Connecting Portable Solar Panels
As I've been exploring an upgrade of my entire electrical system, I'm contemplating adding additional solar, and looking at options. I have plenty of room on the roof for a few more panels, though ...
Forum Discussion
Ground based portable solar gets shaded by the RV at times, so it must be moved to keep it in the sun. BTDT. This means the battery connection is at one end of your RV and sure enough the sun is at the other end, so you need long enough wire to reach past the the length of your RV at the very least.
You need enough wire to pull the array back from the RV far enough so the sun is above the roof on the other side of the RV, or else move the array to the sunny side.
A slide out one side and the awning out the other side of your RV makes good shade on a wide arc, so that means you move the array to the sunny side of those when the sun gets to there.
Didn't happen where we were doing this, but I can imagine that the place your portable would have to go would be out of your site's area, so now you have to have no neighbour that close.
I don't bother when parked in the woods. For us that is in the darker half of the year when solar is poor anyway, so it is generator and charger. I can understand trying to get some solar if parked in the woods in the summer. The trick is to find the open spot away from the RV that you are "allowed" to use for your array, and that will stay open to the sun long enough as the sun moves around and up and down to make it all worthwhile for any amp hours. AH does have that H in it., so time matters.
You need enough wire to pull the array back from the RV far enough so the sun is above the roof on the other side of the RV, or else move the array to the sunny side.
A slide out one side and the awning out the other side of your RV makes good shade on a wide arc, so that means you move the array to the sunny side of those when the sun gets to there.
Didn't happen where we were doing this, but I can imagine that the place your portable would have to go would be out of your site's area, so now you have to have no neighbour that close.
I don't bother when parked in the woods. For us that is in the darker half of the year when solar is poor anyway, so it is generator and charger. I can understand trying to get some solar if parked in the woods in the summer. The trick is to find the open spot away from the RV that you are "allowed" to use for your array, and that will stay open to the sun long enough as the sun moves around and up and down to make it all worthwhile for any amp hours. AH does have that H in it., so time matters.
