I have never really noticed how low in the sky the sun gets in winter here in Texas. With my panels laying more or less flat, the angle the sun hits the panels at is pretty low. So I decided to change the mouting to permit a change in the angle, at least in one direction.

Originally I had just attached the angle iron brackets directly to the fence with deck screws. Simple and sturdy for sure. This week I bought some brackets and two more pieces of angle iron to prop the panels up in a more southerly facing direction. I was hoping for a string of nice sunny days for a good comparison but it it looking like that isnt going to happen. But I expect a noticable change in output.

Some lessons being learned. Location is important. Right now the panels are blocked by the house (and trees) in the afternoon. I could have moved them further away from the house, and I may yet, but this used less wire and was more convenient.

I’m also getting the idea that in some old fashioned way this technology can put you in closer contact with the natural world around us. My first inclination was to think about sizing an array for absolute worst case. But maybe it is simpler to make adjustments to your lifestyle. Don’t do laundry on cloudy days. Wasn’t this how Grandma used to do it?