Minimum Solar Update
A couple of months ago, someone asked what would be a "minimal" solar setup. Here is mine and the results.
Just finished thirty days on the road with a single flat mounted 30 watt panel and a single group 27DC battery. Shore power or generator for heavy loads like air conditioner or electric heater as needed. Battery for; recharging phones and laptop, operating 12 volt refrigerator about half the time, a few hours of television a week, interior lights, 12 volt fan.
Resting voltage never got below 12.2 volts. Sunny day showed 13.6 volts and occasionally over 14.0. I carried an extra battery, "just in case", but never needed it. I had sunny weather traveling through Texas and New Mexico for that month.
Based on this and the fact that I am Single, I would think that a fifty watt setup might meet the lightest of needs for some people, like the original person who asked the question. "If" I had been traveling in Illinois during January, or "If" I wanted to watch television 24/7, or "If" I did not have a generator, or "If" I never stayed in campgrounds with shore power, my setup would not be sufficient. But that was not the question.
Just finished thirty days on the road with a single flat mounted 30 watt panel and a single group 27DC battery. Shore power or generator for heavy loads like air conditioner or electric heater as needed. Battery for; recharging phones and laptop, operating 12 volt refrigerator about half the time, a few hours of television a week, interior lights, 12 volt fan.
Resting voltage never got below 12.2 volts. Sunny day showed 13.6 volts and occasionally over 14.0. I carried an extra battery, "just in case", but never needed it. I had sunny weather traveling through Texas and New Mexico for that month.
Based on this and the fact that I am Single, I would think that a fifty watt setup might meet the lightest of needs for some people, like the original person who asked the question. "If" I had been traveling in Illinois during January, or "If" I wanted to watch television 24/7, or "If" I did not have a generator, or "If" I never stayed in campgrounds with shore power, my setup would not be sufficient. But that was not the question.
