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
Hi,
Some people have "great expectations" from solar systems that are too small to possibly be effective. This ends up giving solar a black eye.
It is quite possible to design a system to meet the needs of a user. But, they need to do their homework to know how much energy they use per day.
Their camping locations, length of stay and their style need to be considered and the size adjusted to the worst case situation they find themselves in.
Since one of the sure ways to commit "batteracide" is to never equalize a bank, my own personal belief is that is the minimum number of watts that should be considered.
It is more than possible to eliminate generator use for battery charging purposes.
For folks who full time it is a bit harder to calculate the wattage needed, especially if an air conditioner is going to be run. I have noted that wattage drawn varies between 1200 and 1900 depending on out door temperatures and how many hours the air conditioner has been run. Depending on the size of the roof it may not be possible to meet all the energy requirements. Adding panels on the sides may make an RV wider than the legal limit, so that leaves only the rear end of the RV available for more wattage.
Pay back for a full blown system capable of running a roof air conditioner is unlikely unless campground fee savings are counted against the costs.
Those of us who drive self propelled RV's do have a "back up" way to charge the battery banks without the purchase of a generator. It is much more annoying for other types to arrange to charge batteries "in a pinch".
This whole issue reminds me of water use. Some folks can "stretch" 60 gallons over three weeks, others use that much in three days.
Some people have "great expectations" from solar systems that are too small to possibly be effective. This ends up giving solar a black eye.
It is quite possible to design a system to meet the needs of a user. But, they need to do their homework to know how much energy they use per day.
Their camping locations, length of stay and their style need to be considered and the size adjusted to the worst case situation they find themselves in.
Since one of the sure ways to commit "batteracide" is to never equalize a bank, my own personal belief is that is the minimum number of watts that should be considered.
It is more than possible to eliminate generator use for battery charging purposes.
For folks who full time it is a bit harder to calculate the wattage needed, especially if an air conditioner is going to be run. I have noted that wattage drawn varies between 1200 and 1900 depending on out door temperatures and how many hours the air conditioner has been run. Depending on the size of the roof it may not be possible to meet all the energy requirements. Adding panels on the sides may make an RV wider than the legal limit, so that leaves only the rear end of the RV available for more wattage.
Pay back for a full blown system capable of running a roof air conditioner is unlikely unless campground fee savings are counted against the costs.
Those of us who drive self propelled RV's do have a "back up" way to charge the battery banks without the purchase of a generator. It is much more annoying for other types to arrange to charge batteries "in a pinch".
This whole issue reminds me of water use. Some folks can "stretch" 60 gallons over three weeks, others use that much in three days.
