I have been saving up for materials to build a wind mill tower, but a recent sale item at sun electronics (sunelec.com) has got me thinking that adding solar now might be a good idea. These particular panels (Kaneka GSA-60) are just less than a $1 / watt which is a great price. Reviews put the panels as reliable, so that is not a worry. However, I've done far less research into solar than I should for this big a project so here I am hoping to bridge the gap between what I know and what I need to know.
What I am thinking is 20+ panels running through an Outback FLEXmax 60. The panels Voc is 92, and the Vmp is 67.
What does worry me is three issues.
One is that I would like to move to a 48v battery bank. Will the panels have enough "head room" to still charge a 48v battery bank. I'm afraid that early/late day sun won't produce enough voltage to charge the bank, and with a Voc of 92, I can't place 2 in series and stay under the FM60's max Voc of 150. In fact, will MPPT really buy me much in this case. Also, it appears that in summer heat these panels might be lucky to put out 54v?
The other is can I parallel that many panels together? Fuse rating is 7a. I can't get my head around how that would apply here in a (largish) parallel string, but I would rather find out now.
Lastly is mounting. I have plenty of ground space, but not roof space, and the wind is high around here at times. Gusts up to 40mph today! Each panel is roughly 39" x 38". What would be the most economical way to mount these on the ground and be tiltable? I would never want to track with these. Cheaper to buy extra panels at this pricing. I am thinking of 2x5 groups which makes a panel about 17' x 7' (parallel wired 10a group). What about 4 wood posts at the corners, 2x10 on a diagonal (roughly between the front and back posts on each end, and some kind of 17' steel run horizontal. I think each panel needs 2 runs, so that would be 4 horizontal runs. I would need some kind of diagonal to keep racking to a minimum. Is 17' too long? I hate to dig to many holes out here in the frozen tundra! Sounds too long now that I write it. a 17'x7' sail would have a lot of force on it. Don't want to crack them puppies! The good news is that the wind is usually WNW or ESE so more of glancing blow than straight on. Maybe add an extra set of posts in the middle so just over 8' spans?
Thanks,
Deron