Solar Rv awning -- does it pencil out?

Timmo! wrote:
Here is a link to Solar vs Honda financial breakeven analysis that will help determine which source of power is cost effective. This analysis indicates for the Honda 2000, it will take about 5.5 year breakeven, or around 1954 days of usage.



https://www.nroa2003.com/download/Miscellaneous/Cost_of_Solar_vs_Honda.xls

Of course the breakeven analysis for carbon emissions is a different story all together. At what point does the accumulated emissions from the generator's manufacture and operation match that of the solar panel emissions? If we take a page from the BEV's breakeven analysis, then it probably is several years away for heavy RV users and probably never for the occasional weekender.

thats kinda of a outdated table, must be from the 90's. I did a complet 325 watt system for 600 cdn, probably would have been about 3-400 down there if that. also you would never be able to charge your batteries enough to totaly recover from a 60AH draw in any offical campground up here as you limited to to hours of generator use in the morning and 1 to 2 at night in most places. some will give you and extra hour here to there, some say no generators period, and more are going that way.

the other thing they have in that graph is the unrealistic charge rate from the generators, if you have a 45 amp converter in your rv, all your getting is 45 amps and that is if everything else is turned off and dependent on the stat of charge of the battery. if a flooded battery is down 60 amps its you can assume probably 4 to 8 hours of charge to get to 100% depending on the equalization phase and how much actualy amprage your 45amp converter is actualy sending to the generator.