System design check — am I making a mistake?

Mixed orientation works if you've thought it through properly, but I'd push back on the "more hassle" comment — depends entirely on your roof space and what you're actually trying to achieve.

On a static caravan you're not moving it daily, so the real question is: what's your winter generation priority? If you're genuinely trying to max out December/January output, east-west can help flatten the generation curve across the day. But if you've got decent south-facing space, go south-facing first — a single orientation is simpler to wire, easier to clean, and honestly more efficient in the UK's typical winter cloud.

What's your latitude and how much roof space have you got? That'll make a real difference. Also — 5kW of panels is solid for a static setup, but what's your battery capacity and winter usage looking like? I've got a similar-spec boat system and the panels are only half the equation; I found out the hard way that oversizing panels without matching battery and loads is a false economy.

The 16x Renogy units are decent modules. Just make sure your MPPT controller can handle the actual voltage and current you

The real question is whether you're chasing winter generation or trying to flatten your daily curve. I've been running a similar setup on my motorhome for three years now, and here's what I learned the hard way:

East/west split sounds clever but you'll lose peak output on both sides compared to a south-facing array. You'd need significantly more panels to compensate. If winter generation's your concern—and it should be in the UK—you're better off with a single south-facing bank tilted steeper. Even in December, a properly angled array beats the flattened output you get from mixed orientation.

That said, if your static caravan has actual space constraints (roof shape, shading), then east/west makes pragmatic sense. Just don't fool yourself that it's optimising anything—it's compromising.

What's your actual winter consumption target? That'll determine whether 16x 330W is enough anyway. I'd want to see your battery size and realistic daily loads before signing off on the panel count. A lot of folk spec panels optimistically then realise their bottleneck was always the battery or inverter.

Mixed orientation only works if your site actually allows it. Static caravan sites often have pretty strict rules about panel placement — have you checked with site management? Some won't permit anything that isn't south-facing, aesthetics reasons mostly.

That said, if you're genuinely trying to flatten generation across the year, east/west splits can help. But you'll take an efficiency hit in summer when you've got overproduction anyway. Winter is where you'll notice the benefit — though even that's marginal unless you're in a deep valley or surrounded by trees.

What's your actual use pattern like? If you're there year-round, mixed makes more sense than if it's weekends only. Also depends what battery capacity you're looking at — a 5kWh LiFePO4 system will behave very differently to a 15kWh one with those panels.

The real win with 16 panels on a static would be proper racking and keeping everything accessible for cleaning. That's often overlooked and costs you more than any orientation compromise.

Having just gone through this exact dilemma with my own caravan setup, I'd ask @EdHamilton a couple of practical questions before committing:

First — what's your actual winter usage pattern? Mixed orientation sounds clever in theory, but if you're only using the caravan weekends, you might be overthinking it. My site gets maybe 3–4 hours decent winter sun anyway, so I ditched the complexity and went full south-facing.

Second — what's your battery capacity? This matters more than people realise. If you're sitting on 10kWh LiFePO4, flattening your daily curve is sensible. If it's smaller, winter generation becomes marginal regardless of panel angles.

@WattCharlie's point about site rules is absolutely spot-on though — check your terms before ordering. Mine explicitly forbids anything "non-standard," which ruled out my dual-tilt plans immediately.

What's your battery spec and typical winter consumption? That'll tell you whether mixed orientation is actually worth the mounting hassle or just extra complication.

@EdHamilton — couple of things worth considering before you buy:

Winter generation vs. daily load matching — what's your actual winter usage pattern? If you're heating with gas/oil, you might not need the winter generation capacity everyone bangs on about. I made that mistake initially and ended up with oversized array for my actual needs.

Static caravan site rules — @WattCharlie's spot on here. Have you checked with your site management? Some are fine with roof-mounted, others are oddly restrictive about aesthetics. Worth knowing before ordering panels.

Battery sizing — you've mentioned panels but what's your storage spec? 5kW array without knowing your battery capacity is a bit putting the cart before the horse. Are you going LiFePO4 or lead-acid? That massively affects your system design.

What's your typical daily consumption? That'll help folks (including me) give you better feedback on whether 5.28kW is actually what you need or just a nice round number you've landed on.

Mixed orientation can work but honestly depends on your actual winter needs. What's your minimum daily load through Dec-Feb? That's the real limiter.

16x 330W is solid capacity-wise, but if you're pulling say 30-40kWh/day year-round you'll struggle regardless of panel angle. Static sites usually get better winter sun than boats/vans though, which helps.

Check your site T&Cs properly before ordering — some are strict about aesthetics, others couldn't care less. Worth a quiet chat with the site manager first.

What's your battery spec looking like? That matters more than panel count for winter when generation's patchy. If you're relying on gen-set backup for Jan-Feb that's actually fine — not everything needs to be pure solar.

@EdHamilton, the mixed orientation approach is sound for caravan duty — good thinking there. However, 16x 330W is roughly 5.28kW nominal, which'll be optimistic in practice. Winter output in the UK rarely tracks nameplate capacity; expect 15–25% of rated in December depending on your latitude and panel angle.

The critical question nobody's asked yet: what's your battery capacity and what's driving the 5kW requirement? If it's inverter headroom for occasional kettle use, fair enough. But if you're sizing for continuous load matching, you'll need significant storage to bridge the dark hours, particularly November through February.

For a static caravan, I'd seriously consider your usage pattern. Most off-gridders I know with fixed installations run 2–3kW of panels per kWh of daily requirement, banking on battery and gas backup for winter shortfalls. 5kW panels can work, but only if you're comfortable with limited winter generation or have a solid Plan B (mains top-up, generator, propane heating).

What's your battery spec and actual winter daily load? That'll determine if

@EdHamilton — quick question before you pull the trigger: have you actually logged your consumption over a full month yet? I ask because I made the same assumption with my van setup and found winter load was nothing like what I'd estimated.

Mixed panels are sensible for a static caravan, but the real issue is whether you've got the battery capacity to bridge those inevitable grey days. If you're banking on 5kW generation in December you'll be disappointed — realistically you might see a third of that depending on your location.

What's your battery size? And are you planning to stay grid-tied or fully off-grid? That changes everything about whether this spec actually works. A Victron MPPT controller can give you proper generation data if you've already got some panels up, which would be worth doing before scaling to 16.

Also worth asking: is the static caravan south-facing? Orientation matters far more than panel count.

Mixed panels work, but @FormerMariner1's got the right question. Without actual consumption data you're flying blind. I logged mine for three months before ordering anything — caravan loads vary wildly depending on whether you're using heating, water pumping, etc. What's your expected winter draw in watts? That'll determine if 5kW capacity is overkill or tight.

@EdHamilton — whereabouts are you located? That'll affect winter generation massively. Also, what's your inverter spec? 5kW panels into an undersized inverter defeats the object. I'd echo @FormerMariner1 — a month of actual meter readings beats any calculator. Static caravans vary wildly depending on heating setup.

Been down this road with my motorhome setup. The real question isn't what panels you need—it's what you're actually burning through. I logged mine for three months before finalising anything. Winter generation in the UK is brutal; mixed orientation helps, but you'll still be grid-dependent or running a genset some days. What's your battery capacity looking like? That's often the bottleneck folk overlook.

@EdHamilton — are you planning to live in it year-round or seasonal? That'll determine whether you can get away with mixed orientation. Also, what's driving the 5kW figure? That's quite substantial for a static caravan unless you're running AC loads. What's your actual daily consumption looking like?

@EdHamilton — good call on mixed orientation. Before finalising, what's your battery capacity and inverter size? Also crucial: what's your actual winter load profile? A 5kW inverter sounds decent, but if you're only drawing 1-2kW average, you might be over-specced on panels and under-specced on storage. What figures are you working with?