What size watt my solar panel ??
Submitted: Monday, Oct 06, 2014 at 16:25
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Member - Brian
Hello all you good people , i have 2 individual solar panels on my caravan roof which was with the van when i bought it , think it is a BP make and it fits in a ready made square aprox 1170 x 700 but i dont know the amperage of it , looked at the Bp parapenalia that came with but no indication of the watts ?? On sunny day its putting in about 3a/hours . I know it sounds dumb not to know the wattage but any educated guess would be appreciated !! More questions to follow when we have dealt with this one
The 2 panels are together
Reply By: B1B2 - Tuesday, Oct 07, 2014 at 09:55
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2014 at 09:55
Brian,
Wattage - Power = Amps x Volts
= 3 x 17 volts (approx) = 51 watts.
The panel puts out a high enough voltage to charge the battery taking into account losses due to volt drop.
Measure the Amperage output in series with the battery to
check it with an el cheapo multimeter. It is a fairly low output that would probably only run a few lights.
Cheers,
Bill
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Reply By: Member - Bruce C (NSW) - Tuesday, Oct 07, 2014 at 20:09
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2014 at 20:09
Hi Brian,
Depending on your needs I would suggest, as others have said, that you may be wise to replace the old panels as they may be less than efficient given current technology.
At 3 Ah they would not be doing your battery/ies any favours if drawing say 5 amps to run a potable frig or such like.
Suggest you look into updating your panels if necessary with maybe one larger one as the larger panels are better buying, watts per dollar wise. A new regulator may be advised in that case also.
You could go for one 150watt or one 200 watt panel whichever may fit in the same space.
Check out ebay and see what is available size, wattage and price wise to suit your requirements.
You are better off with a some "over capacity" rather than "under capacity" as it will stand you in good stead on cloudy days etc.
Cheers, Bruce.
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