solar power for dry camping & cpap machine
***Link Removed******Link Removed***Hello, I recently purchased a 2006 Thor Wanderer 30' travel trailer. I was disappointed that I could only run my cpap machine when the trailer is plugged in. I al...
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Hi TxG,
Here is a simple flow chart:
Solar-->battery bank-->inverter-->RV
In June from 256 watts of solar I get up to 17 amps (at solar noon). The daily harvest is about 100 amp-hours (at 12 volts), so about 1200 watt-hours per 24 hours. On December 21, the harvest is 17 amp-hours or about 204 watt-hours.
An 800 watt inverter running "flat out" may draw about 80 amps of current @ 12 volts.
What is needed to set up a system is an energy audit. Then we can help you design a whiz bang system that won't cost an arm, a leg and your first born child.
The best way to do an energy audit is by direct measurement. To do that I'd invest in a kill-a-watt meter and run the RV from a 15 amp shore power circuit for one week. The meter will show the total energy use.
Here is a simple flow chart:
Solar-->battery bank-->inverter-->RV
In June from 256 watts of solar I get up to 17 amps (at solar noon). The daily harvest is about 100 amp-hours (at 12 volts), so about 1200 watt-hours per 24 hours. On December 21, the harvest is 17 amp-hours or about 204 watt-hours.
An 800 watt inverter running "flat out" may draw about 80 amps of current @ 12 volts.
What is needed to set up a system is an energy audit. Then we can help you design a whiz bang system that won't cost an arm, a leg and your first born child.
The best way to do an energy audit is by direct measurement. To do that I'd invest in a kill-a-watt meter and run the RV from a 15 amp shore power circuit for one week. The meter will show the total energy use.
TxGregory wrote:
So my 200 or 300 watts of solar power is only going to give me around 2 or 3 amps of current, unless I save it up in the batteries. But panel/batteries they should power my cpap and laptops and I would only need a 800 watt inverter for that. If I want A/C I will need a generator. I can't tolerate the noise very long due to my chronic medical problems.
