Planning for solar installation this spring
My TT comes with a single Interstate SRM-24 battery. We camped for one season so far and never really lived off the battery in any of the campground except for maybe an hour where I didn't plug in sh...
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Your tentative plan looks good to me. My plan was also for two Renogy 100 w panels, starting with one to gain some experience. Surprise, we are still using just one. We never hookup, leave the generator at home ... and the pair of Costco batteries have never been below 80%. No TV, use of propane for fridge and kettle, LED lights. The two iPads and phones are also moderate power users.
The Renogy panel came with an aluminum frame and brackets to screw onto the roof. I used a location where there was heavy plywood under the metal skin. I ran the power cable down the fridge vent about 10 feet to the PWM controller. I get a wee bit over 5 amps into the batteries on a sunny day with the batteries at 90%. Perhaps 25 amp-hours on a good day. The panel is mounted flat on the roof and we mostly camp at latitude 58 degrees. Clearly our old fridge uses less electricity than modern ones with defrosting.
I used the #10 wires that came with the Renogy kit. Others speak of much heavier wire but they have much higher current flowing. You could easily check it out before installing. Buy ten feet of #10 house wiring cable at the hardware store, hook it all up on the ground - panel to controller to batteries. Measure the voltage at the panel and at the controller. If you lose 20% of the voltage you need heavier wire. If you need 30 feet the voltage drop will be triple what you measure for 10 feet. Using two panels in series with the MPPT controller you will double the voltage and halve the per cent loss.
Good luck and happy camping! I recommend a battery monitor so you always know how the batteries are charged. I’m very happy with my $25 one from China via eBay.
eBay link
The Renogy panel came with an aluminum frame and brackets to screw onto the roof. I used a location where there was heavy plywood under the metal skin. I ran the power cable down the fridge vent about 10 feet to the PWM controller. I get a wee bit over 5 amps into the batteries on a sunny day with the batteries at 90%. Perhaps 25 amp-hours on a good day. The panel is mounted flat on the roof and we mostly camp at latitude 58 degrees. Clearly our old fridge uses less electricity than modern ones with defrosting.
I used the #10 wires that came with the Renogy kit. Others speak of much heavier wire but they have much higher current flowing. You could easily check it out before installing. Buy ten feet of #10 house wiring cable at the hardware store, hook it all up on the ground - panel to controller to batteries. Measure the voltage at the panel and at the controller. If you lose 20% of the voltage you need heavier wire. If you need 30 feet the voltage drop will be triple what you measure for 10 feet. Using two panels in series with the MPPT controller you will double the voltage and halve the per cent loss.
Good luck and happy camping! I recommend a battery monitor so you always know how the batteries are charged. I’m very happy with my $25 one from China via eBay.
eBay link
