backchannel: vertical panels stunt

[re: this picture]

IMO the vehicle in question is a silly/fun stunt but I will push back on several points.

Solar panels only get their max wattage when looking directly at the sun (so not vertically up)

1. there’s more to Standard Testing Conditions (STC) than angle of incidence
2. it’s not a choice between max wattage and nothing
3. there are latitudes/seasons where a south-facing vertical panel will yield more than a horizontal panel, as a few seconds with a tilt calculator will demonstrate

Side panels can’t work properly because half of their diffusive globular view is blocked by earth

Depends on what properly means. If it means producing rated wattage then most panels work improperly outside the lab.

An extreme example of additional harvest under suboptimal conditions is bifacial panels. The backside cells are facing away from the sun but can contribute non-trivial amounts of power near highly-reflective horizontal surfaces like snow cover or water.

sky at least refracts light from sun

1. That parking lot isn’t painted with Vantablack
2. Under clear skies the insolation from atmospheric diffusion is ~15%; under cloudy or overcast skies it’s much greater. Under overcast my flat and tilted panels typically have very similar yields as a percentage of their ratings.
3. based on the die elektrogang sticker the owner is likely from Germany where blue skies are a rarity and extreme diffiusion common. When I was stationed in [the former West] Germany it was always surprising (and painful) when the sun actually came out.

You’re not living in the desert,

I am, and so are many other fulltimers. Most of the time my mounted array is the tallest object for many miles.

It’s not a topic for armchair theorizing or Boldly Stated Proclamations among boondockers; it’s our primary source of power. Watt-hours talk, bullshit walks.