Solar performance #s
I posted some of this on another board and thought it might interest some seeing there are a lot of solar system installs on rv using folks here. Here are some numbers from the past year. Habit from t...
Forum Discussion
I suggest looking up the word "adjunct"
99% of the places I used to camp had at least partial shading for a considerable percentage of the day.
On a beach just north of Puerto Vallarta around seven years ago I was invited to a campfire evening party where the air temperature at 8:00PM was around 55F
It was a big group. Some folks from British Columbia, others from Alberta and even one from Saskatoon. Friends were from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Around 20 people or so were sitting around the fire.
There was discord. All of them had solar panel charging. One fellow even clad his toy yanker trailer with panels.
The issue was too high of daytime temperatures inside the rig. Full sun was needed. And some folks had had enough. They were pulling out and heading for an RV park.
What is seldom discussed in discussions is the heat tolerance or vulnerability of people. Some it seemed get overheated when air temperature climbs to 75F. Many of these folks lived in British Columbia or the wet side of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon.
I can tolerate heat myself to a point. Humidity is a big factor. But I have seen days with no shade where inside rig temperatures climbed to 105F+ with 70% humidity. I'd like to meet the folks who are convinced those numbers are comfortable.
Aside from solar panels high in the mountains, I bailed out of my house when temperatures reached 98F at 6,780 feet. The whole tiny town was complaining. I traveled up up up to the top of Tioga Pass, 9945 feet, parked at 10,000 and climbed straight up. My NIST lab mercurty thermometer was registering 91F beside me in my shadow. I moved into the shade of a stunted sugarpine and it was a shock.
Down here, way way down here, temperatures seldom drop to the sixties. People tend to live around their rig, not in it during the day even parked in the shade. I know of no one who parks in the sun down here.
So with all due respect, claiming solar voltaics is "The Answer" without qualifying and without caveats can be misleading -- even deceptive.
The whole picture should be painted. To me the first priority of RV'ing is safety, followed by comfort.
Heat Prostration For Amp Hours may not be someone's idea of a good trip.
But kudos on your report.
99% of the places I used to camp had at least partial shading for a considerable percentage of the day.
On a beach just north of Puerto Vallarta around seven years ago I was invited to a campfire evening party where the air temperature at 8:00PM was around 55F
It was a big group. Some folks from British Columbia, others from Alberta and even one from Saskatoon. Friends were from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Around 20 people or so were sitting around the fire.
There was discord. All of them had solar panel charging. One fellow even clad his toy yanker trailer with panels.
The issue was too high of daytime temperatures inside the rig. Full sun was needed. And some folks had had enough. They were pulling out and heading for an RV park.
What is seldom discussed in discussions is the heat tolerance or vulnerability of people. Some it seemed get overheated when air temperature climbs to 75F. Many of these folks lived in British Columbia or the wet side of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon.
I can tolerate heat myself to a point. Humidity is a big factor. But I have seen days with no shade where inside rig temperatures climbed to 105F+ with 70% humidity. I'd like to meet the folks who are convinced those numbers are comfortable.
Aside from solar panels high in the mountains, I bailed out of my house when temperatures reached 98F at 6,780 feet. The whole tiny town was complaining. I traveled up up up to the top of Tioga Pass, 9945 feet, parked at 10,000 and climbed straight up. My NIST lab mercurty thermometer was registering 91F beside me in my shadow. I moved into the shade of a stunted sugarpine and it was a shock.
Down here, way way down here, temperatures seldom drop to the sixties. People tend to live around their rig, not in it during the day even parked in the shade. I know of no one who parks in the sun down here.
So with all due respect, claiming solar voltaics is "The Answer" without qualifying and without caveats can be misleading -- even deceptive.
The whole picture should be painted. To me the first priority of RV'ing is safety, followed by comfort.
Heat Prostration For Amp Hours may not be someone's idea of a good trip.
But kudos on your report.
