How to measure how much solar we need?
(hope this is right section) Brought home TT last month and now have basics taken care of and RV is road ready. Now starting to think about bigger long term projects. One project is, we would like...
Forum Discussion
path1 wrote:
Stopped in at our regular RV guy after picking up TT at another RV dealer and bought what was on the shelf "green long life" 250 lum at over $20.00 each. Adds up quick,
You don't shop at "regular RV guy" for anything having to do with solar or energy conservation. They either have no clue or prices are unrealistic. As much as I'm trying not to contribute in China's growing consumption of limited resources of the planet (due to growing population and income), Ebay is the place to go for LED. 99% of LEDs in "regular" RV shops are from China anyway. SMD boards in the links above cost average $2 a piece, cobs are more expensive ($5 or so on Ebay, don't remember).
I wasn't kidding earlier about wood burning stove. Not 100% kidding, anyway. If you want to live without a generator, in coastal WA, in winter, this is still possible but you need to think outside the box. Your energy needs are modest, mostly it's heating and lights. Convert your lights to LED, this is a no-brainer.
Heating is more difficult, but luckily it's not THAT cold in your area. You can install a catalytic heater, preferably a vented type. Unfortunately I know of only one suitable for RV - Platinum Cat - and this outfit is a pain to deal with. Small company in OR, nice people, but as many US businesses they are struggling now and production delays are a norm. Some members here installed a residential type propane heater in RV, but those were bigger 5-ers or trailers as I recall.
Forget what BFL said about needing 200 AH a day at 35F, in this area it doesn't drop below 40F too often. Besides, energy conservation has never been on his agenda. If the goal is not to use a generator, you can achieve this, and still have warm room and hot meals. With increased battery bank and limited use of 110V devices other than non-satellite TV (and TV would have to be a LCD/LED type). You can live then on 40-60 AH a day, and 225 Ah bank will give you 2 full days without any means of charging. Installing a big solar still makes sense, you will have more energy on sunny days then.
