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I have a 100w panel (fixed flat on the roof) and 2 x 110 AH batteries that never seem to drain !! I use an inverter to run a 17" LCD TV for up to 4 hrs at a time plus the usual other stuff (LED lights though) I have never had the inverter cut out due to low battery voltage!
I can see the advantage of "following the sun" with your panel BUT what a pain in the *** it will be having to keep shifting it about.
If its flat on your roof you dont even have to think about it. It just sits there "Doing its thing" whenever there is daylight. So from first thing in the morning (while you are probably still in bed) to last thing at night it is puting something into the batteries! It might even work out that the fixed panel puts MORE back into your batteries because it is always available for use during daylight hours, even if you have gone off for the day.
I also connect the starter battery up using Clive M-G-T-B's bridging fuse. Never ever have to worry about flat starter battery.
I would be inclined to experiment to see if "just" having it flat on the roof will do the job you want before faffing about with complex moveable mountings.
Height wise the panel does stand up from the roof but not as much as the Status aerial or the roof light !!!
Now the panel looks good and is surprisingly heavy. Never expected it to have such a weight behind it.
There were some instructions that came with the controller, but it's pretty self explanatory if you look at the sticker on the top, the only issue I have is how do I hook up the connectors to the controller? From the panel the connections are ones I've never seen before and seem to be some sort of plug, while the controller is basically put a bare wire in, screw a plate down to connect it.
I am guessing I just have the controller permanently connected to the battery, I'll go find some decent wire from maplin, whereas for the panel I will need to find a male and female version of those connections and wire that up to them up to the connector allowing me to connect/disconnect the solar panel as needed.
As it is, I am going to try having it positioned rather than permanently placed on the roof. I'll also need to find some sort of stand for the panels so I can direct them at the sun throughout the day.
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