TCS with Solar - Rooftop or Portable
Hi folks, I'm still exploring Solar power for my new TC. In another thread I shared a rooftop system I was considering and several people suggested I go portable instead. I had not considered portable...
Forum Discussion
As has been stated several times the first step is to install a Trimetric digital charge metering device so you know exactly what your usage is on any given day and how fast your truck's alternator can restore the charge level.
You may find that adding a second battery is all that is needed. Or that the alternator takes you to 80% but still keeps the camper battery above 50% so all is OK. Deep cycle flooded lead acid batteries are designed to handle partial recharge and then a discharge situation which is common with their use in an RV.
The Trimetric data will also make it possible to use your actual amp hours of demand and battery capacity requirements to make it through the night to determine how much solar panel output you need to recharge the batteries the following day.
I have two 100 Watt panels and two 110 AH 12v batteries and it is overkill and double what we need in actual use whether it is in the summer or the winter months that we are traveling and camping.
One rapidly reaches a point of diminishing returns on the money spent for a system. If a system recharges tht battereis 100% of the way 90% of the time and recharges them to 80% DOD the other 10% of the time, that is more than good enough.
What I like about the roof top solar panels and permanent installation of the charge controller and charge gauge is that once it was installed it required no time at all to keep it running. I check the metering gauge once in a while and see that the batteries are at 100% and that is it. If the camper sits for months the batteries are always going to be at 100% charge level when I load the camper on the truck for a trip.
The less we have to do when we get to a campsite the more we enjoy the overall experience. Having to setup a portable solar power rig and then put it away each evening and then out again the next morning or before we head off to go fishing or take a hike, and then put it out again when we return and then put it away again for the evening - this does not make any sense to me. Might as well have a generator.
I also know from our travels that at least 1 night out of 5 we will be somewhere that has shorepower for charging the batteries. At least 1 day out of the 5 we will be driving and the truck alternator will be charging the batteries. The solar takes care of the batteries the other 3 days and all we really need is one 100 Watt panel and not the two that I installed.
The second panel added about 10% to the total cost of the system I put together and I had the space on the roof and wanted to use a rack approach to securing the panel(s) to the roof so the difference in installation labor was negligible. The got the biggest bang for the buck though with adding a second battery.
You may find that adding a second battery is all that is needed. Or that the alternator takes you to 80% but still keeps the camper battery above 50% so all is OK. Deep cycle flooded lead acid batteries are designed to handle partial recharge and then a discharge situation which is common with their use in an RV.
The Trimetric data will also make it possible to use your actual amp hours of demand and battery capacity requirements to make it through the night to determine how much solar panel output you need to recharge the batteries the following day.
I have two 100 Watt panels and two 110 AH 12v batteries and it is overkill and double what we need in actual use whether it is in the summer or the winter months that we are traveling and camping.
One rapidly reaches a point of diminishing returns on the money spent for a system. If a system recharges tht battereis 100% of the way 90% of the time and recharges them to 80% DOD the other 10% of the time, that is more than good enough.
What I like about the roof top solar panels and permanent installation of the charge controller and charge gauge is that once it was installed it required no time at all to keep it running. I check the metering gauge once in a while and see that the batteries are at 100% and that is it. If the camper sits for months the batteries are always going to be at 100% charge level when I load the camper on the truck for a trip.
The less we have to do when we get to a campsite the more we enjoy the overall experience. Having to setup a portable solar power rig and then put it away each evening and then out again the next morning or before we head off to go fishing or take a hike, and then put it out again when we return and then put it away again for the evening - this does not make any sense to me. Might as well have a generator.
I also know from our travels that at least 1 night out of 5 we will be somewhere that has shorepower for charging the batteries. At least 1 day out of the 5 we will be driving and the truck alternator will be charging the batteries. The solar takes care of the batteries the other 3 days and all we really need is one 100 Watt panel and not the two that I installed.
The second panel added about 10% to the total cost of the system I put together and I had the space on the roof and wanted to use a rack approach to securing the panel(s) to the roof so the difference in installation labor was negligible. The got the biggest bang for the buck though with adding a second battery.
