Suggestions for using "wasted" solar power?
Looking for suggestions... How would you use ~150-250w of power for 8-10hrs per day so it's not just "wasted"? I've got multiple RVs (Class C) and they each have 500w of solar panels, and 200AH ...
Forum Discussion
One issue is if you isolate the consumption away from the batteries, you don't have 8-10hrs of power. Output will start at a very minimal output mid morning, peak somewhere around noon and then fall off as afternoon progresses.
So any use has to be able to handle a wide range of wattages. A cheap 12v fan would be doable but other than saying you used more of your solar generation, not sure what benefit it really would provide. A lot of small 12v fans use less than 1/2 amp, so probably simpler to just run it thru the battery bank.
If you had them at home or your own lot (with existing grid power for an office or something), you could probably set up a quick connect system to back feed into the grid (ie: net metering), similar to a residential solar system. Obviously, needs to be done to code but say 6 rigs at 500w would be equivalent to a 3000w solar array and would likely generate somewhere around 12-15kwh per day. Assuming $0.25/kwh California rates, that would reduce your electric bill by around $90-100/month. But if they are just in a storage yard, that probably won't work.
So any use has to be able to handle a wide range of wattages. A cheap 12v fan would be doable but other than saying you used more of your solar generation, not sure what benefit it really would provide. A lot of small 12v fans use less than 1/2 amp, so probably simpler to just run it thru the battery bank.
If you had them at home or your own lot (with existing grid power for an office or something), you could probably set up a quick connect system to back feed into the grid (ie: net metering), similar to a residential solar system. Obviously, needs to be done to code but say 6 rigs at 500w would be equivalent to a 3000w solar array and would likely generate somewhere around 12-15kwh per day. Assuming $0.25/kwh California rates, that would reduce your electric bill by around $90-100/month. But if they are just in a storage yard, that probably won't work.
