Monocrystalline Solar PV Panels:

For the panels, I opted to go for 3 new monocrystalline panels rather than the polycrystalline ones I already had. There is little to choose between the two types but some studies suggest the mono versions operate slightly better in lower light conditions, so I wanted to have a mixture of both in order to compare the two. Because the 5 polycrystalline panels were now being fed into a new Morningstar controller (more on this later), that left the original SP800w controller free to accept up to 400w solar, so this is where I will connect up the new panels. Remember, there is no point investing in an additional expensive controller if you already have one- other panels can be added to the system and routed to simpler controllers and they will function quite happily alongside a single more expensive controller.

Using monocrystalline panels also requires a more careful plan in terms of roof mounting. These panels are larger then the polycrystalline versions and come with a sturdier aluminium frame weighing a good 3 kilos more than the poly version. They will also require more airflow beneath them. In consideration of this, I opted to purchase 2 lengths of 3-metre galvanised slotted Unistrut, which, in combination with solar roof hooks, I mounted in vertical formation on the roof to accept the 3 new panels, as the picture below shows.

As before, the panel sides required drilling, but the installation was a good deal easier because additional unistrut accessories can be purchased to fasten galvanised supports to the unistrut. This allows for easy positioning of the panels and together with M10 bolts and nyloc nuts provides a solid framework to hold each panel in place.

2nd Turbine:

I also decided to locate the second turbine at the front of the garage. We never parked a car in there anyway and it is only used for storage, so the pole will not be that intrusive. The turbine is the same as my original one located to the rear of the garage, but unfortunately the company who sold me the first one were not supplying the identical model at the time of asking. Wanting to have the same model in place, I opted to source it elsewhere; having 2 identical turbines means that all the nuts, bolts, tubing, stay wires, cables and accessories can be mixed and matched as required.

Due to the garage door opening preventing me from using a full set of 4 offset brackets, I reduced the number to 3, but I did increase the stay wires to 6, with 4 connected to the garage wall and 2 longer stays connected to concrete bases at both sides. Again M10 rawl bolts are used to place the offset brackets on the wall. When making the holes for the concrete I also buried an earth rod, rather than try and route the earth wire to the earth rod on the first turbine. The main stay wires are connected to turnbuckles fastened in concrete, and give further protection to the turbine in higher winds. They should also prevent the pole from bending too much in extreme conditions. All other connections were as before, with the 6mm² wires returning to a central wind-solar controller. Again this feeds the batteries separately, and and if the batteries are full then any additional excess is removed using the dump load heater shown on the right side of the controller.

The controller for this turbine is not of the same quality as the original SP800W controller, and connections using 6mm² size wire are difficult to do because the contacts are slightly too small. But as I will only be using this as a wind controller I am not too concerned. I will now monitor the additional power provided by the extra components to see how they contribute to keeping the battery bank topped up, and hopefully provide me with more day-to-day power in my bank.