Down and dirty solar question.
Not terribly math savvy . But, will this system work to dry camp? Let's say, run the microwave five minutes per day (1100 watt), make a pot of drip coffee per day, run the water pump. And reasonably ...
Forum Discussion
I am proud of the community of RVers for pioneering the way to more efficient living, at least when we are camping - not so much when on the highways. Our little houses manage very nicely on very little water; many manage completely on solar panel electricity because we use energy efficient lights, etc and are willing to wait for the sun to come out or do without.
Burning gasoline to make heat, converting it to electricity, then back to heat in a coffee maker is drastically inefficient! Why not just use a propane burner to make coffee, perhaps by pouring hot water through the coffee in a filter? An insulated coffee butler is magic - keeping the coffee hot all day with no energy use.
One time we were camped at an isolated lake. Our only neighbour ran his generator all day. He apologized for the noise, saying he just had to keep his coffee hot. Words failed me.
Do get on the highway to the future with solar in place of generators and coal power plants. We found that a single 100 watt panel provided all we need for refrigerator (without defrost feature), lights, propane detector, charging toys, and heating in the morning. The CO detector runs on a 9 V battery. Two deep cycle batteries suffice for a rainy day. A TV calls for a second solar panel. Sorry, no microwave. Use campfire.
The way to figure it is to calculate in energy units of watt-hours. A 100 watt panel produces about 50 watts of battery charging - perhaps 500 watt-hours in a day. A typical deep cycle battery can store 50 amp-hours of charge, which is 50 amps x 12 volts x 1 hour = 600 watt-hours. This battery can power a 100 watt TV for 6 hours. Or a 1200 watt coffee pot for half an hour. (assuming the system can provide the power at the necessary rate and no losses)
Burning gasoline to make heat, converting it to electricity, then back to heat in a coffee maker is drastically inefficient! Why not just use a propane burner to make coffee, perhaps by pouring hot water through the coffee in a filter? An insulated coffee butler is magic - keeping the coffee hot all day with no energy use.
One time we were camped at an isolated lake. Our only neighbour ran his generator all day. He apologized for the noise, saying he just had to keep his coffee hot. Words failed me.
Do get on the highway to the future with solar in place of generators and coal power plants. We found that a single 100 watt panel provided all we need for refrigerator (without defrost feature), lights, propane detector, charging toys, and heating in the morning. The CO detector runs on a 9 V battery. Two deep cycle batteries suffice for a rainy day. A TV calls for a second solar panel. Sorry, no microwave. Use campfire.
The way to figure it is to calculate in energy units of watt-hours. A 100 watt panel produces about 50 watts of battery charging - perhaps 500 watt-hours in a day. A typical deep cycle battery can store 50 amp-hours of charge, which is 50 amps x 12 volts x 1 hour = 600 watt-hours. This battery can power a 100 watt TV for 6 hours. Or a 1200 watt coffee pot for half an hour. (assuming the system can provide the power at the necessary rate and no losses)
