What are the benefits of installing solar panels on boats?

Currently, solar panels are able to provide a large amount of energy for household living and can be self-sufficient in a short time after installation. In addition, solar energy has recently been applied to transportation, with the development of solar-powered vehicles, and expanded to public transportation, air transportation and sea transportation.

Marine Solar Panel

There are several advantages to marine solar, including reduced carbon emissions, diesel costs and significantly reduced noise levels. Depending on the type of solar panel and charge controller system, the industry has evolved to offer boat owners a number of different solar options

Glass panel:Providing maximum power at a lower cost makes them the most popular type of panel. Glass panels can be divided into two types: polycrystalline and monocrystalline. Polycrystalline is cheaper and of course has a lower conversion efficiency and therefore takes up a larger area. Monocrystalline is more expensive, but is very efficient and therefore takes up less.

Flexible solar panels:What was once limited to "amorphous" solar technology can now be made to fit the curvature of the ship's surface more closely.

Installation of solar panels on board

When considering the installation of solar panels on a boat, several factors need to be taken into account. Lack of space is one of the main obstacles. For this reason, solar panels must have space and allow the possibility to walk on them, thus maximizing the available space. A number of panels have been developed to allow suspension from the mast, thus optimizing all possible space. On larger ships with more space, solar panels with glass panels can be installed to provide maximum power at minimum cost, but without the possibility to walk on them.

Installation Stage

Similar to all solar installations, the process of installing solar panels on a boat can be divided into several stages:

Benefits of solar panels on board

By installing solar panels, the cost of maintaining and operating the boat can be greatly reduced. If a high performance solar system is installed, the boat will be self-sustaining and fuel costs will be completely eliminated. The load on the battery bank will be reduced, which is easier and less costly than generating more electricity. Carbon dioxide emissions would also be reduced, and noise would be significantly reduced.

Improving the efficiency of solar panels is usually the first step in any electrical system upgrade. By carefully selecting the equipment to be powered, significant savings in average daily energy demand can be achieved. Having an efficient power strategy requires smaller battery banks, smaller solar panels, smaller wind turbines, smaller cables, and a lighter total system weight.