Real life solar results
Just thought I’d post what I’m seeing. I have 400 watts of panels feeding 250 Ah (3000 watt-hours) AGM batteries. I ran them down fairly deeply, pulling 100 Ah of the 125 Ah feasible. Yesterday was rainy and fairly heavily overcast. So a little after noon I was getting around 25 watts from those panels. Today in bright sunshine I saw 378 watts.
I have established on several occasions that a good day will yield around 1600 watt-hours from those panels. For folks thinking about adding solar to their RV, I hope these numbers are helpful. The solar array, battery size, and intended power use must all be matched for best results. The usual battery trailer manufacturers put on units is the cheapest 80 Ah battery possible. If you find that battery adequate for your camping needs, you can probably make do with a 100-150 watt solar panel, as long as it is sunny. Rainy days, however, not so much.
I invite other folks with real life experience to share their numbers below so that we may help folks make up their own minds about what they might need.
I have established on several occasions that a good day will yield around 1600 watt-hours from those panels. For folks thinking about adding solar to their RV, I hope these numbers are helpful. The solar array, battery size, and intended power use must all be matched for best results. The usual battery trailer manufacturers put on units is the cheapest 80 Ah battery possible. If you find that battery adequate for your camping needs, you can probably make do with a 100-150 watt solar panel, as long as it is sunny. Rainy days, however, not so much.
I invite other folks with real life experience to share their numbers below so that we may help folks make up their own minds about what they might need.
