SOLAR POWER

Submitted: Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 at 15:27

ThreadID: 99062 Views:2731 Replies:1 FollowUps:3

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Solar Power

This article covers every aspect of solar and its design and installation in RVs (camper trailers, caravans and motor homes). It shows how much power solar panels really produce,

kevmac....(WA)

Just bought our upgrade van "Coromal 15ft Lowline PopTop and added a 120a/hr Deep Cycle Battery. Went out on a 4 day trip to test what we did and didnt need and trying to make minds up on solar power and use our inverter generator as last resort. Just trying to work out what capacity portable solar system would need to run with 40 Ltr Engel Port. Fridge and 1 - 3 led lamps. Any advice or experiences would be graciously appreciated.

Thank you

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Reply By: Member - John and Val - Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 at 16:45

Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 at 16:45

Hi Kevmac,

Depending on usage patterns and ambient conditions, a 40 litre fridge will draw about 20-30 Ah per day. The drain for a few LED lights is relatively very small. Ideally you shouldn't drain more than about 2/3 of your battery's nominal capacity, so under good conditions your 120Ah battery should handle the load for 3 and possibly up to 4 days without any charging.

To handle your load from solar will call for at least 30 Ah of charging per day. Assume 6 effective hours of sunshine per day, so you need sufficient solar to deliver at least 5 amps. An 80 watt panel fitted with an MPPT controller and aimed pretty well at the sun should do this, or 100 watts with a simple PWM controller. If mounting horizontal, rather than aimed at the sun, add 20%. Also make allowance for the fact that the sun doesn't shine every day!

I'd suggest that you may find that your needs will increase when you take to the road - charging torches, ipads, cameras, phones ...... for example, so a bit more solar would be good if you are aiming to be largely solar dependent. You might also consider charging from the vehicle using a dc-dc charger. (Our rig includes 200 Ah of batteries, a dc-dc charger that does most of the charging, and 150W of solar. With this lot we are totally independent of mains power.)

Suggest you would find Electricity for Camping a useful read.

Cheers

John

J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

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AnswerID: 498718

Follow Up By: kevmac....(WA) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 at 19:10

Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 at 19:10

That article was indeed a good read.............

Most of this sort of info I should really remember from my days as a PMG / Telecom / Telstra Technician........... getting old I guess lol

Thanks for the referral to the article by the way. Will try to remember to let people know which way I went and how it suited me.

FollowupID: 774715

Follow Up By: GEMAC Solar and Power - Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012 at 21:32

Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012 at 21:32

Hi Kevmac

John and Val have pretty much got it right.
I have 2 120 watt panels and 250 Ah of battery and just spent 4 days bush camping.
The princess used both hair dryer and hair straightener every day along with the coffee machine in the mornings.
Batteries had more in them when we left than when we started.

And it will only get better as I do the cable upgrade from regulator to the batteries.
Yes like every cvan manufacturer, The guy that did mine like them have No Eye Deer about cable size and current capacity and "volt Drop"
They even think water will flow uphill... Another story.
So if you are going to add panels etc ensure you use the right size - gauge cable.

Regards

Geoff

FollowupID: 774907