Solar Panels for battery charging
Hi - we have a 1998 Fleetwood Angler 8'. I am wondering if anyone here has installed a solar power kit for charging the battery. I have not put in an auxillary battery and don't like to hook in to m...
Forum Discussion
CAJW - There is no set rule on how many watts of solar is required for a given battery size. The general rule of thumb is 150 watts of solar for every 100 amp-hours of battery.
You could setup a TC with adequate solar while in Arizona, and you probably would be very disappointed in northern states simply due to the suns position or bad weather.
You could have a setup that is great during the summer months, but inadequate during the winter. Typically, you AH use would be much greater during the winter months due running the furnace and longer use of lights. You also have less sun to charge your batteries.
Many people are of the belief you can simply just add more solar or add bore batteries. This is not necessarily true. If you just add batteries, without enough solar, it just takes longer to drain the batteries. If you only add more solar, no batteries added, you probably charge faster and maybe gain a little in usable AHs. The key is energy audit, which measures what you have, using, output of the solar, and condition of the battery/ies.
So, if you build a system using the 150 watts of solar for every 100 amp-hours of battery guide, You will have a very good base. You may or may not need additional battery or solar. The down side is if you need to add more battery, you will be mixing old with new, which could (note could) be a bad thing.
You have just under 150 AH of battery, and probably camp mostly in California. I think all you need is about 120 to 150 watts of solar. Again, it is greatly determined by what AH's you use. I suggest a controller capable of 25 amps or more, so you could add more solar later if needed. With a three stage charger, in the worse weather conditions, you could run your generator for 30 minutes to an hour and recharge your batteries up to 70 to 80 percent. How many times a year would you need to do that?
Wayne
You could setup a TC with adequate solar while in Arizona, and you probably would be very disappointed in northern states simply due to the suns position or bad weather.
You could have a setup that is great during the summer months, but inadequate during the winter. Typically, you AH use would be much greater during the winter months due running the furnace and longer use of lights. You also have less sun to charge your batteries.
Many people are of the belief you can simply just add more solar or add bore batteries. This is not necessarily true. If you just add batteries, without enough solar, it just takes longer to drain the batteries. If you only add more solar, no batteries added, you probably charge faster and maybe gain a little in usable AHs. The key is energy audit, which measures what you have, using, output of the solar, and condition of the battery/ies.
So, if you build a system using the 150 watts of solar for every 100 amp-hours of battery guide, You will have a very good base. You may or may not need additional battery or solar. The down side is if you need to add more battery, you will be mixing old with new, which could (note could) be a bad thing.
You have just under 150 AH of battery, and probably camp mostly in California. I think all you need is about 120 to 150 watts of solar. Again, it is greatly determined by what AH's you use. I suggest a controller capable of 25 amps or more, so you could add more solar later if needed. With a three stage charger, in the worse weather conditions, you could run your generator for 30 minutes to an hour and recharge your batteries up to 70 to 80 percent. How many times a year would you need to do that?
Wayne
