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:
It seems that 480ah is the most I can squeeze into the available space. If I could put 600 in, I would. Now I'm trying to get the best charging available for that 480 ah bank I can, using a limited amount of available roof space.
I highlighted what seems most important to me. The best charging = higher panel wattage. Max up the wattage. It will cost more for 4*100 12V panels than one 300W, but not much more in total, considering cheaper PWM controller. And it sounds like price is not your biggest concern.
I hear you about limited battery bank. In solar homes they recommend bank big enough for 10 days. In RV I think 3-5 days is good enough. With low daily draw, 480 AH bank should work well if you can fit that much. 400 AH bank will be still good though you will have to be more energy-savvy.
But you need enough solar to charge the bank fast - there can be rain and clouds, and larger panel could do it better then - and keep the bank close to full. There is no benefit in getting a smaller solar wattage. Rule of thumb is 1W per 1 AH of the bank, so 4*100W solar is not too much for 480 AH bank.
