I’m ready to buy a 100watt solar panel, primarily to keep the battery charged when the 5th wheel is not in use, but also to increase the time I can camp without power. I do have a portable generator but if we are gone all day the panel could maintain batteries. I’m prewired to roof and and have a controller installed
I have read a lot of advice on issues with flexible and standard solar panels. The flat panels allow more flexible placement to find sun but also take a lot of storage room. If mounted on the roof they require some screws that need to be sealed, may not produce maximum amperage but also keep the roof cooler. The flexible can be glued to the roof but are said to create heat that may affect the temperature in the RV, if not attached they take less storage space, harder to stand up on their own.
What thoughts do you all have, I’m totally on the fence between the two styles.
I've been looking at these as well. Reading a bunch on it here are my pro/cons:
Flexible pros:
1) can be attached directly to the roof so you can't see them
2) could possibly glue down without drilling holes
Flexible cons:
1) Could damage roof if you ever needed to unstick them from the roof
2) Not as efficient in power generation than solid
3) Shorter life span/quicker deterioration in power generation than solid panels (generate less power when compared to solid over time, in years)
Solid pros:
1) more rigid, sustain higher impacts
2) last longer
3) easy to replace
4) depending on mount, you could tilt
Solid cons:
1) need to drill holes in the roof to mount
2) heavier
3) possibly seen on top
If you go with solid, you may also want to consider monocrystalline over poly. Poly has a shiny sheen to it while mono has the dull. Mono is more efficient over poly so it will generate more power in the shade.
It really comes down to what you need. If you are just looking to top off the battery during storage a flexible would most likely be fine and easier to install. If you were boon docking, I'd probably go with mono solid to generate as much power as possible.
I have a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA that is prewired for solar as well as a generator. We do a fair amount of dry camping for sporting events and so I'm trying to decide whether or not I should go solar or generator. I really like the idea of solar for less expense of installation and maintenance. However, I'm concerned whether or not I will really get the power I need in the RV. Our Pinnacle has a residential fridge and I can run it off a fully charged battery bank with the invertor easily all day before needing to turn on portable generator to recharge batteries.
Will solar panels generate enough power to run the appliances in the RV or is it primarily only going to maintain the batteries? I'm guessing solar will not run the AC, correct?
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ETCrockett
2016 Jayco Pinnacle 38FLSA
2009 Ford F450 DRW
RVing all my life......1st Jayco
I have a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA that is prewired for solar as well as a generator. We do a fair amount of dry camping for sporting events and so I'm trying to decide whether or not I should go solar or generator. I really like the idea of solar for less expense of installation and maintenance. However, I'm concerned whether or not I will really get the power I need in the RV. Our Pinnacle has a residential fridge and I can run it off a fully charged battery bank with the invertor easily all day before needing to turn on portable generator to recharge batteries.
Will solar panels generate enough power to run the appliances in the RV or is it primarily only going to maintain the batteries? I'm guessing solar will not run the AC, correct?
Your answer depends on how much your appliances will draw and how much full sun is available. Everything will need to run off your batteries and through an inverter to generate 120volts. The A/C answer is easy, you would need over 20 panels to keep the batteries charged, a 3000watt inverter and still probably won’t work. Generator is your least expensive and most reliable option.
Low wattage items like a TV are easier to set up. In a test, I could run the TV for 10hrs off the 2 batteries and it’s possible to recharge in about 5 hours if I get enough sun. If you also run a dvd and some kind of an amplifier for better speakers, that changes the calculations. Get your math skills dusted off and do a bunch of research for the best result.
We converted to Solar almost two years ago, and love it.Might consider a larger panel, we did 275 watt 60 cell industrial panel.There seems to be that need for more panels on these campers.We new very little about Solar, and spent some time getting educated on charge controllers.And decided the extra money on MPPT Blue Sky 30 amp controller worked for us.It like comparing a candle to a light bulb.Attached is Jayco's load usage chart!
It can definitely get a little complicated, but only if you want to figure out details. If you just need some power and its not critical to have it, you can start out with a small installation and add on panels/batteries to expand capacity. You won't be able to run any decent size AC unit or other power hogs like a space heater.
Other items to consider is series or parallel when connecting solar panels (when using multiple). If you run multiple panels in series, you voltage is additional per panel but amps stays the same. If you run in parallel, your voltage stays the same but amps add up per panel. batteries must be charged at 12V-14V. The advantage of the MPPT is that it converts the high voltage to more amps charging the battery faster. The PWM charger just throws out the extra voltage.
Series is better as low amps and high voltage can use high gauge wire (thin) and travel long distances with little power loss. Parallel requires lower gauge wire (thick) to handle the amps and loses more power over longer runs, more so if you don't have the right thickness of wire. However, shade adversely effects both differently. When in series, if a single panel is in shade, the total voltage to the charge controller goes down as they act as a single unit. In parallel, each panel still operates independently so only the output of the single panel is effected. Many times, if you have a number of panels, they are wired in both parallel and series to decrease the effect of low sun.
Another thing to keep in mind are the batteries. When you run your equipment, the power is normally coming from the batteries and the solar is charging the batteries. If you don't have a battery bank setup right, all the sun isn't going to do you much good. It seems running at least 2 6V batteries in series to give you 12V is usually a good place to start. If you have room, run 4 6V in series and parallel. The parallel adds amp hours. The 6V batteries are cheaper for higher amp hours as they are heavily used in golf carts vs 12V.
When it all comes down to it, it ends up being math and what you want. You won't be able to run any high amp devices, at least for not long, but if you setup right, it could run lights, fans, tv etc as much as you need assuming you have sun to charge.
I picked up a bunch watching some videos on youtube and different solar sites. Here are some of the videos
I'm in the same boat - been thinking about Solar for a long time. And just dipped my toe into the water with a single 100 watt panel and an inexpensive PWM controller. Adding in the trip to Home Depot for wire, and i'm probably in for $110.
But I'm glad I did. Assembling the little single panel already gave me some things to think about.
As said before, some folks go alllllll in - very deep expertise and they squeeze the last milliamp out of their systems. I'm not denigrating that -- it's a wonderful education for the rest of us. But it tends to overload my circuits -- too much info.
After kicking things around for awhile, I'm thinking over time I'll end up with:
- 400 watts total
- (maybe, probably) 4 flexible 100 watt panels
I still like the low-profile aesthetics of the flat, flexible panels more.
So barring any new information that sinks that approach, that's probably what I'll do over time.
For a little more information regarding the different types of panels you can look this link over.
1- Mono
2- Poly
3- Thin Film ( If they meet your needs and the price and durability does not scare you off--they are better than not having any portable power)
You guys seem to have done your research!
Will solar panels generate enough power to run the appliances in the RV or is it primarily only going to maintain the batteries? I'm guessing solar will not run the AC, correct?
Solar actually does not run anything it just charges your battery bank. I boondock over 200 days a year with no generator. It (my battery bank) runs everything EXCEPT my A/C.
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Seann
2004 Chev Silverado Duramax optioned past the max. 2009 Jayco Eagle 308 RLS 900watts of solar, Lithium batteries (400amp hour), 2000 watt (4000 surge) whole house inverter. 145days boondockinig in20232022/151 2021[/COLOR]
93/2020,157/2019219/2018 206/2017,215/2016, 211/2015, 196/14, 247/13, 193/12
That's a very good point and one that often gets lost on us newbies to Solar. You really need to *start* the whole process by thinking through your battery situation. Do you have 1, 2 or 4? Do you need 2 or 4?
We've got one Group 27 and will probably stay with one, hence why I'm probably stopping at 400 watts.
Man - that video from the Wynns on shading parallel and serial panels was an eye opener!!!
Man - that video from the Wynns on shading parallel and serial panels was an eye opener!!!
If you are following their new videos with the catamaran, their onboard INVERTER bit the dust somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I can not believe that they did not have enough common sense to bring a backup 300 watt unit, for this type of emergency. Yes, all their food was thawing fast. I keep a 300 watt inverter in the truck for use in the truck but the reason for purchase was to be a backup, as I have seen inverters bite the dust before.
I have a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA that is prewired for solar as well as a generator. We do a fair amount of dry camping for sporting events and so I'm trying to decide whether or not I should go solar or generator. I really like the idea of solar for less expense of installation and maintenance. However, I'm concerned whether or not I will really get the power I need in the RV. Our Pinnacle has a residential fridge and I can run it off a fully charged battery bank with the invertor easily all day before needing to turn on portable generator to recharge batteries.
Will solar panels generate enough power to run the appliances in the RV or is it primarily only going to maintain the batteries? I'm guessing solar will not run the AC, correct?
Solar is the way to go everything is possible including running your air in the RV. But it comes with a big price tag.