Using a residential PV panel on RV
Hi everyone, Newly registered to the forum here, I've been reading a lot of helpful information here over the past year while doing my conversion though. I haven't been able to find a straight ans...
Forum Discussion
Hi fooddude,
How big is the battery bank? Twin batteries are probably not going to leave much capacity for a rainy day or three.
I'd spend enough on a controller to allow for a temperature compensation probe, and future expansion.
When I was a weekender, 256 watts of solar was more than enough. Now that I full time I plan increasing that by a factor of 5 to around the 1250 watt area.
Folks who full time, who don't wish to be either attached to shore power, or a generator, needs must have a power system that can provide for all their daily needs, plus a "cushion" for poor solar conditions.
100 to 200 watts of solar just isn't going to be enough for your goal of self sufficiency, with out hours of generator time in 48 hour time slots.
If you have not already "committed" to a 12 volt system, I'd seriously consider a 24 volt battery bank.
I had to choose and stayed with 12 volt--now backing out would be expensive, to say the least.
Another option is to add a dedicated "house battery" alternator. That may allow rapid charging while trundling down the road. If you are a "rolling stone" (I am), a significant portion of the power could be harvested and stored.
How big is the battery bank? Twin batteries are probably not going to leave much capacity for a rainy day or three.
I'd spend enough on a controller to allow for a temperature compensation probe, and future expansion.
When I was a weekender, 256 watts of solar was more than enough. Now that I full time I plan increasing that by a factor of 5 to around the 1250 watt area.
Folks who full time, who don't wish to be either attached to shore power, or a generator, needs must have a power system that can provide for all their daily needs, plus a "cushion" for poor solar conditions.
100 to 200 watts of solar just isn't going to be enough for your goal of self sufficiency, with out hours of generator time in 48 hour time slots.
If you have not already "committed" to a 12 volt system, I'd seriously consider a 24 volt battery bank.
I had to choose and stayed with 12 volt--now backing out would be expensive, to say the least.
Another option is to add a dedicated "house battery" alternator. That may allow rapid charging while trundling down the road. If you are a "rolling stone" (I am), a significant portion of the power could be harvested and stored.
mexicanfooddude wrote:
So I've decided against going with the sunpower high voltage panel. I've seen a few recommendations in the thread regarding some individual panels and individual controllers... does anyone have a recommendation for a manufacturer that provides a reasonably priced panel/controller combo? In the 100-200 watt range.
