JollyDogs is equipped with 1440 watts of solar, all Sunpower domestic or industrial panels. That’s 2x470 watt panels and 2x250 watt panels. The installations of all are optimized to receive maximum sunlight with minimum partial shading. Each panel is individually wired to its own Victron MPPT controller. The house power batteries consist of 16 CALB 180 a/h 3.2 volt cells wired in a 4P4S configuration. Battery monitoring is provided by a Victron BMS which also provides partial house battery protection, and battery management is provided by a hybrid design outlined in a white paper by Stan Honey (www.Honeynav.com). A Xantrex 2000 watt pure sine inverter is used to power all AC appliances, and a Sterling 60 amp world wide power input battery charger / power supply is available should dock power be desired. Engine alternators are Mark Grasser 160 amp small case units with external rectifiers. Alternator regulators are Balmar MC614 programmable units.
Factory installed food and beverage refrigeration includes a 130-quart Isotherm upright refrigerator and a ICEER eutectic freezer system designed and built by Mal Betts. Additionally the port side helm locker has a Cool Blue cold plate system; the compressor unit is installed in the port engine compartment. All refrigeration is 12 volt powered. A CruiseRO 30 gph watermaker (AC high pressure pump) is installed in the starboard aft cabin hanging locker. The stove top, oven, and BBQ grill all run off compressed natural gas. When power is abundant, an electric kettle is used to heat water for beverages and dish washing. The hot water tank is heated either by an 800 watt AC element or coolant from the port engine. A Wallas dt40 blown air diesel heater is installed for cabin comfort in cooler climates. All lighting is LED. Marine electronics include a B&G Zeus3 12” chart plotter with 4G RADAR, external Triton displays and a Simrad AC-42 autopilot computer with full stroke hydraulic ram actuator.
In sunny mid-latitudes (+/- 23 deg from the equator) solar input has generally been adequate to run all systems with no supplemental power generation. Multiple days of clouds and rain create a requirement for fossil fuel burning to allow water maker or hot water heater operation. Recently a single burner induction cooktop has been added to examine the power demands of cooking meals without using LPG. In French Polynesia, all cooking gas sold is butane except in Papeete where propane is available. Bottled butane produces much lower pressure than propane and is a bit more energy dense per kilo. We have had pretty good success with butane, however perhaps due to the jetting of the stove top pan bottoms collect soot, and the oven doesn’t always stay lit, making baking rather challenging. Stove top eyes also seem to burn unevenly. These artifacts are thought to be a result of the low butane operating pressure. Since a full cylinder of butane barely registers pressure in the yellow zone on the LPG locker gas pressure gage, the composite cylinders must be removed and visually inspected to determine how much cooking gas remains. A full propane cylinder registers well into the green zone and the pressure obviously decreases as fuel is consumed. Propane burns cleaner and more consistently on the installed appliances.
The ICEER freezer unit is known to be extremely energy efficient. The upright Isotherm refrigerator, while making life convenient, is an energy pig. The Cool Blue cold plate system is very efficient in itself, however the quality of the helm seat insulation is suspect, likely contributing to energy waste. Solar input while underway is a function of heading and sail trim as the main sail might cast shade on one or more panels and the duration and intensity of direct sunshine on the panels varies with heading and sky conditions.
More about optimizing systems and operation in part 2.
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