Solar - Upgrade or replace outright?
The new-to-us coach has a small solar panel system. I would like to upgrade it to the point where I could reasonably hope to capture 50 or 60 amp-hours per day in light conditions that are less than ...
Forum Discussion
For MPPT and rear batteries and rear closet your best option is to place a fanless controller in the closet based on your posts. UV wiring from the panels on the roof and down into the closet. The controller to battery is the most critical for voltage drop because it's the lowest voltage ie 12-14V.
Use voltage calculators to understand that aspect. You may find that you will need a long run of large gauge wire from the refer controller to the batteries. For reference my 3 panels in series will have 62' of 10ga wire with a voltage drop of 0.5V and 0.6% to the controller which is a very acceptable loss.
Depending upon your needs you may want to run additional wiring: Battery sense and battery temp probe to the controller. The controller could have additional wiring including remote meter and even wiring for a computer, etc.
Jim is right. I looked at different panels for both PWM and MPPT before deciding what to do. Some current installations have evolved over time and today's technology and price points might lead to a completely different new installation.
Use voltage calculators to understand that aspect. You may find that you will need a long run of large gauge wire from the refer controller to the batteries. For reference my 3 panels in series will have 62' of 10ga wire with a voltage drop of 0.5V and 0.6% to the controller which is a very acceptable loss.
Depending upon your needs you may want to run additional wiring: Battery sense and battery temp probe to the controller. The controller could have additional wiring including remote meter and even wiring for a computer, etc.
Jim is right. I looked at different panels for both PWM and MPPT before deciding what to do. Some current installations have evolved over time and today's technology and price points might lead to a completely different new installation.
