Sail Life - How much solar is enough?

1) Understanding your energy needs is essential to determine how much solar you need. Start by making an "energy budget". List all your consumers and their daily usage. For example, if your LED lights use 1W per bulb and you have eight bulbs on for 5 hours a day, that would be 8 Watts for 5 hours or (8x5) 40 Wh (Watt hours). I like to use kWh to keep things consistent. 40 Wh = 0.040 kWh. It's a good idea to list what you're using while at anchor and another list of what you're using while underway (for instance, you don't use your autopilot at anchor). Remember to list everything: fridge, freezer, watermaker, autopilot, nav lights, chart plotters, etc. For example, here aboard Athena, with an electric galley, fridge, freezer, watermaker, two computers, etc, we use an average of 5.5 kWh per day. 2) To give you a quick estimate, use https://globalsolaratlas.info/ to find "Global horizontal irradiation" per day for your location. Take your daily energy consumption from step 1 and divide that by the number of solar hours. In the case of Athena, located in the Caribbean, that would be 5.5kWh per day / 5 sun hours = 1.1 kW solar array. Keep in mind that this is a theoretical number that does not take into account the shading or degradation of the panels over time. Let's add 30%. 1.1 x 1.3 = 1.43 kW. You can now divide that number by the panel's Nominal Power output. In the case of Athena, our panels are 400W SunPower panels. 1430W / 400W = 3.6 panels needed to cover our 5.5 kWh per day consumption. 3) Understand that the amount of solar you can install on a small sailboat is limited by the size of the boat and heavily influenced by shading and, of course, the boat's location. The size of the panels might also be defined by the height of your stanchions or the size of an existing solar arch. Figure out where you're able and willing to install panels. That will dictate the size and number of panels. 4) Use Victron Energy's MPPT Calculator to calculate what MPPT is ideally sized for your solar panels and expected output based on location. Based on our experience in the Caribbean, the estimate provided by the guide is reasonable. https://www.victronenergy.com/mppt-calculator. Remember that it's best practice to avoid combining panels with different specs on the same MPPT. #sailboat #sailboatproject #boatwork #saillife #liveaboard #liveaboardlife #saltlife #sailing #sailingadventure #travel ingcouple #livingonaboat #solar #sailboatsolar

0

18,950

0

28

Competent Crew Course details: ➜ https://www.firstclasssailing.com/rya-courses/competent-crew This short clip of a Competent Crew course shows how to position the sheet lead car. The 'car' is something the genoa sail sheet passes through and we can adjust it's position along the deck to alter the angle that the sheet pulls down of the genoa. You will see how we need to set the sheet lead car for the headsail to the forward end of the track to allow the sail to adopt a fuller shape. We set it like this when the wind is coming from behind the boat. When we're sailing to windward (when the wind is forward of the beam of the yacht), we want the sail to have a flatter shape, so set the sheet lead car to the aft end of the track. ** About the RYA Competent Crew course in Southampton ** The RYA Competent Crew course is the perfect introduction for beginners who want to get into sailing and is specifically designed for those with little to no sailing experience. It is the ideal starting point. Even if you’ve only had a brief taste of sailing, whether in the UK or abroad, the Competent Crew course offers structured learning and a strong foundation in the basics of sailing. We run our courses from Southampton, and they take place in and around the Solent. With First Class Sailing you’ll gain hands-on experience, experience life on board, and all the enjoyment it brings. By the end of the 5 day course, you’ll have the skills and confidence to be a capable and reliable crew member. The course begins and ends in Southampton, with stops at scenic destinations around the Solent, giving you the chance to experience different sailing conditions and enjoy stunning coastal views. For more information visit our website on the link below. ** Links ** First Class Sailing ➜ https://www.firstclasssailing.com We offer RYA courses, mile-building trips, and sailing holidays for beginners, seasoned sailors, and everyone in between from our base in Southampton. We also offer shore-based sailing courses in London and Southampton. Competent Crew Practical Course Notes ➜ https://www.firstclasssailing.com/books/competent-crew-practical-course-notes This excellent little booklet is the official Competent Crew course note book and gives great advice on basic crewing techniques and seamanship. Read our reviews on TripAdvisor ➜ https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186299-d3783802-Reviews-First_Class_Sailing-Southampton_Hampshire_England.html At First Class Sailing we give you easy access to the full range of RYA yachting courses and other sailing activities. ** Credits ** Voice: Duncan Wells Filming: Nick Watts

0

355

Want to support the podcast? http://patreon.com/SaltyAbandon I'm returning home after sailing Salty Abandon from Orange Beach to the Florida Keys. My husband & First Mate, Salty Scotty, joins me when he can. 1988 Island Packet 27. Captain Tinsley | Sailor | Sail Orange Beach to Bahamas | RE/MAX Realtor | Sell Gulf Front Condos Please subscribe to this channel! Receive more frequent updates by following Salty Abandon here: https://www.facebook.com/saltyabandon https://www.twitter.com/saltyabandon https://www.instagram.com/saltyabandon #saltyabandon #islandpacket #sailing #sailor #sailboat #saillife #singlehandedsailing #apalachicola