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TBammer's avatar
TBammer
Explorer
Apr 08, 2017

Solar panels

I am looking to wire in 2 Renogy solar panels, but I am not going to mount them on the roof. I woul.d rather be able to set them out depending on the the sun angle I bought a kit with a controller and 2 panels. Any advise on wiring this into the existing 12 volt system and leaving plugs on the outside to plug the panels into the system? Not sure of the best location for the controller and where to splice into the existing wiring, and if I need a switch to isolate the panels when plugging them in and unplugging. The fuse and breaker panel is on the bed pedestal. Any advise would be appreciated.

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  • KD4UPL's avatar
    KD4UPL
    Explorer II
    Apr 08, 2017
    Controller as close to batteries as possible. Use a fuse in the positive wire. I don't know the size of your panels or controller so not sure on wire size.
    You will want to make the wire between the panels and the controller as short and as big a gauge as you can. This will minimize loosing power to the resistance in the wire.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    Apr 08, 2017
    Wire them to a controller that is connected to the battery bank. The controller should not be in the same compartment--but should be as close to the battery bank as humanly possible.

    I'm not a fan of using portable panels. Here are some reasons why.

    Panels are large.

    By not mounting them on the roof many hours of sunlight while trundling down the road will be lost.

    Adds to the list of items to do when striking camp.

    Wind and panels don't get along too well.

    Recharging while the RV is in storage won't happen with portable panels.

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