FYI Basic Solar Kit from Costco

Our fridge has been running from a Tripp lite pvc1250, for almost three years
Run power is approx 100w
Surge is approx 900w
This inverter will even power out MW, 1100 cooking watts...1650 input watts

westend wrote:
FYI, solar hot water heating is now required by code on Oahu, HI. The electric rates are unbelievable.

A 2000W inverter may not be overkill for an RV'er that wants to run a refrigerator, you have to have enough power to get past the lock rotor draw. It would be in the range of occasional microwave use, too. The Xantrex Prowatt 1800W inverter draws .8 amps at idle. A Prowatt 900W draws .6 amps.

pianotuna wrote:
It appears that polycrystalline may work better in partial shade than monocrystalline.

I would rather say "in low light" - when the entire panel is illuminated but not very well.

OTH, when it's a dense shade on a part of the panel area (like tree, building etc), and the rest of the panel is in bright sun, then it's a matter if number of diodes per panel and whether the panels are in series or parallel. The losses caused by insufficient number of diodes and series wiring are so huge that it doesn't matter anymore whether it's poly or mono.

westend wrote:
A 2000W inverter may not be overkill for an RV'er that wants to run a refrigerator...

Yes. But 400W solar is not enough to run a 120V refrigerator in less than perfect weather. Or if you only stay a few days at a time (then you simply let your SOC drop slowly).

Mono panels are smaller in foot print than Poly panels are. Both my mono panels (220w and 245w) are smaller than my 230w poly. I haven't tested the 245w panels in low light but I do know the 230w poly will continue to produce in much lower light than the 220w mono.

That said, at that low of light output is very low and without a battery bank to sustain you, a few cloudy days will have you on a generator which ever panel you get.

Possible of interest. SolarBlvd sent me a email that they have their 230w panels on sale for $149. Pretty soon I wont need to shop craigslist, just buy new.

Hi Carb,

It appears that polycrystalline may work better in partial shade than monocrystalline.

polycrystalline panels are ok, but you would be better with monocrystalline panels.

FYI, solar hot water heating is now required by code on Oahu, HI. The electric rates are unbelievable.

A 2000W inverter may not be overkill for an RV'er that wants to run a refrigerator, you have to have enough power to get past the lock rotor draw. It would be in the range of occasional microwave use, too. The Xantrex Prowatt 1800W inverter draws .8 amps at idle. A Prowatt 900W draws .6 amps.

2oldman wrote:

Horizon170 wrote:
There are several other things the wonderful FREE Sunlight can help us with like water heating, even cooking with the right salvageable items.

You will need a big building if you expect any heat-related appliances like a water heater. I do not know if WHs are sold as 120v units.

Horizon170 said "sunlight", this doesn't always mean "solar electrical energy". There are other ways of solar heating. Rooftop solar water heaters on homes (not on RVs unless the rig is not movable) are VERY common where I spend winters lately. It works very well, the smallest model is enough to make a hot water for 2 people for shower and everything else. This "hot" becomes "warm" when it's cloudy but still in upper 60s. The only time when I needed to use propane for shower was early in the morning.

I still prefer propane for cooking, and guys on the camp with more solar wattage than me and with the same "solar only" approach also prefer propane. Microwave or induction plate increase daily energy draw too much, you can use them but carefully.

Almot wrote:
If somebody is going to need a 2000W inverter, then they are going to need more than 400W solar. Or they will have to run a generator regularly. In such a scenario solar becomes sort of crutches to support a generator - or vice versa. There's gotta be a better way.

For a house, oh yeah. For a RV, depends.

mena661 wrote:
Guys remember there is a $355 2000W PSW inverter included in that price too. This isn't really all that bad of a deal.

If somebody is going to need a 2000W inverter, then they are going to need more than 400W solar. Or they will have to run a generator regularly. In such a scenario solar becomes sort of crutches to support a generator - or vice versa. There's gotta be a better way.