Nigel Calder & Jeff Cote Talk Marine Electrical - Part 10 of 11 - Large Solar Arrays 

I agree with using solar to save money, example no shore power for 8 months at $80 per month = $640 savings. Been doing this for the last 4 years.

Jeff - which semi rigid panels do you recommend? Thx!

Hey jeff all the back igniting on my circuit breaker panels and my helm switch panel have gone out. This is on a 2008 31 ft Mainship pilot. After further investigation it seems that the light source was designed with EL wire. I have tested the DC to AC inverters and they seem to be ok producing 142v AC. The units are designed for 300-600cm. I can only imagine that all the EL wire has reached end of life and needs to be replaced. All the EL wire has been duct taped to the back of the panels and will require removal of all the electronics before the tape and EL wire can be removed. Do you recommend replacing with EL wire again or do you recommend something else such as LED strip lighting(which is difficult to bend to illuminate each breaker label) or something else? Whatever It is will require a lot of time and will probably be my winter project. For now I will continue to use my trusty flashlight. Thank you for your great advice!