Home solar panel on RV...anyone attempted?
Okay, I have one extra solar panel from my home system. The panel is 66.5" x 40" in size see the specs below. I have looked online and haven't been able to find many people who have done this. Am I mi...
Forum Discussion
I will list my gear here since where you are headed is fairly similar. I'll leave some comments, also.
Module = 235W USA built panel (no longer being mfg) 36V Vmp, 7.5 A Imp, Pmax 235W
Controller = Morningstar MPPT-15 with MS software included. I wouldn't buy a controller without robust software, it makes allocating settings very easy and you can observe in real time what the harvest is.
Circuit protection = Bussman 25 A manual breaker between panel and controller.
Bus bars = I built my own out of 4" plastic boxes and copper bars. The bars are tapped to accomodate 1/4" SAE threads.
Wire = I have a roof top junction box with two connection terminal strips, again, built from hardware I had and a few store-bought items. It will allow me to expand system with another parallel loaded module. MC4 12 ga from the panel to the box. 4AWG cable is used for everything downstream and to bus bars/batteries.
I have two battery banks, at present, with 300AH of capacity. There is a bus bar for each battery bank (+) phase and a common (-) phase bus. I made a distribution panel that controls current to/from both battery banks to charge controller, converter, and inverter. I wanted the flexibility to draw or charge to either bank.
Bus bars:
Distribution panel:
The paper cutout is where the inverter is located.
Module = 235W USA built panel (no longer being mfg) 36V Vmp, 7.5 A Imp, Pmax 235W
Controller = Morningstar MPPT-15 with MS software included. I wouldn't buy a controller without robust software, it makes allocating settings very easy and you can observe in real time what the harvest is.
Circuit protection = Bussman 25 A manual breaker between panel and controller.
Bus bars = I built my own out of 4" plastic boxes and copper bars. The bars are tapped to accomodate 1/4" SAE threads.
Wire = I have a roof top junction box with two connection terminal strips, again, built from hardware I had and a few store-bought items. It will allow me to expand system with another parallel loaded module. MC4 12 ga from the panel to the box. 4AWG cable is used for everything downstream and to bus bars/batteries.
I have two battery banks, at present, with 300AH of capacity. There is a bus bar for each battery bank (+) phase and a common (-) phase bus. I made a distribution panel that controls current to/from both battery banks to charge controller, converter, and inverter. I wanted the flexibility to draw or charge to either bank.
Bus bars:
Distribution panel:
The paper cutout is where the inverter is located.
