Solar panel upgrade
Hi, I am the lucky owner of a venerable 1996 Lance Legend 500 truck camper, thinking to upgrade the original factory installed solar panel.
If possible I would prefer to do this without disturbing too much the existing power system that continues to run very well.
I figure the simplest solution could be to just replace the 55W panel with a 100W panel and continue using the same 7amp controller - if that is not a bad idea?
This is based on my guesstimate that a 7amp controller and a 12 volt battery should be able to handle 96 watts: ie 7amp x 12volts = 96 (and that the 100W panel will never actually reach 100W of power except in theoretically ideal conditions that I am unlikely to encounter in what remains of my lifetime anyways?
But maybe this guesstimate is way off, and by replacing that 55W panel with a 100W solar panel without changing to a more powerful controller I would not only screw up the existing system but also risk overheating the system, starting an electrical fire and burning down my camper (that would not be good).
Another reason why I consider this is that I expect that if I do try to upgrade the controller as well as the solar panel that may put me at risk of screwing up not only the solar power system but also the entire electrical system including the connection to the truck alternator etc., which I would prefer not to do. But maybe that is not likely?
What would you do?
If possible I would prefer to do this without disturbing too much the existing power system that continues to run very well.
I figure the simplest solution could be to just replace the 55W panel with a 100W panel and continue using the same 7amp controller - if that is not a bad idea?
This is based on my guesstimate that a 7amp controller and a 12 volt battery should be able to handle 96 watts: ie 7amp x 12volts = 96 (and that the 100W panel will never actually reach 100W of power except in theoretically ideal conditions that I am unlikely to encounter in what remains of my lifetime anyways?
But maybe this guesstimate is way off, and by replacing that 55W panel with a 100W solar panel without changing to a more powerful controller I would not only screw up the existing system but also risk overheating the system, starting an electrical fire and burning down my camper (that would not be good).
Another reason why I consider this is that I expect that if I do try to upgrade the controller as well as the solar panel that may put me at risk of screwing up not only the solar power system but also the entire electrical system including the connection to the truck alternator etc., which I would prefer not to do. But maybe that is not likely?
What would you do?
