Solar & batteries ...
The house battery in our Livin Lite truck camper has died after about 3.5 years of frequent use. Lots of boondocking during which it kept the fridge, LED lights, water pump, ... running for about 3-4 days before we needed to run the generator.
Now that we are considering another long trip (Europe possibly), we are wanting to upgrade our system. The goal is to be able to still do a lot of boondocking but with the added luxury of being able to charge the 110V appliances (camera batteries, laptop, ipad, cell phone) from the RV house batteries.
Being illiterate when it comes to anything electrical related, I've been researching and created the following list to show all (I think) we want to be able to run on a given day. Granted, this is definitely an extreme day so more than likely our actual usage will be less. In the list, the amps are DC amps. (=AC amps x 10)
1) iPad = 3A x 4 hours of charging or use daily = 12AH
2) Cell phone = 1.5A x 4 = 6AH
3) Laptop = 16A x 4 = 64AH
4) Dometic 3-way fridge running on propane = 3.5A x 24 = 84AH
5) RV water pump = 7.5A x 0.3 = 2.25AH
6) RV furnace = 12A x 3 = 12A x 3 = 36AH
7) LED lights = 10A x 4 = 40AH
8) Camera = 4A x 4 = 16AH
9) RV radio = 4A x 2 = 8AH
10) Shaver = .67A x .3 = .2AH
11) Gas detector = 1A x 24 = 24AH
12) Inverter = .5A x 24 = 12AH
Total (extreme) expected AH needed per 24 hours = 305
Some questions ...
- First of all, does the above make sense on calculating what I think we need the batteries to provide every day (24h)?
- We are considering going with AGM batteries or golf-cart batteries. If we are not to use more than 50%, that means we need enough batteries to provide 305 x 2 = 600AH?
- If we are to consider installing solar, am I correct that we need about 6 panels providing 125W each? (our roof space is limited; definitely not enough room for 6)
- To charge our 110-120V appliances (iPad, laptop, ...) in the RV, we need an inverter. Will an inverter make the existing outlets in the RV work, or does an inverter have its own outlets where you need to plugin?
Any idea how many Watts the inverter needs to be?
Thank you!
Now that we are considering another long trip (Europe possibly), we are wanting to upgrade our system. The goal is to be able to still do a lot of boondocking but with the added luxury of being able to charge the 110V appliances (camera batteries, laptop, ipad, cell phone) from the RV house batteries.
Being illiterate when it comes to anything electrical related, I've been researching and created the following list to show all (I think) we want to be able to run on a given day. Granted, this is definitely an extreme day so more than likely our actual usage will be less. In the list, the amps are DC amps. (=AC amps x 10)
1) iPad = 3A x 4 hours of charging or use daily = 12AH
2) Cell phone = 1.5A x 4 = 6AH
3) Laptop = 16A x 4 = 64AH
4) Dometic 3-way fridge running on propane = 3.5A x 24 = 84AH
5) RV water pump = 7.5A x 0.3 = 2.25AH
6) RV furnace = 12A x 3 = 12A x 3 = 36AH
7) LED lights = 10A x 4 = 40AH
8) Camera = 4A x 4 = 16AH
9) RV radio = 4A x 2 = 8AH
10) Shaver = .67A x .3 = .2AH
11) Gas detector = 1A x 24 = 24AH
12) Inverter = .5A x 24 = 12AH
Total (extreme) expected AH needed per 24 hours = 305
Some questions ...
- First of all, does the above make sense on calculating what I think we need the batteries to provide every day (24h)?
- We are considering going with AGM batteries or golf-cart batteries. If we are not to use more than 50%, that means we need enough batteries to provide 305 x 2 = 600AH?
- If we are to consider installing solar, am I correct that we need about 6 panels providing 125W each? (our roof space is limited; definitely not enough room for 6)
- To charge our 110-120V appliances (iPad, laptop, ...) in the RV, we need an inverter. Will an inverter make the existing outlets in the RV work, or does an inverter have its own outlets where you need to plugin?
Any idea how many Watts the inverter needs to be?
Thank you!
