Most boats experience shading from rigging, equipment poles, or other structures, which can significantly impact the performance of solar panels. At Custom Marine Products, we have developed a new, innovative solar panel design that minimizes power loss due to shading and cloud cover.
To understand the benefits of our new design, here’s some background on traditional solar panels. Typical solar panels are built with solar cells wired in series to achieve the necessary voltage. These cells are usually arranged in long strings along the panel, with each panel containing one to five series strings. In high-quality panels, each string is isolated by diodes, preventing shaded strings from affecting the performance of unshaded areas. However, shading on any string can still result in a considerable drop in power output.
Our CMPower shade-tolerant solar panels use a different approach. They feature multiple shorter strings of half-cut solar cells, divided into four isolated quadrants, each with its own diode. This design allows the panel to maintain high performance even with partial shading, such as from a boom crossing the panel. In testing, these panels produced double the output of standard panels under shaded conditions.
The CMPower panels are available in 115-watt and 145-watt models. For convenience, the junction box and wiring are centrally located on the panel, though this may require adjustment for some installations.
See the diagrams below for further details on this innovative design.
