Thinking very seriously about solar panel and system purchase and installation next year before camping season starts for our 26 ft fiver. Just a simple system to be used when camping off of the grid in provincial parks, keeping batteries up(2-6 volt T105 Trojans), etc.Anyone have any comments about where the best place, company, dealership, etc for this in the BC Okanagan, southern interior or Vancouver area may be?Southern Alberta is also an option if a good place exists.Thanks,Morley

I got my stuff from a guy in Bowser here on the Island. He had panels at a buck or else than a buck a watt. Unfortunately, he has faded off into the sunset.While I haven't dealt with these guys, their prices look rather good: https://www.wegosolar.com/They are in Chemainus. And you did need an excuse to do a trip to the Island....R

Hi,You need to know what you want before you grace the door of any installer.Here is a simple flow chart.Budget-->Energy Audit-->Battery bank size-->number of watts-->PWM or MPPT. What ever type of controller is chosen, make sure it has adjustable set points and a temperature probe that is on the battery.If you use solar as a battery charger, one rule of thumb is between 60 and 150 watts of panels per 100 amp-hours of storage. The smaller the battery bank the higher the wattage needed (per 100 amp-hours). Here is a link to the rather special spreadsheet which includes an energy audit, that N8GS has created to help size solar battery charging systems!solar spreadsheet by N8GS If you full time or use an inverter lots, then populate the entire unshaded area of the roof with panels. I'm considering replacing my awning with solar panels.For a nice explanation of solar, try this link:Golden rules of solar

Check out craigslist..... do a search in the "services" section. Just type in "solar" and see what comes up. Yes, you need to be careful and check them out but there are honest people there along with the scammers. Those that are legit can help you figure out what system you need based on your requirements.

The best price I found in Canada was Canadian Solar in Ontario - but the shipping cost doubled the tab. With shipping, the best price was Amazon.ca selling a Renogy 100 watt kit for $200 including shipping and controller, in 2014. I think it is more like $300 now with the reduced value of the CDN $.I found that 100 watts was adequate to boondock indefinitely in summer, for fridge, LED lights and occasional use of the furnace in our small motorhome. If you watch TV for several hours in an evening, you would need another 100 watts just for it - and another 50 amp hours of battery.A spreadsheet would be handy to calculate the amount of energy you want to use and from that and how sunny it is, the panel power needed, and the battery capacity to store what is needed overnight. I don't see how one could calculate the panel size from the battery storage a manufacturer happened to install.

Harvey51 wrote:The best price I found in Canada was Canadian Solar in Ontario - but the shipping cost doubled the tab. With shipping, the best price was Amazon.ca selling a Renogy 100 watt kit for $200 including shipping and controller, in 2014. I think it is more like $300 now with the reduced value of the CDN $.Renogy still sells their 100 watt kit on Amazon.ca. Current cost is $249.00.A single 100 watt Renogy panel on Amazon.ca is $199.00. I ordered one of these earlier this week and should be delivered Monday.Another ordering option would be from Solar Wholesaler based out of Calgary. Prices (for Canada) are not too bad, however not sure of the quality of their panels. Also need to watch their shipping costs which - depending on the shipping destination, can get costly.

Best place for Solar system purchase and install BC Alberta

19 Replies

hinterland
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
GaryKH wrote:
hinterland wrote:
GaryKH wrote:
We have a 100W portable panel that works great in most locations. Camping in some locations restricts you to being in shade some, or all the time. With a portable unit, i can move it around to be in the full sun a lot more than if i had it just on the roof. Easy to connect also.

Hi there,
We would be interested in learning more about this. What brand is it and where can you buy it? Thanks

Hi there, we bought it at a local RV store 3 years ago. It is made by Carmanah Power. Google Go Power
Portable solar (did i do good Gary LOL!)
One has to watch out for cheap, offshore units that make false claims (saying they are UL, or CSA approved).I don't know how you would go about finding this out, other than cross checking all the approved products from CSA? Most people wouldn't. Nice if there are customer reviews, but they have to be taken with a grain of salt also.

Thank you for the info, will be on the watch for it.
Deb
GaryKH
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
hinterland wrote:
GaryKH wrote:
We have a 100W portable panel that works great in most locations. Camping in some locations restricts you to being in shade some, or all the time. With a portable unit, i can move it around to be in the full sun a lot more than if i had it just on the roof. Easy to connect also.

Hi there,
We would be interested in learning more about this. What brand is it and where can you buy it? Thanks

Hi there, we bought it at a local RV store 3 years ago. It is made by Carmanah Power. Google Go Power
Portable solar (did i do good Gary LOL!)
One has to watch out for cheap, offshore units that make false claims (saying they are UL, or CSA approved).I don't know how you would go about finding this out, other than cross checking all the approved products from CSA? Most people wouldn't. Nice if there are customer reviews, but they have to be taken with a grain of salt also.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Dec 12, 2015
Try these folks.

http://solarwholesaler.ca/
hinterland
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
GaryKH wrote:
We have a 100W portable panel that works great in most locations. Camping in some locations restricts you to being in shade some, or all the time. With a portable unit, i can move it around to be in the full sun a lot more than if i had it just on the roof. Easy to connect also.

Hi there,
We would be interested in learning more about this. What brand is it and where can you buy it? Thanks
GaryKH
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
We have a 100W portable panel that works great in most locations. Camping in some locations restricts you to being in shade some, or all the time. With a portable unit, i can move it around to be in the full sun a lot more than if i had it just on the roof. Easy to connect also.
garyhaupt
Explorer
Dec 12, 2015
Morely...you don't say where in BC you are, so if you would? then some could offer outfits that are close enough, maybe.

There is a great RV shop in Burnaby that is the usual high dollar for work, but man, they do know their stuff and do excellant work. You could take them whatever you buy and they'd install. Travco.

If you are close to the border, you 'could' place a US order and have it sent to a reciever at any of the border towns. I do that with items and it's 5 bux to recieve it and they hold for pick-up. But, has been pointed out, the devalued Loonie is killer, right now.

One thing to bear in mind when calculating solar needs..if you are primarily a BC camper, the shade from overhanging trees will seriosly undermine your arrays ability. In this case...more is better. If you are looking at 100w? consider 200. That will take care of business unless you are a heavy wattage user.

I am a huge fan of solar and have 250w + 3 deep cycles. Having said that, there is no inexpensive way to do this. The bottom line costing will be the same as if you bought a 2000w Yamaha or Honda inverter.

Gary Haupt
hinterland
Explorer
Dec 11, 2015
We would recommend Solaywyse out of Beaverlodge AB if you can. They have a website with packages and their prices. He will even meet you and will go the extra mile to help you out.
We had a cabin off the grid for years and Larry drove down 2x and helped us out with the solar install.
BC_Explorer
Explorer
Nov 07, 2015
free radical wrote:

You should check Canadian tire sometimes they have good deals on panels

Canadian Tire solar panels are not cheap -even on sale. For example, they currently have a Coleman branded 100 watt panel on sale for $299.00 which is 40% off their regular retail price.

In the spring and summer months, some of their smaller portable type panels come on sale but they are still expensive as compared to others.
FULLTIMEWANABE
Explorer
Nov 07, 2015
Maybe check out www.solarwholesaler.ca in Calgary. FWIW: The panels work out less than a Loonie a watt, and we found when dollar was on par that we still managed to get our Midnite Solar controller and magnum items through them cheaper than through the USA. We got our batteries through Costco way cheaper though than anywhere else. Canadian Tire didn't have large enough solar option for our wants at the time.
free_radical
Explorer
Nov 07, 2015
morley wrote:
Thinking very seriously about solar panel and system purchase and installation next year before camping season starts for our 26 ft fiver. Just a simple system to be used when camping off of the grid in provincial parks, keeping batteries up(2-6 volt T105 Trojans), etc.
Anyone have any comments about where the best place, company, dealership, etc for this in the BC Okanagan, southern interior or Vancouver area may be?
Southern Alberta is also an option if a good place exists.
Thanks,
Morley

You should check Canadian tire sometimes they have good deals on panels