I've just come across yet another sailing magazine article giving inaccurate and misleading information on solar power for boats. (Why don't they bother to do some research and ask the real experts?) So here is a list of ten myths and busts in an effort to set the record straight. MYTH 1 - Glass solar panels with aluminum frames are the most efficientBUST - No, no, no! The type of cell determines how efficient a solar panel is, not how it is constructed. Coastal offers three types of panels all made with the highest available efficiency SunPower® cells: 1) aluminum-framed glass panels,2) razor -thin walk-on panels, and3) flexible panels for installation in canvas areas like biminis. All three types enjoy the same high efficiency because they all use the same cells with 22.5% efficiency. Glass panels are more common and less expensive, but not necessarily more efficient. MYTH 2 - You can't walk on solar panels.

We often get asked about the latest developments in solar technology, and when will they be available, if suitable, for boat applications. I am by no means a solar expert, geek would be more appropriate, but I do keep my ear to the ground and try to keep up with the latest developments.The people at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) make this a lot easier by publishing their chart (below) of research cell efficiencies for various solar technologies. This shows the state of play of the very best of the best cells available of each type of solar, measured by their efficiency, i.e. how much of the available solar irradiance is converted into electrical power. Here's a quick synopsis of the chart.

Did you know that there is an official measurement for a hairs breadth? Well, according to my conversion tables: one hairs breadth = 100 microns (micrometers, millionths of a meter) So the thickness of a regular silicon solar cell, at around 200 microns, or 2 hairs breadths, is pretty darn thin! And when you consider that the SunPower® back-contact cells that are used by Solara and Solbian are even thinner, at about 1.5 hairs breadth, and that these cells are essentially glass in nature, you will no doubt appreciate that they will need careful handling. The SunPower® cells used in Solbian flexible panels are high grade cells that are purchased guaranteed free from physical defects, but careless handling in storage, shipping or on site, together with improper installation, can initiate cracks in the cells which will be invisible to the naked eye. In the majority of applications these cracks will be comparatively harmless and may not cause any problems other than a small loss of power, but

Here at Coastal Climate Control, we talk to a lot of boat owners, at shows and in the course of daily business, and in general most of the people we talk to who have wind generators seem to be less than ecstatic about their performance. We commonly hear gripes that what these device's specifications promise on paper seldom seem to materialize in real life application. And then the cost, complexity, and effort of installing wind generators apparently put a lot of people off, not to mention the unease of having sharp-edged blades whirling away within a daggers-throw of one's head! Some wind generator owners report that their systems perform well on passage, when the boat is beating into the wind, although it is well known that gentlemen never go to windward ... but then when the destination is reached and the hook dropped in the sheltered anchorage of an island, the wind generator seems rarely to have the oomph needed to fully charge the battery, at a time when reliable charging is most needed. So, have wind generators had their day?

When a manufacturer states their solar panel's power ratings, one must bear in mind that this is onl

The good news for those with flexible solar panels with a polymer top coating is that maintenance is