Charging The Earth

[Beau]

Hi all. Back in the old place, there used to be a chap who used mirrors to boost his PV and added ST heating to his GSHP loops and thought he ran a site called Charging The Earth.

Just came across someone asking about using mirrors to boost PV but cant now find the page. Just wondering if I have remebered the name wrong or if its been renamed. Any pointers would be appreciated

Thanks

[Stan]

Will this help?

[Joeboy]

A shame about the branch shadow. I had given some thought to this a while back. My idea was more a foil covered curved gutter section along the top edge catching the low travelling Winter sun. It would be feasible on a groundmount for not much money along the top edge of a panel set.

Might try it next year on my pergola mounted set. No idea of the gains but there would be some.
.

[Stinsy]

The general consensus is that adding more panels trumps all other enhancements.Tracking/mirrors/reflectors/etc. all might improve output. However it is wiser to spend the time/money on an extra panel or 2.

[Mr Gus]

Dr David Nicholson-Cole, (name escapes me, excuse if wrong) had some good stuff on his site (the sips celotex extension) until he took it down a few years ago.

I wasnt a fan of the mirrors (which not many were) which was a bit of an all consuming fixation for him, & there was much arguing as to results based on sensors location elsewhere.

Passionate in his beliefs but also too proud at times.
(other aspects of his site were great, shame not archived)

[Oldgreybeard]

One major snag with mirrors is that they heat up the panels a fair bit. Panels are less efficient when hot (as I suspect many here have noticed) so getting them even hotter with mirrors may well end up reducing output after a short time. I know our system gives its best (by a long way) on a cold day when the sun suddenly comes out. The combination of bright sun and cold panels makes for a fair bit more output. The output then drops off as the panels warm up.

[Beau]

Dr David Nicholson-Cole, (name escapes me, excuse if wrong) had some good stuff on his site (the sips celotex extension) until he took it down a few years ago.

I wasnt a fan of the mirrors (which not many were) which was a bit of an all consuming fixation for him, & there was much arguing as to results based on sensors location elsewhere.

Passionate in his beliefs but also too proud at times.
(other aspects of his site were great, shame not archived)

That's the chap. Thanks Gus

[MoSTiE]

I seem to remember Martin wasn't too keen on the guy

[Joeboy]

The general consensus is that adding more panels trumps all other enhancements.Tracking/mirrors/reflectors/etc. all might improve output. However it is wiser to spend the time/money on an extra panel or 2.

Agreed, yet I've got the bits. It would only be my time and enjoyment

[AE-NMidlands]

Given that (I assume) the mirrors will be thinner and lighter than the panels and presumably angled up quite steeply, won't it be like bolting a pair of wings on?
Otherwise, as others have said, if there is the space, why not just put more panels even if they are in a sub-optimal orientation?
I suppose that if you have the materials it would be fun to try, and if you are at the point where you can't use all your summer output anyway then it might extend the season significantly - which would be especially good at times of year when over-heating isn't an issue.