Robert Phillips's posts

You might want to check out my free solar panel simulation on YachtSoftware.org.  It will predict the output of an array for a user specified orientation at any time of the day, for any cloud cover, and for any latitude.  Although it was designed for a boat installation you can simply set the boat heading to the orientation of the house.  If after using it you find the software useful we ask for a small donation.

The IcarusSolarDesigner, a free simulation, is available at http://YachtSoftware.Org that predicts the output of a solar panel marine installation at any time of the day, at any latitude from the North to the South Pole and for any cloud cover.�  It is an Excel based spreadsheet that uses a Visual Basic back end to predict the output for a boat installation where the orientation of the panels may change with the boats heading.�  It can be used to design an installation at your home port that will work to provide all your energy needs as you cruise any where in the world.�  It is also handy in allowing the user to directly compare his own measurements with the predictions.�  On our boat s/v Star we were able to evaluate the effect of shading from our radar and discovered that we had only a 50% efficiency that was easily fixed by moving the radar to another close by location.�  We ask for donations through PayPal.com if the software is useful for your application.