Bifacial Solar Panels - The BEST Solar Panel? Real World Results!

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Do Bifacial Solar Panels actually live up to the hype? I purchased 390W Canadian Solar Bifacial Solar Panels to expand my DIY Solar system, and tested them against my standard panels, in real world conditions.
Find More information for this project and others on my website: projectswithdave.com
These panels are perfect for a vertical bifacial solar panel system.
$0.57/Watt 460W Bifacial Bluesun: signaturesolar.com/bluesun-46...
More solar panel resources on my website here: projectswithdave.com/solar-pa...
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Vertical Bifacial Solar Panel Performance Results Part 1: • Vertical Bifacial Sola...
Bifacial performance on a roof: • Should you put BIFACIA...
Bifacial performance in winter: • Bifacial Solar Panel W...
My original install video: • DIY 9kW Grid Tie Groun...
My racking expansion video: • Easy DIY Solar Panel S...
My array expansion video: • DIY Home Solar Panel S...
My starter home battery backup Video: • Battery BACKUP for Hom...
My 120/240V 25kWh home backup: • DIY Split Phase Batter...
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Check out my other projects: projectswithdave.com/#projects
Recommended sources for Bifacial and Discounted Solar Panels: projectswithdave.com/solar-pa...
Solar & Off Grid Materials & Components: projectswithdave.com/components/
Recommend Tools For Solar: projectswithdave.com/tools/
Learn how to do your own DIY Solar System: projectswithdave.com/#edu-video
Sources for LiFePO4 batteries: projectswithdave.com/batteries/
Inverter Solutions: projectswithdave.com/inverters/
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For great prices on used and clearance solar panels use SanTan Solar: www.santansolar.com/product-c...
For large orders and pallet pricing fro SanTan, contact Alex (480-360-6203; or alexanderson@santansolar.com ) and mention EverydayDave for 5% off.
Best Value Source For Solar Panels and Batteries - Signature Solar: signaturesolar.com/shop-all/s...
Quality & Service Source for Batteries and Inverters- Current Connected: www.currentconnected.com/?ref...
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Or, Try Energy Sage - It's free: www.energysage.com/p/everyday...
I used Energy Sage to research solar and receive multiple competing quotes for my install.
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Disclaimers:
This video is for information purposes only, and does not constitute professional advice. Solar systems can and do involve dangerous electrical connections. If you do not have experience with electrical wiring, please seek professional support.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:34 Bifacial VS Standard Base Result
02:20 Bifacial Actual Performance VS Rated Performance
03:27 Bifacial Full Day Performance With Morning Back Lighting
06:02 Bifacial VS Standard: Cloudy Day Performance
06:29 Bifacial Solar Panel Back Side Performance
07:16 Bifacial Overall Performance Summary
09:00 Bifacial Physical Considerations
12:08 Bifacial Cost Benefits
14:52 Energy Pal - Easy Solution for Going Solar!

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Опубликовано:

26 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 627

@polarkerr 2 года назад

I attended a Canadian Solar demo class on these bifacials and even their experts didn't do a better job explaining how good these panels compared to your explanation, Keep up the good work buddy.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Wow, thanks!

@pblackcrow 4 месяца назад

@@ProjectsWithDave it's worth test it out. Also, try spray painting gravel white and silver. Because it will reflect differently.

@pblackcrow 4 месяца назад

If you give me credit, please change remember to change my last name to Gardner. I am getting ready to do make it official soon.

@shaneclk9854 4 месяца назад

Mirrors onthe ground

@richardbutler1216 Год назад

Hello Dave, I wanted to say a massive thanks for all you have tough me regarding solar. I now have my system up-and-running. I changed plans several times as each video you posted made me re-evaluate. I now have 64 bifacial panels on 4 ground racks of 16 per rack. I have done as you suggested and placed two racks at 45 degrees from due South. One at 135 degrees SE and one at 225 degrees SW. The remaining two are due south. All have an azimuth of 36 degrees. The resulting performance is way beyond my expectations, interestingly, the SW panels produce half the power that the SE array produce in the early morning. This must be just from the back side of the SW panels. So pleased I changed my mind and went with the Bifacial panels. I also followed your advice and split the load on each of my two inverters by running racks 1 & 3 to the first and 2 & 4 to the second. I knew nothing about electrics before I embarked on this project, let alone solar! None of this would have been possible without the education you have given me. The clear and concise way you explain the process has been invaluable. I am in your debt. Keep up the good work. Regards, Richard.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Richard, thanks for the encouraging feedback! I love that you have taken all the things I've learned from my install and analysis and made a much better solution than I did for my original install. I'm so glad my information could make a difference for you!!

@VeryWarmBear1 Год назад

Cover sheets of plywood with reflective Mylar and arrange them low behind the bifacial panels to see how much more power it can generate.

@Bob-cx4ze 18 часов назад

Cement board won't rot

@coyotesden Год назад

I've had my bifacials installed on our offgrid property for a little over 6 months, I'm getting much better performance than I expected.

@PandorasFolly Год назад

Hey Dave! Great video. I'm in New Mexico and I know a guy who did a neat trick with his bifacials. He mounted them as a pergola roof about 15 feet up. And on the ground he put down white concrete unnder the panels and white gravel 20 feet out from the panels. He said he saw a notable increase when he added it.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Nice idea! Thanks for posting.

@eastcorkcheeses6448 4 месяца назад

I picked manderins years ago ,and they had a white geo-textile pinned under the trees specifically to reflect light to the underside of the trees - and help the fruit rupen quicker , same thing really .. Wether you'd want thousands of acres of plastic fabric everywhere is another issue though ..

@glennmartin6492 2 месяца назад

If the PVs were on a slanted mount on top of a roof I imagine colouring the roof white would increase panel efficiency AND cool the building.

@jacobsmithjr Год назад

That was the most comprehensive presentation I've ever seen! Although I'm not that great at math, I understood your explanation perfectly. Well done sir!

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

@redmatrix Год назад

Have watched several of your videos in the past six months, but this one has earned a subscription from me!

@zmarko 2 года назад

Great video Dave! A lot of helpful info here, especially for someone new trying to decide what works best for them.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

@richardbutler1216 2 года назад

Thank you for another great video. I am installing a ground mount system right now. One thing you did not mention was Bifacial racking, I managed to change my order for racks that are specifically designed for Bifacial and have no supports crossing the back of the panel. They adjust to the panel size. I was also able to get new Longi 445W Bifacial panels for only a few €’s more than the same watt standard panels. Interestingly, the Bifacial come with a 30 year performance warranty as opposed to the standard Longi panels 25 years.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Thanks, good point! I did forget to mention the racking considerations. I think they can offer a longer warranty because they start at a much higher output with the backside boost and the backside glass is a better material then the typical back sheet.

@DanBurgaud Год назад

VERY nice info! One of the BEST channel for Solar!

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Wow, thanks!

@marcfruchtman9473 Год назад

A really great video comparing bifacial vs standard single face panel. Thank you for making this. [subscribed]

@kimmogensen5390 10 месяцев назад

you guys are so lucky that you have access to discounted and used panels, here in Denmark we have to pay full retail prize ,,i have these half cut bifacial 505w panels and they are really effetctive , altough i really dont get much close to nothing from them in really overcast rainy days

@Morris1581 Год назад

Best testing i ever saw. Thank you ❤️👍🏻

@LawpickingLocksmith Год назад

Thanks Dave! Finally a great explainer!

@GoldenBranchesTCG Год назад

Great video, Dave.

@pativey8674 2 года назад

Great Vid thanks for taking the time to give us the great breakdown in real world situations

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Thanks! No problem 👍

@johnwallace5892 7 месяцев назад

Fantastic work! Thanks!

@ChrisDIYerOklahoma Год назад

GREAT video. I am in the process of upgrading two of my arrays to Q-Cell 480w bifacial panels. I have one array done and can say the performance of bifacial has def improved vs my older Renogy 100w panels...esp in low light (cloudy conditions). My arrays are all ground mounted.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Yes, I think the cloudy performance is the best selling point. Those are the times when you need the boost.

@SolarTechFL 10 месяцев назад

I just added 13kw of q cell 480w bf to my offgrid system they are great panels. 36kw of pv now

@rdlspmg6752 2 года назад

Man you must be super happy with yourself for producing such monster Size boys at the very least man KUDOS to you I would be and I have 10 410w bi Facial panels from signature solar I’m drawing a blank right now on the manufacture name but I have yet to mount them so when I seen this title I had to watch this asap thank you so much for taking the time to make these awesome info packed GEMs 💎 that anyone thinking about doing solar for themselves or others can’t go wrong starting with your content

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Thanks, I appreciate that! It is a lot of work to take all the data and produce meaningful results, so I'm glad it was helpful for you.

@PeaceChanel Год назад

Thank You for All that you are doing for our Planet Earth.... Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste .. 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ 🌷 ☮ ❤🕊

@whatthefunction9140 Год назад

You're channel is so underrated

@tmathison66 Год назад

Outstanding content. Conclusions on bi-facial panels I've had to piece together from a myriad of sources...almost all confirmed in one video. I think the only belief not specifically confirmed has to do with backside gain being able to heat panels enough to shed snow cover on the top side from the heat produced by power generation entirely from the back side. Ground-mount panels set to a steep winter angle for a lower sun should automatically shed snow early in the day and provide substantially more power than panels with cells only exposed to light from the snow-covered top side - all with no manual snow removal activity.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks! Yes, come winter I will have results on snow, steeper angels and roof installations.

@mungewell Год назад

Great description and analysis. Considering these to refurb my ground mounted system. Season tilt for Lat 50 means they are almost vertical, slight hill and snow behind the panels would mean quiet a boost. Also -40'c has significant effect, watch out for your Voc Max!

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Sounds like a good application for bifacials.

@vlogsdeqayam612 Год назад

Excellent explanation!❤. Now I have made my mind to go with bifacial. greetings from Pakistan

@KD0CAC 2 года назад

I see some of these types -- collect from both sides , or panels - all the installations use a reflective panel on the north side , basically forming a triangle , reflections from across the freeway from me look gold .

@stevemarquardt3217 Год назад

For best radiance, make sure the reflective material is curved [to gather more IR] and farther away from the back of panel. Ideal IR would be a hemi-spherical 'cup' that will be focused towards the center of the array.

@sf4137 2 месяца назад

IR is waste in these types of panels - we want the visible spectrum. IR actually inhibits performance.

@r.b.l.5841 10 месяцев назад

I used Canadian Solar 440 bifacials and put them above a galvalume metal building (low slope) roof, with a racking system that allows me to tilt up for winter, and down for summer, in both cases my panels are well above the metal roof. Being near the 49th parallel, the panels have sun Behind them for a good stretch of the year, and lots of reflection during winter. My best production ever is acturally January and February when it is cold, and lots of reflection from snow and metal roofing. Yeah those high production numbers are only for a few hours per day, but when you need every watt, this is important. I have seen over 115% of rated capacity on many sunny cold days. One thing to be careful with - Put your framing only inline with the panel edges: no strut running in the middle of the PV back side! keep all the wires and any conduit or wire way away from anywhere they can cause shadows!

@ProjectsWithDave 10 месяцев назад

Thanks for posting your actual experience!

@PolioVitruvius Год назад

Thanks! I live in the Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada. Orchard growers lay white plastic on the ground between the rows to reflect more light back up at the fruit. Might work for this too when you don’t have snow. I specify high albedo (white) roofing on flat roofs with bifacial solar arrays.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks for the info! The parallels between managing reflected light for both solar production and plant growth is very interesting.

@michaelplates Год назад

Excellent information and great videos

@DenissBelajevs 2 года назад

Dave thanks. That's is a great video with a lot of inspiration for me.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@Crtulu 11 месяцев назад

Great video, thanks!

@vpeters2647 4 месяца назад

P.S. I love your real world data, there isn't alot of it out there . Your posts give me confidence in my choise of a bi-facial ground mount . I will also be experimenting with reflective material under the array . I will try and share the results here ( array install date june 2024 )

@nikolaskallianiotis8622 Год назад

Bifacials are highly recommended when installed on flat rooftops without tiles painted white and always installed on angle (this is the case for many buildings in southern Europe). They are very efficient when the surface behind them is reflective.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I imagine that would be much better than mounted flat on a roof, but it would require more racking equipment to achieve that.

@nikolaskallianiotis8622 Год назад

@@ProjectsWithDave In that case you stick with the normal half cut, mono PV. I mean, if racking costs double the money just to put some bifacials, it's better to avoid them. Watching your video experiment regarding panel orientation, I'm thinking of using a couple of big power output bifacials in EAST-WEST direction for harnessing sun early in the morning and late in the evening, especially during winter. That's I think is a more appropriate and efficient way to use these panels if you can't install them the right way.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Based on my most recent analysis, I think the best orientation would be SSE and SSW. You can see those results here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J7xnY84Ch1E.html

@nikolaskallianiotis8622 Год назад

@@ProjectsWithDave Yup, I know...

@optionstrader9637 2 года назад

It's nice to see an actual in depth comparison of bifacial to standard panels. I too live in ohio and plan on doing solar at home but im waiting on the paperwork side of things and ive missed out on panels and inverters so far because of it. But my plan is now to get 20 445watt canadian bifacials, two sungoldpower sp6548 inverters, 30kwh eg4 lifepower4 to run my whole house. The array is going to be mounted at 45° because i have a friend right down the road and he gets the best all around output at that angle and it should shed snow decent. Im going to have ac input with the inverters if/when my solar cant run the whole house in the summer bc the 3 ton ac unit. I use around 45-60kwh a day(summer) so im guessing it'll handle it.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

I think the steeper angle is a good choice to maximize winter production. However, if your max consumption is in the summer, you may want to go with 30 or 40deg.

@RandomActsOfMadness Год назад

Thanks for such a thorough video! For a winter test I’d like to see an ‘agrivoltaic’ version tested, with vertically mounted bifacial panels. No snow cover and nice irradiance on both sides. Do both south facing and west-east facing panels. Also, try out bifacial panels on a greenhouse roof, or even as a substitute to the normal roof glazing, as getting rid of any backing would help with thermals. At peak sun hours greenhouses get to much irradiance anyway, most greenhouses have to vent the heat away.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks for adding some more testing ideas.

@TheDishDoc Год назад

Great review!

@djwaffle Месяц назад

My truck topper is white and I think that factor with living in Arizona I should get pretty good results. Thank you for showing some real world results.

@ProjectsWithDave Месяц назад

You need space between the panels and the roof for the reflection to help. Watch this video on roof mounting bifacial panels: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mzqjCsZKUYQ.html

@karlacyber4095 4 месяца назад

Thanks bro for this hard work explaining .GOD BLESS

@ProjectsWithDave 4 месяца назад

Thanks for the encouragement!

@anisotropicplus Год назад

Very informative and well done video!

@danielnicholls6868 2 года назад

should lay your bifacials on there side. keep panels a little more vertical and step each row back the width of panel.[like a set of stairs] you should get a reflection from front of second and third rows plus less snow in winter. would be nice to see thanks. make your stand a just forward or back for summer or winter

@jec_ecart Год назад

You could put mirrors on the ground to maximise back side irriadiaton. Even painting the terrace bright white helps.

@xeostwog 10 месяцев назад

Consider a second solar array behind the first for a reflective surface, for more utilization (suns reflection) of the rear bifacial panel.

@droneanders7349 Год назад

Thanks Dave for a really god explanation on the differens. We have developed a system in the Norwegian market where we combine the panels (650Wp) with racks and feet for racks and at last a roof membran to simulate snow (Albedo=0,63). The first project (standing for 1 year) show us a Yield 1,3. This is only for big (and flat) roofs. If you want some pictures, let me know. Brg Anders

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Sounds like you have made a plan to intentionally maximize your output. I'd love to see the pictures. Thanks!

@Bozemanjustin Год назад

Yes I had an idea as soon as I heard about by facial solar panels They make a paint that is so white. It actually keeps the surface underneath it 15° cooler than ambient temperature So simply paint the concrete slab underneath your solar panels with that ultra white paint and you would probably get a copious amount of bounce back

@tomschulze6206 2 года назад

Hi Dave, another great Video, I just received 21 CS 450 WATT panels from Santan, almost had the same unloading problem that you did. The truck driver had a powered pallet jack and almost run it off the back of truck, lucky I had my skid steer with forks and got under the pallet before he dumped it. I am building my own ground mount, and putting up a 31 foot car port and using one side of the verticals of carport structure to attach Unistrut @ 30 degree supports for my mounting rails to attach to . Won't get the best performance on back side, but can't beat the price for panels. Now I am looking for an Inverter, and leaning on using a Growatt 7.6 kw or 10Kw as to not get into clipping hybrid inverter, they seem most reasonable priced and have a battery backup option that can be added latter.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Using panels to serve as a roof and power is a great strategy. If your orientation isn't ideal, you won't likely make much use of the 10kW inverter. You will probably be fine with the 7.6kW.

@takecareofyou6233 8 месяцев назад

perfect! Thanks!

@litnoregrets7551 Год назад

Great video. So informative. Thank you so much.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Glad it was helpful!

@asifalasad143 9 месяцев назад

Excellent informative knowledge, thanks a lot Sir.

@alainamyotte6127 2 года назад

hello Dave. Great video comparing bifacial panels. It would be interesting to see if a reflective ground sheet under the panel would increase the production in the summer.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Yes, I plan to put up more panels and try a few things like that.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Solar Panels from SanTan Solar: www.santansolar.com/product-category/solar-panels/?ref=EverydayDave Solar Panels from signature solar: signaturesolar.com/shop-all/solar-panels/?ref=SALE Find More information for this project and others on my website: projectswithdave.com Stock is constantly changing so I just linked to the currently available panels, just look for the best deal that meets your needs.

@mattgirgenti3595 2 года назад

I was literally looking at about 60 of the 445W this morning when I saw this video pop up. I am still torn and getting conflicting info on the advantage of bifacial when roof mounted. Having a black roof, I know it is not ideal, BUT is there enough gain to make it worth it. Price wise, the rated wattage is banking on back side absorption. Without it, I may be hurting myself versus a standard mono. have you seen (or produced) real world data for roof mount?

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

My data shows the panels perform a little better than a standard panel even with the back blocked. Maybe 4%-6% more. However, I wouldn't expect much especially with a black roof. If you mount them to the roof I believe the manufacture requires a minimum of 10cm or 4" clearance to the roof. If you live in a place with snow you might see some advantage to the panels heating up quicker and therefore shedding snow more quickly. Hope that helps.

@mattgirgenti3595 2 года назад

@@ProjectsWithDave It does help, and thank you. I am about to build a new building with a white/light metal roof. I am thinking I may plan on putting the panels there and not mess with current roof. (always easier to plan with new build). Much appreciated and love the videos!

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Thanks! Sounds like a good plan.

@hopd217 2 года назад

Only bad thing I’ve seen on their website is it’s all local pick up…is this correct?

@reidsiebert3837 Год назад

Last winter, in Illinois, I tested my new Q cell Bifacial 420/460 watt panel with a NEP micro inverter installed. The day was bright, cold, with a fresh snow cover, and the panel was laying on a tall drift, facing south at 45-degrees. The output of the panel was being clipped at 550-watts by the NEP 600. It blew me away !!! I too have the SE optimizers, and reading an info letter from SolarEdge it mentions that any extension cord from the panel to the optimizer should not exceed 12-inches. I’m currently installing my solar system with an SE7600, a Solar City Delta H6, a half a dozen NEP 600 micro inverters, EcoFlow solar generators, and a mix of 47 panels. The Delta will just charge my Tesla. Its a real Frankenstein system. Its a retirement project, and having fun installing it myself. All parts bought off eBay and Signature Solar. No bad experiences with purchases.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Wow, that's a great result. I'm looking forward to some winter results. The nice thing about the NEP micro inverters is you can build and expand a "Frankenstein" system and still get great results. I'm working on a video to show an install on my shed that uses a mix of panels and NEP micro inverters. Thanks for the info!

@richardoder3459 Год назад

I use twin 3120 watt bifacial arrays on dual axis trackers and during the summer I maxed out at just under 6700 watts. I placed the white granite rocks under my panels in order to catch as much reflection as possible plus my panels are elevated so I get reflective light from all angles.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Nice! What tracker do you use?

@richardoder3459 Год назад

@@ProjectsWithDave I built them myself out of 4” drill stem, cost around $1,000 including the electronics.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Cool! Sounds like a great project!

@RadioChief52 Год назад

I'm planning on dipping my toes in a small off grid system to keep the freezers and computers going and these panes are intriguing as I was thinking of installing them on a galvanized roof of a metal building. The south facing roof pitch is only 2 degrees so I would use a little more tilt on the panels to allow the morning and late afternoon sun to bounce off the shiny roof and onto the back of the panels.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

If you plan to elevate the panels off the roof at a diverging angle, I think you will see a noticeable benefit from the reflection. I think you would need 18" to 24" at the back edge to see a significant contribution.

@kimmer6 Год назад

I did just that. My battery pack runs 2 full sized 24 cu ft self defrosting refrigerators, an old 24 cu ft upright freezer and a 5 cu ft chest freezer. I bought the Signature 410 watt bifacial panels last year not knowing what I was doing. I have 4 panels at 40 degree elevation on a roof deck, and another single 410 watt damaged panel on the roof with no back lighting. My sun exposure is far from ideal but better than nothing. In August, they work well from 10AM to 3PM. At this moment I am preparing to install 4 more on the roof. I have aluminum channel mounts and ran into the clamp problem. The panels are 30mm thick and the middle Tee clamps work just fine. The end clamps needed modification to hold tightly. Most clamps are made for 35mm to 50mm frame thickness. The panels are about 40x80 inches each. I mounted them horizontal lengthwise, 2 rows of 40x160 inches on that 40 degree home built triangulated frame. The low profile won't catch the wind like if the panel was mounted vertically. I got really good at making MC4 jumper wires after buying the cable kits and with strippers and crimping tool. The gender of + and minus outer sleeves with OPPOSITE gender inside contacts was confusing at first but I can do them in my sleep now. They were clever enough to make sure the internal + and minus crimped contacts are different sizes to make them goof proof. Remember PPP on the solar panel output wire... Panel Prick Positive ...the male end is positive. All solar panel MC-4 female connectors are negative. My batteries stay between 80% charge and 97% charge so far. That old upright freezer is a real energy pig and runs at about 480 watts. I have 2 chest freezers, 5 and 10 cu ft being tested right now and they run at about 77 watts each, far cry from the 1984 built freezer. Good luck!

@Studio52Dallas 6 месяцев назад

Just found this video so I'm a little late to the party. But, I can attest the Blue Sun 460-bifacial panels are awesome. We put 12 on top of our barn with S5 Protea brackets above very light colored AG panel and the results are incredible. Actually a bit too good to believe. Last weekend, just before peak sun, with only 6 of the panels turned on, our Growatt inverter read it was receiving 122 watts @ 30 amps from the 6 panels. If that's truly the case, we're just over 600w per panel. I need to touch base with Signature Solar to see if that's even possible. Or possibly it's reading incorrectly. Either way, we're generating all the power we need. Thanks for making awesome videos!

@ProjectsWithDave 6 месяцев назад

Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad they are working well for you. You would not be getting 600W from 460W panels. Probably no more than 529W best case.

@lunatik9696 Год назад

The most obvious solution would be (angled) mirrors under the panels for maximum reflection. I have read white reflects well also.

@wdwtx2.0 11 месяцев назад

Good job.

@ProjectsWithDave 11 месяцев назад

Thanks!

@marekkaletka6746 Год назад

Great presentation, thanks. Why not give those rescue blankets a try? Not sure about hot summer days, but in winter they should help with snow melting, as they are particulary good at reflecting the infrared part of the spectrum. And even the good ones cost next to nothing.

@Bowlmark Год назад

If you have panels that do not face directly south then you can make a swivel base with an attached convex mirror (like on truck side-view mirrors but larger) behind and above the mounted panels. This will allow the unobstructed sunlight to reflect and spread out to the back of the panels. The vertical angle of the mirror should be downward based on the distance behind the panels. The horizontal angle can be adjusted via the swivel base every week or at will. This can also be done with south facing panels but the angles & size of the mirror would be determined based on your location. It may require some calculation and DIY with the swivel base setup but that is a small price to pay for increased solar production and instead of buying more panels.

@chrisrichardson8908 Год назад

You should do a video between micro investors, optimizers, and 1 charger/installer that you put in the house . Would love to know which one performs the best and gives you the best efficiency

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I already have plans to do a back to back comparison with NEP Micro inverters and the SolarEdge optimizer system in the future.

@hnag1907 Год назад

To get more power from Bifacial panels try using a mirror to reflect more light to the second surface.

@meganwinters5163 2 года назад

This is why I absolutely love my bifacial solar panels! My panels face South long way, but half tip east the other tip west on short edge. Then we separated them from one another just a tad. Remarkably I get to have my garden in-between cell splits 😊🌄👍. Yes this does cause the wiring issue of different voltage throughout the day, but I have separate mppt controllers for that.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Nice! Do you find the light passing through the panels to be a good balance between shading and sun exposure?

@meganwinters5163 2 года назад

@@ProjectsWithDave for plants "low light" plants are preferred. I haven't tried anything intensive yet, first full season with them. As far as light passing through and reflecting back (I've been told) lowers the wavelength/kelvin of that light and it can then be absorbed by the back of the panel (perhaps your tools can confirm this?). This was very evident our first snow fall. Cool panels plus light reflection lead to gained overall production. I noted that fresh wood chips in the garden are ok for this, but was thinking white sand, shell or stone would have been way better🤔. Hope this helps!

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Thanks for the response. I'm looking forward to evaluating different reflection surfaces and winter performance.

@tommak6516 Год назад

Now your setup is really a great thing. Probably the BEST I have heard of as far as an over efficient use of resources. But my question is does the tipping increase panel efficiency or is it only to facilitate the garden. What is the east/west tip n degrees? What exactly is the spacing?

@meganwinters5163 Год назад

@@tommak6516 please forgive my absence; this is honestly a trial and error kinda ordeal for each application. As mine is mostly setup for power production between the splits, however I like to grow lower light plants under my panels. But I do grow higher light plants between the two arrays. As for the tilt: it's going to be whenever your latitude is in degrees & then don't be afraid to split the difference between summer & winter seasonal efficiency. Personally I set mine closer to the middle in degrees & separating the panels apart approximately 2 ft. I get good production this way both reflected light to bifacial and ample plant growth. Hope this helps you!!! 😊🌞👍

@Umski Год назад

This kind of reminds me of the benefits of thin film panels over monos - I persuaded my installer to do half and half to prove the point and I have been getting 4-5% better performance from the the TFs on the same roof - that said they take up more space per kWp and cost more to install due to needing extra hardware. These bi-facials seem like the best of both worlds...

@gregandersen8475 Год назад

Thanks for doing this research! It is interesting with bi-facial, half-cell, different bus bar designs, and microinveters how much better panels are with shade and how much more real efficiency they show. Those NEP 600s are clipped at 390W per PV input, you may have had more! I am looking at doing a similar system with AP Systems DS3s and the Aptos 440w bifacial from Signature Solar, which also may experience clipping! The one thing that I am still trying to figure out is racking, do you like your Ready Rack system? Would you have gone with this system if you were doing things over again? I'm looking to do a ground mount with 30 72-cell panels, I would love to have it seasonally adjustable tilt and don't care about aesthetics. However, it seems like tilt adds too much money and these static mounts are likely going to be the best bet.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I do like my racking system and I would go with it again. There is a single pole system with manual tilt adjustment one of my friends is installing that would do what you want, but it requires special equipment to drive the posts so it would be more expensive. I only connected one panel to each NEP microinverter so there was no clipping in my results. The BDM600X is capable of 580W output per inverter. I got the same result from the microinverter and the optimizers.

@lorenzodelacruz1887 Год назад

Great technology update. I finally looked up San Tan and found I am only 5 hrs away. My son live s in Gilbert so I could throw 2 birds with one stone. Thanks for your research, you're a great man Charlie Brown! or Dave

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Shipping adds a lot to the cost of panels so that's great if you can pick them up yourself... and visiting family.... it's a win win : )

@SolarTechFL 10 месяцев назад

I always recommend bifacial, it gives me more buffer on yearly energy output

@rickharold7884 Год назад

Cool stuff

@serevinvukele8046 Год назад

Thanks.

@ssoffshore5111 Год назад

Great info, thanks! With that said, I'm not sold that they will make much of a difference on a typical asphalt roof installed at normal installation heights, especially panels not located on the edge of the array.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I would not expect them to do well in that situation. I would not pay extra for bifacials to install them on a dark asphalt roof. I am doing some testing in what I would consider to be a "best case" scenario with an install on my white shed roof. You can see that install video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Y8OGxdJ9cU8.html

@patrickmckowen2999 4 месяца назад

Excellent 👍

@ProjectsWithDave 4 месяца назад

I'm glad it was helpful.

@jc021286 Год назад

for reflection tests: Water underneath, see what the refraction of water does to the bottom side. Simple white underlay: tarp or spray paint the ground. I'm more partial to something more eco minded than spray paint.

@solarindependentutilitysystems 2 года назад

I have for thirty years lol Happy Utility Independence’s day

@titusm9837 6 месяцев назад

Thanks for your tests. Maybe a white cloth on the ground? (it would mimic the snow:))) or course some mirrors should help a lot. I guess this type of panels would work better on a white roof.

@jerrytipps9278 Год назад

I think you should mount them vertical with horizontal or angled mirrors/reflective material mounted under to help light both sides

@pizpower Год назад

yeah, if you could test this also with reflective paint would be great.

@SVAdAstra 4 месяца назад

Thanks!

@ProjectsWithDave 4 месяца назад

Thank You!!

@richardbutler1216 2 года назад

So one thing I read somewhere is that you should consider increasing the tilt angle from the ideal at your latitude by 5 - 8 degrees and also raise the mounts as high as you can. They also said that you should increase the ground area below the back of the panels you cover with something reflective, like white stones.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Since the power boost is going to have the biggest increase in mid summer it makes sense to adjust the tilt angle to favor winter production, that would result in a more even production throughout the year. Another advantage of bifacial! If you have a link to the information you read feel free to post it here. Thanks!

@mohd.saifullahmajid6029 Год назад

What about water for the reflective back surface?

@rolandrohde 2 года назад

These are surely ideal for solar fences and so on. On a roof the effect is surely small, but better than nothing.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

Roof installation is likely to have very little benefit, but I plan to check that later this year.

@HansFrisk Год назад

Maximizing bifacials ideas: Dolomite gravel as ground cover underneat, in the same fashion: Marble gravel under the panels, both reflect significantly more light from the ground. A even more expensive option is the white reflective paint used for road lines, tumble any rock in a bath of that paint and a highly reflective and durable ground cover will be produced.

@cojakiki3631 Год назад

I was planing on polished aluminum sheets, but this paint made me re think

@tommak6516 Год назад

The thought of something reflective under the panels is so obvious why was it not tried? What are we missing?

@HansFrisk Год назад

@@tommak6516 only those last 15% or so of extra efficency you can squeeze out of the double sided panels. Been doing some trials for "winter electricity" with 90 degree "standing" panels and reflective white paint on the wall behind them, roughly 1.5 meters distance also the ground 0.5 in front and spacing them with 1.5 panel-width gaps to the next in the row (chucked up 10 of them for testing purposes against a barn wall painted in reflective paint roughly 3m up the wall) Panel size where 2.2mx1.2m (largest bifacials I could find).

@HansFrisk Год назад

@@tommak6516 forgot to mention this is at 56 degrees North latitude, further south this will have to be recalculated for different sun heights ofc.

@TheMetalheadHomestead Год назад

Excellent video. I am toying with the idea of a solar car port with a white gravel base. My thinking is that during the day when no cars are present it should provide a sufficient amount of radiant light, especially on overcast days. I have been trying to decide if it would even be worth it when compared to standard panels. Your results lead me to believe that it just might be. Thanks!

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Yes, that sounds like a good application for bifacial panels.

@SFzip Год назад

use white landscaping pebbles to increase ground reflection

@mikudxman7662 Год назад

make the underside of the solar array sand for the xtra reflection. sand snow and water are all good reflective things but the most realistic is having a good sandbox.

@keithbrookshire Год назад

You could get more light to the backs of the panels by laying a layer white of tyvek on the ground. Gray or white gravel would be more permanent.

@JarredSutherland Год назад

I picked up 20 of these 445W Canadian Solar panels for my array that will be going in soon.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Nice!

@techtactics788 Год назад

Careful with them. I had Trina Bifacial early as last year where they were cleared from a solar plant where they were all cracking on the underside only after a few months of install. They were 485w and 490w panels.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

The glass was cracking? They were Trina brand? Do you have an article or source that can you give me more information on this? Thanks!

@techtactics788 Год назад

@@ProjectsWithDave I sell solar panels in the UK. Can send you photos.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks!

@2americangirl Год назад

You mentioned ideas on utilizing bottom under face of panels...would mirrors or something reflective do the job? Good video, thank you very much for information sharing. As a prepper working on complete off the grid lifestyle this is helpful.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I have some snow reflection results coming soon that will give you some idea of what you can expect to gain with reflection.

@aleezavega6331 Год назад

Place a mirror on the ground underneath it and make sure the light is reflected back onto the panel. That might work

@kureikurashi7528 7 месяцев назад

The 66% output you saw from the back is called the bifaciality factor which is typically at 0.6-0.7. The 30% gain is the additional irradiance available for the panel through the backside. Other than that, good video.

@ProjectsWithDave 7 месяцев назад

Bifaciality seems like a more precise spec for manufactures to list than bifacial gain. Although, I guess that might lead people to believe they could get more out of a panel than is actually realistically possible and they should be directly linked.

@sjones9553 Год назад

I recently bought (not yet received) Jinko Solar bifacial panels. I live on a hill that is facing south. The hill is a corn field. I live near London Ontario. In the winter when the field is covered in snow. So with the sun lower during the day I am hoping the slope behind the rack mounted panels will reflect the light into the back side of the panel better than a flat land setup.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Yes, it will likely have a significant effect. It would probably be beneficial to mount the panels a little more vertical than typical. You will shed snow more easily, and since you have bifacials you will still get good performance in the summer.

@Hybridog Год назад

I live in Austin TX and have been thinking about bifacial panels for my future system. I have imagined this scenario: My install would be roof mounted. I would install a white membrane roof instead of shingles. Then I would contruct a mounting rig that holds the panels probably a foot above that white surface probably using trusses of some sort. Then the panels would be placed in a checker board pattern or in vertical rows leaving large areas unblocked for sun to bounce off the white roof and onto the back side. My roof faces south so the orientation is good.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I'm sure you would get improved gain with that setup, but I don't think it would be enough to justify the extra materials and effort.

@chrissinclair8705 Год назад

Just put an angled mirror behind the panels to reflect the sun onto the back, make sure it's far enough away to let the morning sunlight hit the panels naturally and you're good.

@oceanside2152 4 месяца назад

The most efficient way.. is at the correct angle for the season (6 angle positions, 6 up, 6 down ) and tracking the Sun, east to west.. Which is what I build.

@backtothepast1850 Год назад

I have Canadian Solar 445 watt bifacials. I've had as much as 533 watts on a 40 degree midday in April. I have a very light colored limestone gravel below my array

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Nice!

@firedog1116 Год назад

Mylar silver film is cheap to buy in rolls and are excellent reflectors for your backside experiments.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks for the suggestion.

@captainmarkstearns4460 Год назад

Looking forward to utilizing water to reflect sun onto these bifacials on our yacht

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I imagine that would be pretty effective.

@MrRichBenn 22 дня назад

These make sense for ground mounts for two reason. First, wiring becomes easy as ground mounts can be used with string inverters without rapid shutdown(optimizers,micro-inverters). Second, one can add white gravel on the ground to get 20-30% extra power. On a roof mount, neither of these things are possible. Doing the math, ground mounts with string inverters and bifacial panels are the lowest cost/watt option, at least at the time I checked. Pretty much pays for the trenching and racking, a normal disadvantage to ground mounts.

@robcarl1100 Год назад

Simple and elegant solution. I'd be interested to see if the surface temperature is higher than the traditional type backing. This would of course affect life if elevated significantly.

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Good question, I'll have to wait for a hot summer day to check that.

@whatever_12 Год назад

Can you try setting up a test with some type of reflector.. Like outdoor aluminum theremal insulation, white acrylic roof costing or cool metals roofing under the panel.. It might work great on flat roof in my opinion

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

I'm currently testing on a white metal roof. Results will come in a few months.

@toddbissell4312 10 месяцев назад

Bifacial with stainless steel behind them. Looking to add solar to my Cybertruck. I have a couple of ecoflow 220 bifacial and could see a couple next to the cybertruck helping charge it while parked

@benjones8977 2 года назад

It sounds like ground mount is a much better way to get production then rooftop. How about trying some reflective materials underneath the bifacials? Reflectors or mirrors.

@ProjectsWithDave 2 года назад

I plan to try a white steel roof later this summer. Mirrors would likely be helpful, but delicate and hard to position. I was thinking mounting with a pond backdrop might offer good reflection.

@Dirt-Diggler Год назад

Great in depth video chap 👍 Most of the bifacial panels I've seen fitted in the UK are on vehicles and the used a mylar sheet under the panels to reflect the light that passes through 🤔 adds to the expense on a large array but is more feasible on a small scale. Again really good video 👍

@ProjectsWithDave Год назад

Thanks! Interesting use case, thanks for the info.