AK residents specifically-others with knowledge

welsteach wrote:
I reside in Alaska. Buying a TC and wondering whether solar is worth the money and effort here. Our camping is primarily here in AK and possible some Canadian, so sunshine is a commodity.

In our former TT we used a generator which we still have. Hassle to set up in weather sometimes, but usually used to top up batts.

Biggest energy use for us is heater.

Basement model Bigfoot. Would wave6 be best?

Please chime in with your expertise. Has been 30 years since we owned a TC.

Not nearly as far north as you, we’re in Wyoming, but use elevation adjustable panels on our 5er, to get as much available light in low sun, short day situations! If you will be using it in fall or winter , the adjustable panels are very beneficial. Will will do the same with our Bigfoot (we bought 4 - 100 watt panels) this summer.....as it will see some winter use. We also have the Olympic Wave....however, if you have water in the system, it’s only going to help your tanks and water lines into the 20’s. I’m assuming you will be using it in much colder conditions. We’ll be using ours in sub-zero ( with water in system) occasionally for ice fishing trips! The forced air is the only way to keep water in a liquid state! ;)

In fall/winter use (if you keep water in system) you will need to supplement with the generator, just maybe a lot less. With the steep winter angle on panels, they will clean fairly easily.....though still a bit of a pain in the buttocks. On a nice sunny day, they self-clean pretty well!

Just what I thought. Not worth the expense for a couple of months. Wave sounds more like a usable and useful solution. Summer we will just use our Honda 2000i. Thanks everyone!

It depends on how much power you use and how much room you have on a TC for solar. Any amount >100W is helpful.

I'll relate my experience on our 11-1/2 week trip to Alaska in 2016. This was in a small 5th wheel with 370 watts solar and 440Ah battery bank. Average usage was 70 - 80 Ah per day (couple of hours TV/DVD; some microwave, coffee pot, toaster usage; CPAP every night; lights in summer in AK, not so much).


I have the capability to 4-way tilt the panels but I only tilted once as we moved fairly often and much of the time it was overcast so tilting was of no benefit. Many days of rain. Travel days were typically short so not much charging took place from TV.


Through all this solar kept pace and we only ran the generator eight times for a total of maybe 16 hours. We had electric HU five nights. One night was in BC and doesn't really count as it was on a 15-amp extension cord that quit some time in the middle of the night.


For me solar was a huge success. We could have been more conservative with power usage and probably eliminated generator use altogether.

In June and July the sun is overhead most of the day so flat panels work fine. There is plenty of sunlight in April, May and August but I do try to position my portable 100 watt panel to face the sun if I am in camp. A 100 watt panel laying flat kept my fridge running for 8 days while parked in Whitehorse. I left it parked while away for that time. That was the middle of August and it did rain a few days while I was gone, I only went to solar because I leave my camper parked in remote places unattended and want the fridge to stay alive while I am gone. Come September, once you start using the heater and lights, you will still need to run the generator to keep the batteries up. November through March just keep pouring the fuel in the generator and buy an electric blanket. Have fun.

In our experience solar in AK is very useful in summer, kept our batteries topped up most of the time. If the sky conditions are cloudy or site partially shaded we just run the genny a bit while fixing breakfast then let the solar trickle top it off while we explore.

my non-empirical opinion :B is that if your greatest concern is during bad weather in the winter, then solar isn't going to help you at all.

Wave 6 certainly will though, as it will eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the need to run the furnace fan.

Check out the federal insolation map...

https://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

Just providing empirical information, no opinion.

I have rented a truck and camper and travelled all over Alaska.
The answer depends on how many months you plan to use the rig. No problem with solar from about April to September. Big problem the rest of the year. Then you need a generator.

It would make sense if you are using solar panels to put on them on the ground so you could adjust the angle.

I have rented a truck and camper and travelled all over Alaska.
The answer depends on how many months you plan to use the rig. No problem with solar from about April to September. Big problem the rest of the year. Then you need a generator.

When I camped on the Kenai in my previous RV I had a portable 120w solar panel that I used and noticed that by about 10am my batteries were charged. This was in the summer obviously and I had the panel aligned to the sun. So I'd say the solar is something to consider, but alignment of the panels is important and that's something that may not be possible in a fixed installation.