Solar Adventure
Well since I'm going to be boondocking some this summer I have decided to begin my SOLAR adventure. I plan on buying my batteries this weekend. Starting off with 2 6V batteries any advice on manufac...
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Stop. Do an energy audit.
One good way to do this is to plug the entire rv into a kill-a-watt meter and measure a couple of days of energy use. Here is a simple flow chart.
Budget-->Energy Audit-->Battery bank size-->number of watts-->PWM or MPPT. What ever type of controller is chosen, make sure it has adjustable set points and a temperature probe that is on the battery.
If you use solar as a battery charger, one rule of thumb is between 60 and 150 watts of panels per 100 amp-hours of storage. The smaller the battery bank the higher the wattage needed (per 100 amp-hours). Here is a link to the rather special spreadsheet which includes an energy audit, that N8GS has created to help size solar battery charging systems!
solar spreadsheet by N8GS
If you full time or use an inverter lots, then populate the entire unshaded area of the roof with panels. I'm considering replacing my awning with solar panels.
For a nice explanation of solar, try this link:
Golden rules of solar
One good way to do this is to plug the entire rv into a kill-a-watt meter and measure a couple of days of energy use. Here is a simple flow chart.
Budget-->Energy Audit-->Battery bank size-->number of watts-->PWM or MPPT. What ever type of controller is chosen, make sure it has adjustable set points and a temperature probe that is on the battery.
If you use solar as a battery charger, one rule of thumb is between 60 and 150 watts of panels per 100 amp-hours of storage. The smaller the battery bank the higher the wattage needed (per 100 amp-hours). Here is a link to the rather special spreadsheet which includes an energy audit, that N8GS has created to help size solar battery charging systems!
solar spreadsheet by N8GS
If you full time or use an inverter lots, then populate the entire unshaded area of the roof with panels. I'm considering replacing my awning with solar panels.
For a nice explanation of solar, try this link:
Golden rules of solar
