Mark,
Personally I think the best way to go is use standard 250W/30V nominal panels like you would put on a house or commercial installation. They can now be purchased for as low as $.75/Watt. Two of these can be series together to make a 60V nominal circuit and these can be paralleled for as much power as you can fit your boat. The Arc currently has 16 panels connected in this configuration for a total of 3800Watts.
The 60V feed can then be charge controlled with an MPPT controller to maximize it's output. I have also observed that the MPPT charge controller really helps optimize the efficiency of the electric drive system and will get up to 30% more power out of your panels.
This setup has been working good for me for over a year, we have cruise about 500 miles so far on solar power and we are currently on a 1200 mile passage around Florida traveling on nothing but Sunshine.
Carter
On Thursday, January 23, 2014 1:50 PM, Mark F <mark.internet@yahoo.ca> wrote:
I am considering putting solar on my boat.
I would like to use a 48 volt propulsion bank.
As I see it I have a few options.
1 - build an array with 4 12 v panels in series and find a 48 volt charge controller
2 - take each panel and connect it to a 12V charge controller that is then connected to each battery.
3 - connect 4 panels in parallel to one charge controller and build a circuit that cycles from battery to battery.( possible detects lowest voltage battery and charges it first - hopefully keep batteries balanced)
Has anyone built a 48 volt panel array?
If so which option did you use, or is there a better way.
When I search the net everything seems geared to 12v or 24v not 48.
Thanks for any info
Mark
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