Generator Cost Per Hour

pianotuna wrote:
Mex,

In the mean time, solar panel prices have dropped. 500 watts x 24 hours = 12000 watt-hours.

That means having 20 100 amp-hour jars

20 x $200 = $2400.00

12,000 watt-hours/5 hours of sunshine = 2400 watts of panels.

Current pricing with the trumpery tariffs is 50 cents per watt

$1200 for panels.

Of course no sane person would use the batteries in parallel so with a 48 volt system we need just one Tristar controller $800

Our total so far is $4400.00

Add $400 for a pure sine wave inverter, and 10% for miscellaneous parts.

Call it $5500.00 and diy.

.....

Such a system would run the roof air when the sun was shining, and have enough capacity to recharge the battery bank, too.

Missed a few costs:
- Paying to mount 2400w of panels in a professional manner could easily add another $5000
- 20 batteries will take up a lot of space, so you need to move up to a larger RV and use up the extra space for batteries. So assuming you planned for it, it likely cost you $2-4k extra.
- Also 20 batteries are going to add maybe 1600lb, that likely means suspension and possibly tow vehicle upgrades. Maybe $2k.

I'm coming up with around $15k to install your system and it doesn't include battery bank replacement in a few years or extra cost to seal the roofs around all the panels.

2400w of panels with sufficient battery bank will generate around 10-12kwh per day.

Air/con at 50% duty cycle (ie: not a very hot day): Mine pulls about 1200w while running, so approx 14.5kwh. On a hot day duty cycle is more like 75-90% (100% when the sun is out and cycles at night). This includes no power consumption for anything else.

You can get a 3000w generator (2400w continuous) for under $2k...Add $1k for a nice enclosure to secure it. and you are at $3k. That leaves $12k to cover fuel and oil changes...that will cover a lot of days camping and you can run the air/con 100% duty cycle pretty much as long as you like.

Not saying a solar system is a bad idea but if you want to use air/con, it's possible but not practical. On the other hand, if you boondock a lot, rarely use the air/con and are generally low power user, solar is a great option.