painting. It's so different than living in a forest where you have to go up on high to get a view of the forested hills and mountains and the lakes and rivers that you're smack dab in the middle of but can't see!

The view was one of the primary reasons I bought my property. I never tire of it. That pic is looking west over the Rio Grande valley.

New Mexico Will said:

The view was one of the primary reasons I bought my property. I never tire of it. That pic is looking west over the Rio Grande valley.

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It's really nice I would never tire of that view either! I might even pick up the gee-tar and sing, "I'm an old cow hand, from the Rio Grande" .....?

When I say, "I'm over paneled", there is a reason...
I'm "Oversized" in batteries too...

It's over-paneled & oversized in batteries, right up until it's NOT, like when we don't see the sun for a week!

My backup generator rarely runs, between the welder/generator in the shop that charges batteries with excess production when it needs to run and as much battery as I can throw at the system, the backup generator sits idle so much I switched to propane to keep from replacing dried out fuel pump & carb gaskets...
And propane never goes bad, changing old fuel in a generator tank is a PITA!

Another crisp desert morning today. PVs and batteries might get some breakfast and lunch. LOL
Looking north and east toward you NM Will

MrNatural22 said:

Another crisp desert morning today. PVs and batteries might get some breakfast and lunch. LOL
Looking north and east toward you NM Will ☀
View attachment 4002View attachment 4003

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Wow, look at all that beauty and there is vegetation too!

We’re at 4200’ High Sonoran desert. There’s a smaller movie studio down the road, Mescal Az. A smaller version of old Tucson studios 40 miles to the west, Many famous classic westerns and tv series were filmed over the years because of the scenery.
Arizona And New Mexico scenery IMO
Is paradise. (It’s only 110deg in the daytime summer furnace ??) we run 10-15deg cooler up here because of the altitude and summer nights in the 70s.
We’ve got two seasons, Summer and not Summer LOL
Ya either love it or hate it.

We are fortunate to live where we do.