What easy shade options for protecting solar batteries?

[scottishmum]

Looking for options for shading our installed solar batteries to minimise sun exposure directly to area - 180cm wide should allow enough shade for the area.

Unsure if we should get blinds or use a shade cloth to give shade and protection from sun. Happy to roll away or pull down in windy conditions - we just need to give protection against direct sunlight in afternoon. 

any help or ideas would be great for someone with no real knowledge. 

[AlanM52]

Hi @scottishmum,

My main DNA is Scottish but I have never been there and when I started asking questions family members would leave the room 😯

To get started search the workshop with keywords like 'solar batteries' and 'solar battery cover' for some ideas.

Would be useful to know your location, the prevailing weather conditions and what compass point that side of the house is facing.

Cheers

[Dave-1]

Good Afternoon @scottishmum 

There has been lots of discussions over solar batteries and covering them, protection from sun and also from view.

As a general range of questions

-Do the batteries get warm?

-What is the manufactures recomendations?

-What did the installers say?

They all come to mind, as a thought process

-The batteries are installed within the Australian set of rules so should be safe as they are.

-Installing anything flammable around the batteries will negate the above.

-Insurance wise, what happens if we install something and the batteries catch alight?

I would be hesitant to install anything over or covering the batteries. 😕 I would also ask the manufactures what they recommend as presumably they would have done some type of testing while building the battery system up to sell.

Dave

[scottishmum]

I did some search - thanks for that. But we’re just looking for shade options versus covering them.

It sits facing SW and gets a couple of direct sunlight exposure.

was recommended by the installer to add in blinds or similar to reduce direct sunlight exposure.

[scottishmum]

Thanks Dave.

We’re just after protecting them from direct sunlight exposure as recommended by the installer - he said a blind or similar to support them from direct sunlight exposure in the afternoon.

We’ve only just had them installed and they do feel warm in the afternoon. 

Thank you for all the information!

[AlanM52]

Hi @scottishmum,

I have done this for other people.

Shade Mesh Box.

Cheers

[EricL]

Hello @scottishmum 

Your idea of a roller blind sounds like a good idea. But @Dave-1's safety questions come to mind, I recommend calling the battery manufacturer and asking them if it would safe to install roll away blinds and how far must the rollaway blinds be from the battery housing itself.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric