Solar Panels for Narrowboats & Canal Boats

With diesel costs at an all time high, solar panels for narrowboats, canal boats and barges has become of far greater interest throughout the canal network. Not only have solar panels become a more cost effective option than previously, they have the added benefits of significantly reducing carbon emissions from generator use, greatly reducing noise levels and helping to look after the beautiful country in which we live.

The main problem has been, and possibly always will be, that the panels do detract from the traditional appearance of narrowboats or barges. Whilst we will never be able to make this issue disappear completely, we have tried to create a range of different solar panel types that will allow you to minimise any visual impact.

From a financial standpoint, an energy aware boat owner could comfortably reduce their power demand to the region of 2.0kW of electricity a day whilst moored:

Nevertheless, at current diesel prices, this costs about £1.70 and the 2-litres of diesel produces about 5kg of carbon emissions. Whilst these are not huge numbers, multiplied up for a full year (live aboard), this equates to 694-litres of diesel, £592 and nearly 2-tonnes of carbon.

Solar power is a repeatable, low impact power source that can go some way to lowering the amount of generator use on our canal network, reducing carbon emissions, diesel costs and noise levels. A typical 200W (~13-16A*) system will generate about 700Wh in autumn and 1600Wh in summer and a high quality glass-fronted system will only cost in the region of £950. There are, however, a number of different solar options open to boat owners:

1. Panel type:
1. Glass fronted are without a doubt the most popular, offering maximum power generation and lowest cost. There are two main types; polycrystalline and monocrystalline. 'Polycrystalline' are the cheapest, but have lower energy conversion efficiencies (9-16%) so are always larger and don’t work so well in very hot weather. 'Monocrystalline' are more expensive, but are very efficient (up to 21.5%) and are therefore smaller and more effective in hot weather and on cloudy days.
2. Polycarbonate 'semi-flexible' panels are the most expensive and generally use polycrystalline technology. However, they are slightly flexible (up to 3-degrees) and can be fixed with a silicone adhesive and walked on.
3. Fully flexible panels are not too expensive on their own, but they use 'amorphous' solar technology - the same as in your calculator. This technology is now quite dated and has the lowest efficiency, making the panels very large. However, these are fully flexible, very thin stuck to the deck and walked on, only adding 2mm to the deck height.


2. Charge Controller System (required to connect the panels to the batteries and prevent overcharging):
1. Basic charge controllers use 'PWM' (pulse width modulation) and have only an ON/OFF indicator or very simple LED charge level indicator.
2. Mid range controllers still use PWM but are fitted with LCD displays showing charge status and battery health and allow greater control of system parameters; many also include battery cycling and recovery software.
3. MPPT controllers (maximum power point tracking) are the most expensive of the charge control options, but they have the added benefit of maximising power consumption to individual panel performance. An added benefit of MPPT controllers is that they allow you to use a mixture of high and low voltage panels and they can also convert the voltage without losing power.
4. Remote displays can be fitted to some of the mid-high end controllers allowing a digital panel to be fitted to a dashboard or control panel, where the solar system can be controlled and the battery status monitored.
5. Split System controllers are specifically designed for boats and motor-homes as they can be used to charge two discrete battery systems; typically 10% charge to a starter battery and 90% charge to the battery bank.

If you need a 24V solar system, please read our information sheet: 24V Solar Panel Systems.

For further help and advice regarding solar panels and their uses on narrowboats, canal boats and barges, please contact us directly or get in touch with our expert advisor, Chris Betteridge of CJB Services (chrisandles26@yahoo.com)