Adding more Solar and DC-DC charger
Hope all is well guys and girls About 6 months ago i came here with a plan to leave my high priced NYC apt and move into my truck camper full time , well , its been one hell of a ride so far ! O...
Forum Discussion
Assuming you are still in the NYC area, 400 watts of solar should indeed give you a max of about 15 amps and a total of about 125 AH/day in full bright sun with no obstructions blocking your panels at any time.
A couple of months from now those outputs are going to drop in half and you will be lucky it hit a max of about 60 AH/day. If your current output is insufficient, you are not going to be able to add enough solar capacity to handle short, cloudy winter days.
I do not have the solution or even full understanding for your situation but I do have a couple of suggestions. First look at an energy audit and look at steps to conserve power. Reduce use of electrical appliances, convert to the most efficient LED lighting, avoid using an inverter and any 120 v devices. Saving on consumption is likely to work better than trying to add panels.
Next I would look at the fastest way of charging. I don't know anything about Li batteries so I cannot offer specific help.
Lastly look at the wire gauges especially for the solar to battery circuits. Typically there is a lot of waste due to use of marginal wiring.
A couple of months from now those outputs are going to drop in half and you will be lucky it hit a max of about 60 AH/day. If your current output is insufficient, you are not going to be able to add enough solar capacity to handle short, cloudy winter days.
I do not have the solution or even full understanding for your situation but I do have a couple of suggestions. First look at an energy audit and look at steps to conserve power. Reduce use of electrical appliances, convert to the most efficient LED lighting, avoid using an inverter and any 120 v devices. Saving on consumption is likely to work better than trying to add panels.
Next I would look at the fastest way of charging. I don't know anything about Li batteries so I cannot offer specific help.
Lastly look at the wire gauges especially for the solar to battery circuits. Typically there is a lot of waste due to use of marginal wiring.
