2 Panels Instead Of 3?

[mohawk]

I think flat on the ground sounds good--now if only my brain would stop spinning. Denise

[CarlD]

Mohawk,
Unfortunately you inadvertently turned on one place where I like all the calculations--the old celestial navigation via sextant became a hobby of mine several years ago...usually I like to avoid the math and buzz words, but with that stuff I get like Chem_Geek!

(first time I plotted my house's lat/long I cheerfully informed my wife the 1200' hill we lived on was 200 miles out to see! )


But in more practical terms, my panels are perfectly flat--because they are also my pool deck. My strongest sun is still mid-day, but I get a lot of morning and late afternoon sun--they are aligned well for that. I don't get the ground effect but the water keeps my deck cool!

Normally, the pool stores and solar companies say you need about half the surface area of your pool as panels--but I think that's only for very early spring and late fall. Otherwise in mid summer your water will hit 100! You are at the low end, just over 20% but I guarantee you can make a solid difference with that--been there, done it. I have about 35% of my surface area in panels, and that's more than enough--but I use a solar cover if it's going to cool off at all...and yes, I do have a reel for it.