roofmount permanently?

[titanium]

should I roof mount the solar panels permanently? should I have a cover for them?

titanium

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Hi Titanium

Putting you panels on the roof is best but why would you want to cover them? Get a good charge controller/deverter and it will take care of itself. When my system is full my charge controller/deverter sends the excess power over to my water heater and runs it on 12 volts insted of propane then if the systen runs low it sends it back to the battery bank and tops them off again.

[Matthew A. Thomas]

A tech consultant at www.realgoods.com mentioned that when she r.v.'s she likes to park in the shade so rather than mount her solar panels on the roof she carries them onboard, bringing them out at her campsite.She's clamped on rebar legs and adjusts them for the best angle.If you anticipated camping during hot weather her practice would be a valuable option.Matt.

[peterb]

another option for snow, trees, and sandstorms is to hinge them and put the working side down... last "green" bus I had needed a compass and parking reasonably "correct" to erect the array for max. goin' down the road it was easier to "hang out " my delco alternator wind drivers...