Green Power
Cruising off the beaten track or keeping your battery topped up on the mooring means you’re going to have to install some renewable energy capacity on the boat. The three basic options of solar, wind and hydrogeneration haven’t changed since Watt & Sea emerged 12 years ago, but the technology is always improving to make them more efficient.
Bluewater yachts are mostly going to choose two or even three of these techniques combined, to ensure that there is always power to harvest whether the wind blows or the sun shines. But if you’re simply looking for something to keep batteries topped up between visits to the boat, you could get away with simply a small solar panel or a micro wind turbine.
Solar panels
Manufacturers are getting cleverer at squeezing every last drop of power out of solar panels. Italy’s Solbian currently offers the most efficient systems, capable of turning up to 26 per cent of the sun’s energy into electricity. If that doesn’t sound like much, consider that a decade ago, panels for homes averaged about 14 per cent.
Monocrystalline silicon is still the best performing commercial option. Polycrystalline and semi-flexible panels are typically one third less efficient, although novel technology
