Influence of PV panel tilt angle on panel efficiency?

pieter_pompers

pieter_pompers

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So my friend has a north-facing wall that gets direct sun for most of the day. He also has a ching-chong UPS that is solar ready(freestanding and not connected to his home's DB) for use during load shedding. My friend would like to add a solar panel to his setup but living in the western cape where the DA has turned into solar nazis he would have to get electrical COC and engineering signof if he wanted to mount the panel on the roof and on top of that he would not be allowed to even register the system as freestanding systems are not allowed anymore.


So to get to the actual question, if he decided to druk the DA a toffie and mount his panel against a flat wall so they cant see it from google maps(which apparently they do in order to pick up unregistered systems and fine people), what would the effect on the efficiency of the panel be if the panel was mounted straight to the wall wit 0 degrees of tilt angle while facing straight north?

Also my friend is well aware of all the blah blah ching-chong ups bad blah blah blah fire hazard blah blah home insurance needs COC comments.


PV panel.png
 
Put it on the roof.
Wait to get fined.
Start the application process.

On the wall mounting is a waste unless you have means to angle it to is generally hits the sun as square as possible for the duration of the year.
 
LCBXX said:
Put it on the roof.
Wait to get fined.
Start the application process.

On the wall mounting is a waste unless you have means to angle it to is generally hits the sun as square as possible for the duration of the year.
Click to expand...
That's not really an option, the application would never be approved as it's a standalone system with a ching-chong solar UPS and no way my friend is buying a coct approved inverter.
 
DA Nazis, is so apt. Lots of DA fans on here.

I am so glad I am a direct Eskom customer.

What is the legality of them trying to dictate to you if it is never connected to their grid, since it has no effect on them?
 
Due to the shape of my roof, I have 4 north-facing panels and 6 west-facing.
The roof has a 42 deg slope
From 07h00 to about 16h00, the north-facing supply 60% of the power
From 13h00 to 19h00, the west-facing panels supply the remaining 40%
This is in Cape Town s/suburbs

The first 4 were installed in 2016 and were registered. I fitted the other 6 in 2022 and didn't mention it to CoCT

It is a Kodak 7.2kW inverter and 2 x SHOTO 5100wH batteries

This is how I mounted 2 panels on a west-facing wall

1706600953964.png
 
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rh1 said:
DA Nazis, is so apt. Lots of DA fans on here.

I am so glad I am a direct Eskom customer.

What is the legality of them trying to dictate to you if it is never connected to their grid, since it has no effect on them?
Click to expand...
They maintain it is for electrical safety
 
rh1 said:
DA Nazis, is so apt. Lots of DA fans on here.

I am so glad I am a direct Eskom customer.

What is the legality of them trying to dictate to you if it is never connected to their grid, since it has no effect on them?
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter where you get your electricity from, if you live in the western cape under the DA you have to unfortunately abide by all their by-laws and in this case those include the registration of PV systems, no standalone systems are allowed and you're only allowed to use a COCT approved inverter in the event of you wanting to hook it up to your mains.
 
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pieter_pompers said:
Doesn't matter where you get your electricity from, if you live in the western cape under the DA you have to unfortunately abide by all their by-laws and in this case those include the registration of PV systems, no standalone systems are allowed and you're only allowed to use a COCT approved inverted in the event of you wanting to hook it up to your mains.
Click to expand...
My solar system is running 24/7 since August 2022. COC and everything. No COCT registration.
 
You can throw this into one of those solar design apps or forecast websites...but ultimately it's a terrible idea at least to install it flat against the wall, you absolutely have to angle it towards the sun.

Just the losses going into winter with lower sun angle is massive, putting it completely off angle will barely get you a trickle.

Also why go out of your way to dodge the CoCT only to get in trouble later? Just do the registration and call it a day and you'll never have problems.

It's free if you want to do it yourself, or you pay someone else to do it and then it's done.

The DA are the good guys here protecting you from your neighbour installing some dodgy **** and blowing up your DB board or burning your house down alongside theirs.

The losses on solar generation far outweigh the little bit of effort required to do it properly.
 
chrisc said:
The first 4 were installed in 2016 and were registered. I fitted the other 6 in 2022 and didn't mention it to CoCT
Click to expand...
I don't seem to remember the SSEG caring about how many panels were involved but just whether there was solar or not.
 
CoCT do not accept registrations if the installation was not done by a registered installer and signed off by a PrEEE

This adds R10k to the cost

Have 3 friends who tried and theirs was rejected
 
How about a portable stand for the panel? Basically converting the panel into a portable one, which can be taken out as needed.
 
chrisc said:
CoCT do not accept registrations if the installation was not done by a registered installer and signed off by a PrEEE

This adds R10k to the cost

Have 3 friends who tried and theirs was rejected
Click to expand...
And anyone having this work done by anyone else should probably have a long deep chat with themselves.

Last thing you want is your kid being electrocuted during load shedding because someone ****ed up the earth/neutral bond or some such.
 
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