What's the Latest Solar Tech?

If I remember the 100w Renogy system will put out about 5 a/h. The only thing in use during the day may be cell phone chargers and possibly a radio and the water pump. So on a decently sunny day the battery should stay 100% charged by sundown.

Thinking more about the inverter set up, and looking at this 12v TV. At 39w / 12v = 3.25 a/h draw so for say 2-3 hrs of TV we should be fine.

Thinking about how we used the inverter in the TT, it was really only for the TV, so I'm thinking a 12v TV will save the overhead and expense of the inverter and transfer switch. All our devices are chargeable by USB.

If concerned about the cold temps, then do consider that portable lithium battery. You can take it inside in the winter, and it is also available for lots of other things wherever you might take it.
I literally wish I could go back and get that from the beginning of my project.

I have 200 watts solar, and the batts usually recharged by the time I get up; I don't get up right at sunrise.

Good call on the 12v items

The concern with LifePO4 batteries in the cold is charging, not discharging. In fact they operate better than wet cell or AGM on discharge in the cold.
I don't see why you'd need to bring them inside when it's cold. Mine spent the winter in the 5'er without a hitch. Just make sure not to try and charge them when it's too cold (I avoid this below 5C).

I surprised no one on here has talked about the advancements in solar panels? I'm not that familiar, but isn't there flexible as well as rigid? Aren't there multiple materials that solar panels are made of? Are some more efficient than others getting more use of reduced sunlight or shade and such?

I would be curious if anyone has any real experience with different types of solar panels and if any make sense in the RV market. Living in the Pacific NW anytime a company calls me to come to my house and talk about how I should add solar panels to my house to "save" money on electric costs, I tell them to go pound sand... I know there is no efficient way to use solar to offset our low cost of electricity. But things are changing fast and that statement may not be true for much longer.

Happy to hear if anyone has any real suggestions for the RV use.

thanks

Thermoguy wrote:
I surprised no one on here has talked about the advancements in solar panels? I'm not that familiar, but isn't there flexible as well as rigid? Aren't there multiple materials that solar panels are made of? Are some more efficient than others getting more use of reduced sunlight or shade and such?

I would be curious if anyone has any real experience with different types of solar panels and if any make sense in the RV market. Living in the Pacific NW anytime a company calls me to come to my house and talk about how I should add solar panels to my house to "save" money on electric costs, I tell them to go pound sand... I know there is no efficient way to use solar to offset our low cost of electricity. But things are changing fast and that statement may not be true for much longer.

Happy to hear if anyone has any real suggestions for the RV use.

thanks

There have been some improvements to cell design, but we're talking small, incremental improvements that tweak out a few extra watts per square meter for end users like us (there are some interesting advancements that aren't mass market). There are flexible panels but I know of several people who have used them and all have experienced premature failures and issues.

you must have skipped over the post that talked about solar. Agree, the flexible ones are lower quality and more prone to damage and failuer and because there is no protective glass can be damaged by falling limbs or hail easier. They have their place if the situation calls for a thin and flexible panel, but the glass panels are the top choice.
mono is slightly better than poly but so close in performance it almost doesnt matter.
I cant imagine not having solar panels on my RV now.

Lithium is now available with internal heaters that should have them working fine in the cold.

ajriding wrote:
you must have skipped over the post that talked about solar. Agree, the flexible ones are lower quality and more prone to damage and failuer and because there is no protective glass can be damaged by falling limbs or hail easier. They have their place if the situation calls for a thin and flexible panel, but the glass panels are the top choice.
mono is slightly better than poly but so close in performance it almost doesnt matter.
I cant imagine not having solar panels on my RV now.

I guess I did... I just re-read all the posts and still don't see it.

But, thanks for the info. I was unaware that the flexible ones were lower quality and more prone to damage. I was hoping the opposite. But, I haven't invested in solar as just don't want to put any holes in my roof. I also have a generator and can go a couple days without using it. I only use it if I want to run an AC component like Air or TV.

Thermoguy wrote:
I haven't invested in solar as just don't want to put any holes in my roof

The fear of putting holes in your roof is overblown. Not a big deal.

I ran my solar wires down the fridge chimney. No holes, just double sided tape to hold the wires down, and VHB tape holding down the solar brackets.

With two panels you can run them in series. This doubles the voltage, but the charge controller can convert it back to what the batteries need. Going from 18 volts (used for 12v systems typically) to 37 volts (doubled) means you can use smaller wire, and just one pair of wires. The MPPT controller will bounce this down to the 14 volts needed.

There are lots and lots and lots of forum post about installing solar, so i wont go into any details further.