AnswerID: 2715 Submitted: Tuesday, Apr 09, 2002 at 00:00
Nigel
replied:
The Unisolar panels are probably the best choice for mobile use as they don't have any glass and cope with heat and/or shade better. A 64 watt panel will put in about 4 watts in full sunlight. So if your
fridge averages 2 amps then you need 48 amps a day. If you can get 6 hours of good sunlight a day then 1 panel will put in 24 amps a day. So 2 panels (in theory) would keep you going indefinately, except that battery's need more input than they will put back out, so your battery may be flat after a couple of weeks, but thats a lot better than only getting a couple of days. So you'd need 3 panels to be self sufficient, but even a single panel will extend your battery usage time by 40%. Be wary of other brands of panel as they only put out their rated current when the temp is at or below 25 degrees and partial shade reduces their output to zero.
Reply 1 of 4