Comments on: Improved Solar Panel Set-Up

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 03:32:17 +0000

I love the idea to have solar panels connected to a small home. What about having the slanted roof be slanted the other way (according to the figure above), with the non-window wall on the taller side of the house. Then you can cover both the roof and the non-sided window with solar panels, allowing for lot’s of sunlight collection. The panels hanging on the non-window wall could be propped up to tilt toward the sun a bit also. Keep the ideas flowing guys, it can be done!!

By: reddwarf2956

reddwarf2956 — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:09:54 +0000

I think I just thought of a solution which would maximize the sun year round. Design the roofs slope to the suns angle in winter. At the roofs peak place hinges along the ridge as to allow the solar array to lift up. At the bottom strong polls which can be extended to left the array to the summer angle. By having the dark colored panels near the roof in the winter you warm the roof. And in the summer, shade the roof with the panels raised and allow air to move.

By: Friday Tiny Home Roundup - April 10, 2009 - Coming Unmoored | Coming Unmoored -- Life in a Tiny Floating Home

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:03:25 +0000

[...] Solar Panel Tiny Home [...]

By: frank

frank — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:14:14 +0000

Rather than a separate removable cover, you could probably use hinges at the tops of the panels that allow them to flip all the way over to the backside of the swing-out section.

By: mire

mire — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:56:18 +0000

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Take a look, here is their home improvement section: http://shop.earthshare.org/shop/index/107.

Have a great Earth Day!

By: Michael Janzen

Michael Janzen — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:39:45 +0000

Thanks Steve.

I think I’ll polish up the bi-fold idea and add a cover of some kind to protect the panels. Then I’ll post an updated version of the pdf.

After that I’ll update the 5×8 and 8×8 plans with some improvements discovered while drawing the 8×16 and post new versions of those plans.

Then… I was going to ask everyone what they wanted next and post new sketches of three different designs with a voting poll. I’d like to do all this tonight but we’ll see, that’s a tall order

By: SteveR

SteveR — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:41:06 +0000

I applaud your persistence and the creativity. I like the idea of having them swing one way or another or having them removable, relocatable and storable. I think that provides a lot of flexibility.

I would want them off if transporting the house just to keep road debris from damaging the panels ( they would be directly behind the trajectory of the wheels). Also, given how expensive they are, how attractive they might appear and how low slung to the ground they are positioned, there is too much risk from them growing their own wheels and going in a different direction. Also, my diesel exhaust would likely leave a nice black smudge on one side.

What’s next?

By: frank

frank — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:24:00 +0000

With the removable hinge pin idea, you’ll want some way of securing the panels so no one walks off with them. And as others have pointed out, they’ll have to be protected during transit. Given those problems, I think you might as well just mount brackets on each side of the house and build a light-weight mounting frame for the panels from aluminum angle. Carry the frame to the sunny side of the house, drop it in the brackets and lock into place. It’s not as if you’d be moving them very often.

Small wind turbines do get used by sailboaters but I don’t know how they deal with the vibration. Maybe the offshore breezes are steady enough that vibration isn’t a big deal.

By: Michael Janzen

Michael Janzen — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:20:55 +0000

Tim… great idea. It sounds like there is no one solution that would work for everyone everywhere… which makes sense especially for a mobile tiny house. But making this flexible and removable makes a lot of sense. Add a couple of wheels like a dolly and and extension cord and we might have a great solution. Thanks!

By: Tim R

Tim R — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:09:04 +0000

I like it, cool idea! What about using removable hinge pins instead of door hinges? This way you could swing it right or left depending on which end your removed the pins from. Also if you removed both sets of hinge pins you could store the panels inside trailer or truck for safe transport. Or place the panels out in the sun if you wanted to park the trailer in the shade. It’s versatile and functional. That way everybody is happy!