Solar with a residental fridge
All, I have a question about solar panels for my new (to me) RV. I have a 2016 Thor Outlaw Gas Class-a. I have three main concerns regarding power when not plugged in and not running the generator ...
Forum Discussion
If your batteries really say 20 Ah then you have some unbelievably small odd-ball batteries. Most 6v RV batteries are at least 220 AH.
Solar panels are basically a commodity, shopping should be done on a watts/dollar basis. The larger the panel the better the price. Most larger panels are selling for well under $1/watt. When you start buying little 80 or 100 watt panels you will often pay $1 to $2 per watt. You could probably get a 300 watt panel for $200 or less. I just bought 30 290 watt panels for a job and they cost me under $150 each but that's a wholesale price.
The charge controller, wiring, mounting hardware, etc. will cost you more than the panel. You might as well put up two or three. I just did an RV recently, I installed 3 290 watt panels. The whole job cost the RV owners about $3,000 for a turn-key installation. The 870 watts of panels only about 1/6 of the cost.
Solar panels are basically a commodity, shopping should be done on a watts/dollar basis. The larger the panel the better the price. Most larger panels are selling for well under $1/watt. When you start buying little 80 or 100 watt panels you will often pay $1 to $2 per watt. You could probably get a 300 watt panel for $200 or less. I just bought 30 290 watt panels for a job and they cost me under $150 each but that's a wholesale price.
The charge controller, wiring, mounting hardware, etc. will cost you more than the panel. You might as well put up two or three. I just did an RV recently, I installed 3 290 watt panels. The whole job cost the RV owners about $3,000 for a turn-key installation. The 870 watts of panels only about 1/6 of the cost.
