Has anyone mounted panels at 90deg inclination (vertical)?

[cajocars]

I'm planning on mounting some panels on the ground for an off grid or grid tied system (but without being paid for export)
My house consumption doesn't change much between summer and winter. While it obviously makes sense to point them towards the south (rather than east+west) to maximise daily production (self consumption isn't that critical with a battery), I calculated I would save more money by fitting the panels at 90deg inclination rather than fitting them at 36deg (36 deg maximises the yearly production). This way the yearly production is about 25% less but there is less difference between summer and winter.

They look a bit odd and I guess you need to make sure they're wind resistant, has anyone done it?

 

[kommando]

Project for March but they will be an east/west array to catch the rising and setting sun as all my other panels face south and I have no more south facing walls. The plan is to fill in the early morning and late evening dips and vertical works well for this.

 

[fpgt72]

Early on when I had just two panels I had a setup where they just hung on something like a chin up bar.

At this time I was still playing, still am playing with everything.

They hung down at a 90deg angle to the ground. I knew nothing about angles and all that stuff, I just wanted to see if this $200 investment would do anything.

I can't tell you how well it worked, but I can say I have roughly 14 panels now, so it was enough for the bug to bite me.

 

[Jbird2000]

I completed a wall (on lower side of my Deck) of 12 vertical ones face SSW 3 years ago. My latitude is at 44degrees. performs well from nov to march. crappy in the summer. I have another roof mount array. Those were permitted under my net meter agreement. I needed more solar in the winter. no snow accumulation! I bought these from an installer who replaced the 265s with newer panels. The utility can not see them when they drive up to check on the meter I am not sure if I would put them on a ground mount. I get a lot of high winds coming from the SE/S/SW.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

@shadowmaker

 

[Warpspeed]

Looking at that picture, if I were doing it in that location myself, I would probably do some earthworks with a grader to provide a natural south facing slope of perhaps ten or twenty degrees (with good water drainage).
You need to have some slope, so the rain washes the panels clean.

Then lay the panels down flat on the sloping ground. Absolutely minimal structure required, and minimal cost.
I have a bank of "up" facing panels at a similar Latitude to you (38 degrees south), and they perform very well.

In extremely cloudy conditions typical here in winter, facing straight up works better than anything else because it catches the very diffused light coming from the whole entire sky. On days when you cannot see the sun, you will not get much, but up beats anything else under those conditions.

And you will not do any better than flat on the ground for wind loading !!!

 

[shadowmaker]

has anyone done it?

Yes.

 

[shadowmaker]

East-west makes sense only when using bifacial panels, but then so does vertical installation. My array has 138 degree azimuth as I don't want to interfere farming. It seems I'll be getting around 40-42Mwh this year (first year) out of my 44,1kWp set, but have to wait few moths still to get final verdict. To compensate lower power generation in the summer afternoon (because of the azimuth) I'll be installing 14,3kWp monofacial panels on nearby shed roof perpendicular to current array. Panels are usually the cheapest part of any solar installation and I have plenty of room in my MPPTs. Roof panels are going to suck with snow but that's ok as my current array is close to ideal for wintertime.

 

[cajocars]

I just re-ran my simulations and found I probably made a mistake the first time, LOL; it’s now saying 30-40 deg is better; I’m at 44deg latitude.

 

[Madcodger]

I just re-ran my simulations and found I probably fucked up the first time, LOL; it’s now saying 30-40 deg is better; I’m at 44deg latitude.

At 44 degrees latitude, 30-40 degrees seems to scream, "snow covered panels". Just sayin'.

 

[cajocars]

At 44 degrees latitude, 30-40 degrees seems to scream, "snow covered panels". Just sayin'.

I don’t remember the last time it snowed here, maybe 5 years ago

 

[Madcodger]

I don’t remember the last time it snowed here, maybe 5 years ag

At 44 degrees latitude?? I'm at 44.22, Maine. I must be at the wrong longitude for no snow, 'cause I plowed for hours this morning.

 

[cajocars]

At 44 degrees latitude?? I'm at 44.22, Maine. I must be at the wrong longitude for no snow, 'cause I plowed for hours this morning.

Yeah, different longitude, different continent ?

 

[Madcodger]

Yeah, different longitude, different continent ?

Well, that'd explain it! Too much of a US-centric view, so apologies. It does make one think about the effects of things other than latitude on weather. I looked up a city or two at ~ 44 degrees in the western US yesterday (2500-3,000 miles away), and they were also under a winter storm warning, as were we. But cross the ocean, and the general weather (not just that day's) can be very different. Might not make much difference for sun availability, but for system planning, it's a big factor. We can lose days to weeks of sun simply because they're covered with snow and ice, and many people don't take that into account when planning their systems. I often see beautiful rooftop installs in our area that sit with snow on them for days, producing nothing. Anyway, good luck with your system!

 

[SeaGal]

Yep - keep that Gulf Stream heading our way - we don't want to have New York winter snow in Madrid

 

[Warpspeed]

Even on the same continent, if you look at the climate on either side of the Rocky Mountains for example.
Same Latitude and not that far apart - very different cloud conditions and rainfall.

Yep - keep that Gulf Stream heading our way - we don't want to have New York winter snow in Madrid

The Gulf Stream appears to be slowing and breaking up, and that is a bit of a worry.

 

[100ranch]

I'm planning on mounting some panels on the ground for an off grid or grid tied system (but without being paid for export)
My house consumption doesn't change much between summer and winter. While it obviously makes sense to point them towards the south (rather than east+west) to maximise daily production (self consumption isn't that critical with a battery), I calculated I would save more money by fitting the panels at 90deg inclination rather than fitting them at 36deg (36 deg maximises the yearly production). This way the yearly production is about 25% less but there is less difference between summer and winter.

They look a bit odd and I guess you need to make sure they're wind resistant, has anyone done it?

View attachment 187557

About to run a fence with pressure treated farm posts 3 ft in concrete and stockade panels. Can fit 2 (of 6) horiz 72 cell panels on each 90 degree stockade panel. 1/4 inch welded steel. Will attach pv panels to stockade panels using many farm fence/barbed wire clips.

 

[TVLocationScout]

Even on the same continent, if you look at the climate on either side of the Rocky Mountains for example.
Same Latitude and not that far apart - very different cloud conditions and rainfall.

The Gulf Stream appears to be slowing and breaking up, and that is a bit of a worry.

And that (Gulf Stream losing it's inertia) is why we are all doing solar, for the most part. At least that's what I tell myself whenever I feel like giving up and using a gas generator.

 

[OffGridForGood]

We all have our own motivations, but come together here to share in the 'how-to-solar' !

 

[Nimrod5]

I plan to put my 6 solar panels on the wall of my barn that faces SSE. There is about a 1 foot overhang so I will put them low enough that they won't be in shadow when the sun is highest on June 22. I would like to make a rack hinged on the top to the barn wall so the panels can be tilted during the summer. During the winter I will fold the panels down flat on the barn wall to minimize the snow on them. I won't be living there in the winter so all I need is a minimum output from the solar panels to keep the batteries topped off. 46 degrees latitude.