Calling on Solar Techies
I have been thinking of going solar for some time and decided to pull the plug. My wants are a 400 to 500 watt system. I have four 12 volt batteries with 340ah. I am not planning on changing b...
Forum Discussion
1L243 wrote:
If I can't do a solar system under $1500 to power my basic needs I may have to go with a hybrid plan of solar plus generator.
Added:
At least 400 watts of solar on the roof. A all in one 1000 watt inverter that will power 110 outlets in the Trailer and charge the batteries. I will switch to generator power for making coffee and using the microwave?
Hi,
You can do it for $1500 provided you give up the inverter/charger and just have a 2000 watt quality inverter. That means no transfer switch, and no hybrid 'load support' operation, either.
In 2005 I was able to do 256 watts for $1700.00. I had to cheap out on the inverter, using a Cobra 2500 msw that was rated to run motors. It was an additional $199.
In your shoes I'd splurge on a charge controller that was able to do 80 to 100 amps. That way you can add more panels later. Panels are the cheapest part of the system now--back in 2005 I paid $5 per watt.
I would forget about a 1000 watt inverter. 2k is not that much more money and can potentially power everything in the RV, on a 'one at a time' basis.
It is good to listen to time2roll and BFL13.
