Solar Panels
I have a TT with two 6volts batteries. I would like to get the best solar panel recharge system out there. What do you recomd?
Forum Discussion
You might also think outside the box when doing this. Once you start seeing you are able to replace your present daily battery usage with the solar panels you most likely will want to start doing other things with your trailer that consumes more battery.
You may want to plan your solar install with some expansion in-place.
We have to fight the generator use restrictions here on the East side of the US and never can you find a public camp place that allows us to run our generator after 8PM. This forces you into going more GREEN with LED lights and bigger battery banks and using Inverters. I started out with a 300WATT PSW Inverter setup to power up a few 120VAC home entertainment electronic items for just a few hours each night. It wasn't three or four trips when the wife wants more 120VAC items to use camping off the power grid. I went to a 400WATT PSW Inverter and eventually ended up with a 600WATT PSW Inverter setup. This does great for us now and runs my current used 255AH battery bank down to around 50% charge state at 8AM each morning when we are usually allowed to run the 2KW Honda Generator to allow the trailer on-board smart mode converter system to re-charge the batteries in a short three hour generator run time.
We have been camping off the power grid for around five years now doing this method...
I too am just now wanting to add solar panels to help out and it appears with room I have available on my OFF-ROAD POPUP roof that two 100WATT Panels on each side of my fantastic fan on the front of the roof and a 230WATT panel on the rear of the roof between the off mounted air conditioner and the end of the roof will really help out keeping me from running the generator so long each day. With my present daily consumption I still may have to run my 2KW generator for a hour or so to get the initial 50AMPS plus high current charge into the batteries and then let my SOLAR PANELS normal SUN RUN for the day complete the battery bank charge back up to their 90% charge state before i lose the high sun.
This is required for my somewhat higher battery power demand than alot of folks normally do.
Like everyone says each one of us is a little different in what we do so it takes some good planning to be successful about it.
Calculate all of your usage in AMPHOURS and what ever you pull out of the batteries you have to put back in... If you have to have a good 90% charge state before each evening like I do it may take a bigger solar panel install. In my case if the solar panels are not going to get my batteries back up to their 90% charge state each evening before I start my run off the batteries I have to plan for allowed time to run my generator when I am allowed to run it due to the generator run time restrictions.
I think you may also find that using solar panels to totally replace a generator is going to require alot of solar panels so as in my case I want to only use the solar panels to enhance my generator use. Also if it is cloudy everyday for a week the generator is the only thing that is going to work for you keeping the batteries re-charged.
Its all about PLAN Bs...
Roy Ken
You may want to plan your solar install with some expansion in-place.
We have to fight the generator use restrictions here on the East side of the US and never can you find a public camp place that allows us to run our generator after 8PM. This forces you into going more GREEN with LED lights and bigger battery banks and using Inverters. I started out with a 300WATT PSW Inverter setup to power up a few 120VAC home entertainment electronic items for just a few hours each night. It wasn't three or four trips when the wife wants more 120VAC items to use camping off the power grid. I went to a 400WATT PSW Inverter and eventually ended up with a 600WATT PSW Inverter setup. This does great for us now and runs my current used 255AH battery bank down to around 50% charge state at 8AM each morning when we are usually allowed to run the 2KW Honda Generator to allow the trailer on-board smart mode converter system to re-charge the batteries in a short three hour generator run time.
We have been camping off the power grid for around five years now doing this method...
I too am just now wanting to add solar panels to help out and it appears with room I have available on my OFF-ROAD POPUP roof that two 100WATT Panels on each side of my fantastic fan on the front of the roof and a 230WATT panel on the rear of the roof between the off mounted air conditioner and the end of the roof will really help out keeping me from running the generator so long each day. With my present daily consumption I still may have to run my 2KW generator for a hour or so to get the initial 50AMPS plus high current charge into the batteries and then let my SOLAR PANELS normal SUN RUN for the day complete the battery bank charge back up to their 90% charge state before i lose the high sun.
This is required for my somewhat higher battery power demand than alot of folks normally do.
Like everyone says each one of us is a little different in what we do so it takes some good planning to be successful about it.
Calculate all of your usage in AMPHOURS and what ever you pull out of the batteries you have to put back in... If you have to have a good 90% charge state before each evening like I do it may take a bigger solar panel install. In my case if the solar panels are not going to get my batteries back up to their 90% charge state each evening before I start my run off the batteries I have to plan for allowed time to run my generator when I am allowed to run it due to the generator run time restrictions.
I think you may also find that using solar panels to totally replace a generator is going to require alot of solar panels so as in my case I want to only use the solar panels to enhance my generator use. Also if it is cloudy everyday for a week the generator is the only thing that is going to work for you keeping the batteries re-charged.
Its all about PLAN Bs...
Roy Ken
