Projects With Everyday Dave
3 HN recommenders · recommended in 5 months, 2024–2025
13:05 · 938K views · Feb 11, 2024
A hobbyist compares vertical bifacial solar panels against south-facing angled panels using winter production results. It tests whether the usual mounting approach is actually best.
HN points to it as real-world, side-by-side data on vertical versus angled panel orientation.
5 comments from Hacker News
There seems to be a real interesting mix of pros and cons (total watts generated through the year, by time of day, susceptibility to dirt and hail damage, reflections, etc.), especially with regards to mounting. This guy goes into a lot of detail: this video
this video this person did a side by side experiment on their property with both angled and vertical bifacial with some interesting results. Their advantage didn't seem to be efficiency but consistency.
You'll still get more output for the same amount of panels when they're tilted in most places. This guy did some interesting real-world testing in a bunch of different circumstances - this video
There is research coming out that vertical solar panels are more efficient. I think part of it comes from lower temps allowing for more efficient operating. No tracking or pointing required. Less cleaning as its not a flat surface for dust or fall impacts. this video edit: I see others have linked similar videos, all good sources on this topic.
This guy compared different orientations: this video His conclusion is the vertical generate about 70% of optimal incline cells. The charge profile has two peaks, one in the morning, one in the evening. I can imagine using the vertical orientation for a fence. It would definitely keep them cleaner too.