Solar pros and cons?
I'm interested in boondocking techniques, and would appreciate any links to threads concerning the best way to use solar panels to recharge batteries, where to mount them, how to stow them for travel,...
Forum Discussion
So lets talk the pros and cons.
Solar is wonderful when the sun shines, not so much when it doesn't. So you need to keep a generator just in case.
Once solar is mounted you may just forget it and let it do its thing. I went from fretting about the battery to checking the voltage once a day. The con is your rig will also have to be in the sun.
Mounted solar will keep your batteries charged and ready to go even in storage. No downside here.
Portable panels are neat because you can position them to best fit your needs and still have the rig in the shade. When we need more power or the clouds reduce output, I can point the panel right at the sun and get every amp possible. in the best of times I can lay it flat for weeks at a time and never move it.
The con for a portable is the need to store it, set it up, take it down, move it to track the sun. Add in worry that it may blow over or be stolen too.
Solar can keep your batteries up but you need to have those batteries to store the power for when the sun isn't shining. Batteries are heavy and they themselves have to be put somewhere. You will need to read up on the different types of batteries, how to set them up and maintain them. Some use so much power that they don't have enough room so the solar can only reduce the run time of the generator.
On solar your batteries can see a higher state of charge than a few hours on a generator. The con is if you use a lot of power, you will need a lot of battery and panel to keep it up. Even more if you have limited sun.
Solar is silent and I haven't found a con to that yet. :)
Solar is getting cheaper all of the time and if you can make do with the lower end controllers, it can be very inexpensive. The least expensive panel per watt are higher voltage and require a more expensive controller. The downside is it is addicting. Even though we have more solar than we need I still drool when I see the ads coming from solarblvd or on craigslist.
Is solar for you, only you will know after understanding some things like how much sun do you get, how much power do you need, do you have room on the roof or a place to store a portable, batteries, and lets not forget what you can afford.
It can be overwhelming at first and it may seem like pulling the string on a generator is easier. Once set up you will wonder why you bring the generator at all. (for back up and AC of course)
Solar is wonderful when the sun shines, not so much when it doesn't. So you need to keep a generator just in case.
Once solar is mounted you may just forget it and let it do its thing. I went from fretting about the battery to checking the voltage once a day. The con is your rig will also have to be in the sun.
Mounted solar will keep your batteries charged and ready to go even in storage. No downside here.
Portable panels are neat because you can position them to best fit your needs and still have the rig in the shade. When we need more power or the clouds reduce output, I can point the panel right at the sun and get every amp possible. in the best of times I can lay it flat for weeks at a time and never move it.
The con for a portable is the need to store it, set it up, take it down, move it to track the sun. Add in worry that it may blow over or be stolen too.
Solar can keep your batteries up but you need to have those batteries to store the power for when the sun isn't shining. Batteries are heavy and they themselves have to be put somewhere. You will need to read up on the different types of batteries, how to set them up and maintain them. Some use so much power that they don't have enough room so the solar can only reduce the run time of the generator.
On solar your batteries can see a higher state of charge than a few hours on a generator. The con is if you use a lot of power, you will need a lot of battery and panel to keep it up. Even more if you have limited sun.
Solar is silent and I haven't found a con to that yet. :)
Solar is getting cheaper all of the time and if you can make do with the lower end controllers, it can be very inexpensive. The least expensive panel per watt are higher voltage and require a more expensive controller. The downside is it is addicting. Even though we have more solar than we need I still drool when I see the ads coming from solarblvd or on craigslist.
Is solar for you, only you will know after understanding some things like how much sun do you get, how much power do you need, do you have room on the roof or a place to store a portable, batteries, and lets not forget what you can afford.
It can be overwhelming at first and it may seem like pulling the string on a generator is easier. Once set up you will wonder why you bring the generator at all. (for back up and AC of course)
