I wanted to park my bikes - or depending on the Season - my Renault Twizy somewhat protected and easy accessible.

After adjusting the yard fence to form a pocket I put a frame aluminium profiles on top. On top of that is a second frame which is angled at 10 degrees and on that are the solar panels.

10 degrees seem to be a viable compromise between self cleaning, sun capture, construction height and openings to the elements on the side.

Image: Frontal view on solar bikeshed

It was much more challenging than i thought to find solar modules with a form factor fitting the shed.

4 Standard modules where far to big. So I choose two modern 410 Wp modules and 3 130 Wp “camping” modules.

I got two 600 W dyne (“Bosswerk”) Micro-inverters cheap, because everybody want’s 800 W now and they have a regulatory issue with a missing relay.

Twizy Micro EV parking in solar Bikeshed

The 130 kWp panels are cabled serially but still seem to have issues getting enough voltage to start the inverter in the morning.

two Micro Inverters below 5 Solar Modules

I’m happy with the project. Things in the shed are getting much less wet during rain und not baking hot during sunshine.

I might close the gaps between the panels obe day but that is low priority- the thing was never meant to be totally watertight.

I also like it being some kind of Solarpunk landmark in our street.

  • FiveEnglish
    14•6 months ago

    I realize you have other factors to contend with, so I respect your design decisions. I’m guessing your latitude is about 45 degrees north based on the make of your car. For other people inspired to do something similar, 10 degrees is way too shallow even for summer. You’ll get much more current if you raise it to 20 or 30 degrees, especially in a neighborhood with this much wind gust protection. A good rule of thumb with what looks like an adjustable angle roof is latitude - 15 degrees in the summer, and latitude +15 degrees in the winter.

    You’ll have more than enough volts to start the inverter during winter mornings, but during the rest of the summer, direct wire some DC fans to blow on the back of the panels. Heat is voltage poison.