House/solar battery opinions
My current battery space is 20"L x 14"w x 10"H Going solar, and want to packs as much AH in there as I can (reasonably). Currently looking at 250 - 300. Price is not THE deciding factor, unless ...
Forum Discussion
seraphim wrote:
I picked up the tm2025 to show me how much we use. The callculators are basic guesstimators. Just got the monitor installed. Judging by the idiot meter in the RV we used 25 to 35 amps a day. Those things are inaccurate as the dickens, though.
Can't say about idiot meter, don't have it :)...
Calculators require thinking when using them, and so do meters like tm2025. You estimate the daily draw, and in reality it can be little more or little less. Then you have to add 25% for battery inefficiency - when X goes out of battery, you need to put 1.25X in. This will give you a good estimate.
Meters like Triemtric will show what goes in, and what goes out - though not sure if it accounts correctly for inverter loads. Will the results be your typical daily pattern? Don't know. Will the meter tell how big panel you need? Not likely, you'll have to do estimates again.
25 AH a day for 2 people? Possible, without any 120V devices or furnace. With at least "some" 120V devices, you are looking at +50 AH a day. Yes, you can go on 0 AH a day, been there, done it. This would be tent-style camping in a trailer. A lot of adjustments, and AA batteries in lanterns and radio need to be replaced from time to time.
