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 There are two things to consider before buying a solar system for an RV - is it worth it, and why is it worth it?

 The most obvious factor is the cost of the system - solar is not cheap, (nor your RV) and may not be for everyone. It will save you generator fuel, wear, and maintenance - but probably not enough to be much money ahead. Other things to consider is your independence, and that solar is very quiet, and if installed correctly, is very low maintenance.

 A starter system can be as simple as a panel, and charge controller for a few hundred dollars…and  going deluxe, with all the panels, batteries, inverter, and other things needed for full time living a complete system might cost around $2800 to $9000. But if you own a rig which is 100 000’s of dollars worth you might want to consider going solar which in the end will save you money on campgrounds maintenance and more.

 

You will get what you pay for.

 

How does it work?

 

 The science of the RV Power Kit is really simple: the more sunlight the solar panel can absorb, the more power your system can provide. The  Solar panel is highly efficient and produces electricity in as little as 10% of full sunlight. Whenever the sun shines on the panel, electricity is produced and stored in your vehicle‘s 12-volt battery.

 

 

Need more power?

 

 Our solar power systems are readily expandable to provide more power now or grow with your future needs. Our standard custom build RV Power Kits come with a Morningstar 20/30A (or more) charge controller, which is capable of controlling up to 300W @12VDC or 600watt Solar in a 24 VDC system. The controller is multi-staged 12/24 Volt. 

 

 

Is this a reliable power system?

 

 RV Power Kits are designed and manufactured by companies uniformly recognized as the world's highest quality manufacturer of solar panels. 

 

 

Is this a complete power system?

 

 RV Power Kit's provide you with everything you need to install your own efficient, reliable solar power system and begin generating electricity. The heart of the kit is the rugged high efficiency solar panel which converts sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. Once your system is installed, you‘re ready to go anywhere — just add sunlight. – and batteries as storage.


SOLAR SIZING "RULE OF THUMB"  

 Whether or not you choose to install a solar system, we encourage you to measure and calculate your energy requirements. It will show you how to better manage your situation. 

 Based on the thousands of systems which are out there the average RV owner, one without unusual needs, generally finds that two 4 amp panels and one 135 AH battery (or equivalent) per person provides an adequate system.  An extra panel and battery provides insurance during bad weather and enough power to handle the “unexpected”.

 

In general

 Most electrical systems in RV and boats run on 12  or 24 volts DC. These can all be easily powered from solar panels and a couple of batteries. You can reduce your power requirements, and the number of solar panels needed in an RV by simply switching to energy efficient lights - these put out the same light as incandescent, but draw less than one-third the power. 

 How many panels and the size of the batteries depends on how much power you use. If all you have is lights, a small TV, and the usual gizmos that come built in, one to three 50- to 80 watt panels and a two heavy duty deep-cycle batteries (or more) will probably do the job. 

 If you plan on running an inverter for a microwave, coffee machine, vacuum cleaner, or other standard AC appliances you will need more, from three to six panels. 12 volt appliances, such as ceiling fans, coffee machine and more, are available - but as a general rule, 12 volt appliances are often much more expensive than standard household appliances. So you may want a small inverter, in the 250-1500 watt size for appliances, such as larger TV's and microwaves.

 

 The best way to take full advantage of 12 Volt energy is to use energy efficient 12 Volt (or 24 Volt) appliances. Switching to fluorescent lighting is essential and you will generate the same amount of light while using significantly less power.

 

How can I hook several batteries together for a 12 Volt system?

I f you wish to have extra 12 Volt capacity, you can create a 12 Volt bank of batteries by hooking up a pair (or more) of batteries together in PARALLEL. The voltage remains the same (12 Volt) while the Amp-hrs capacity increases proportionally to the number of batteries in the bank.


 Parallel (12 Volt) Hook-up:

 First, connect the batteries together by attaching the POSITIVE battery post of the first battery to the POSITIVE post of the second battery. Similarly, attach the NEGATIVE to NEGATIVE. Remember that this hook-up will add the Amp-hrs capacity of the two batteries. Example: Two 12 Volt 130 Amp-hrs batteries in parallel will give a total 260 Amp-hrs at 12 Volt.


 Inverters

 Small inverters are pretty reasonable, and will handle light loads - for example, a 75 watt inverter is enough to run small notebook computers. An inverter large enough to run the microwave (800-1200 watts) or coffee pot might run $700-$1600. The larger sine-wave inverters that put out 1000-4000 watts will be from $1600 to $8000. Most RV's and boats are happy with inverters in the 800 to 2500 watt range, with 1000 to 1500 watts being the most popular.


Batteries

 How much battery: Your batteries should be something like two to eight deep cycle 6-Volt batteries or one to four deep cycle 12-Volt. Contrary to popular belief, two 6-volt batteries in series (golf cart size) are not better or any more reliable than a single large 12-volt, or two 12-volt batteries in parallel. 

 At one time, there was some truth to the notion, because 6-volt golf cart batteries were the only commonly available deep cycle batteries. 

 Regardless of which arrangement or size you use, it is much more important not to mix old with new batteries in a set, or to mix different types (especially gelled with other types). If the age difference is more than a year between old and new batteries, it will cause problems. Most RV-house battery systems should end up with around 400 amp-hours or more of battery storage capacity.


 Gel-Cells: Experience with gel batteries has been rather mixed. People say Gel-cells will NOT take as much abuse as standard flooded or the newer AGM type batteries. One problem with gelled cells is, - they say -  that they are much more likely to be damaged by being overcharged. 

 The problem of overcharging you can easily solve by buying a decent charge controller. From our personal experience after draining our gel batteries down to the ground by accident -  leaving lights in the truck on over the winter -  we charged them up again and they recovered just fine.



 


 You may also want an inverter. Large inverters should be as close to the battery bank as possible to avoid high cable costs and voltage drops. You can get an approximate idea of how much battery you need (in amp-hours) by figuring out how many watts you need per day, and assuming that your batteries should be able to supply at least twice that much (you don't want to run your batteries totally dead). 

  

Hybrid Systems

 Solar /Generator/Wind turbine: Especially on boats, many people run a "hybrid" system. They use the solar for small loads, such as lights etc., that are needed all the time.

 With a small 250-800 watt inverter, they can run TV's, computers,( radar and fish finders on boats) and most other small appliances. They run a generator for the heavy loads. 

 It might sound strange to have both, but the solar system saves having to run the generator all the time just for small loads, battery charging, or short-term heavy loads such as a microwave. 

 Running a generator full time can get very expensive, and your neighbors very- very upset. With many hybrid systems you can also use the generator to charge the solar system batteries through the inverter, in case you get a few cloudy days. 

 The solar panels also ensure that the batteries remain at peak charge if the RV or boat is not used for long periods of time. 

 A hybrid system, especially for boats, can also consist of a wind generator (such as the AIR-X) and solar panels. As a rough rule of thumb, 150 watts (9 amps) of panel (such as 2 x 75 watts) will cut the need to use the generator charger about 80%.


Mounts

 For most RV systems we recommend the flat or "flush" mount. Tilting mounts are available, and will give you about a 10-20% power increase under ideal conditions. 

 However, most people find that the hassle of getting up on the roof and setting the mounts and making sure the RV is always parked so the panels can face due south is more of a hassle than it's worth - unless you are going to be in one place for a long time.


Considerations:

 If you already have a generator, it can provide a backup. If you do not, we suggest you compare cost with equal value of solar panels. An RV furnace can use lots of propane and an enormous amount of battery power  over a cold week end.  Have you considered a  high efficient lp heater like the Truma E-series

Calculating your System.

 These calculations will give you a idea how much power you use and how much solar energy is required to give a 100% self-sustaining system during ideal weather. Consider your batteries as a bank account  -  you cannot take out more than you put in - plus the amount with which you started.

 Conservation in use (withdrawals-) and adequate production (deposits +) is the key to a balanced electrical system. 

Questions to ask:

Making  your calculations

 There are two ways to measure electrical consumption (Watts & AH). It is essential that you not mix AH (Amp Hours) with Watts. We find that converting to Amp Hours (AH) is simple, convenient and allows measuring panels, batteries and appliances on a common base. A worksheet (print it out) lists the approximate amp draw of typical appliances. Read the label on the appliance or measure with an amp meter

1. Make a list of items normally used daily.
2. Multiply amp draw by hours (or fraction) of use to give a total of used amp hours (AH).

 AC appliances require the use of an inverter. AC amps have to be multiplied by 10 to show the DC amp draw from the battery (for example, 5 amp AC = 50 amp at 12VDC).


Worksheet

 

          

 

If you have questions, write, e-mail or call us at (306) 298-2088  Work out the worksheet and have data ready to tell us about any unusual equipment you are using.