Solar Install: what would you change
I’m going to do a small solar install on my 5th wheel, and I am curious what you would change about your current setup. What did you do that was wrong, not good enough or just a minor annoyance. M...
Forum Discussion
Hi,
Not quite so simple.
My panels are no longer made and have diodes between each and every cell.
The input voltage is 33 so I needs must have an MPPT charge controller.
Where I reside it gets down to -40 and up to +40 c (104 f) so temperature adjusted charging is a MUST DO.
The OEM solar wiring is #10 so boosting amperage would require new heavier gauge wire.
If I were going to start over it would be to go to 1600 watts at a cost of $2 per watt on the solar side--and move to 48 volts, which means replacing the inverter/charger. I'd add a 48 volt dc to 12 volt dc converter for the "house" loads on the RV.
That is about $7000.00 plus installation costs.
Not quite so simple.
My panels are no longer made and have diodes between each and every cell.
The input voltage is 33 so I needs must have an MPPT charge controller.
Where I reside it gets down to -40 and up to +40 c (104 f) so temperature adjusted charging is a MUST DO.
The OEM solar wiring is #10 so boosting amperage would require new heavier gauge wire.
If I were going to start over it would be to go to 1600 watts at a cost of $2 per watt on the solar side--and move to 48 volts, which means replacing the inverter/charger. I'd add a 48 volt dc to 12 volt dc converter for the "house" loads on the RV.
That is about $7000.00 plus installation costs.
allen8106 wrote:pianotuna wrote:
Hi,
The one misstep I made was to max out the capacity of the Blue Sky charge controller. I'd love to add more panels--but I can't without replacing the controller.
You can just "add" a smaller second controller for a minimal cost.
