Need help with solar

[Lasegen]

I have read all the threads I can find about solar and just get more and more confused. Please help me.
1) Yes, I am sure I want solar.
2) Yes, we spend more time camping without hookups than we do driving or camping with hookups.
We have a new to us 2017 Puma Palamino travel trailer. It is just my husband and I. We use propane for our refrigerator and cooking. We plan on spending another wonderful summer in Sterling AK. We will not need a/c. We camp in a campground with no power hookups. We have sewer and we get our water filled once a week. Once we get settled in, we do not move the trailer for 3 months. We used a generator last summer but it didn’t charge the batteries to full.
Our electric panel in the trailer does not have a separate converter. We currently have two Napa GC2 golf cart 6volt deep cycle batteries #8144 and a WZRELB Reliable 2000w Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12v 120v 60hz LED Display Solar Power Inverter.
If I understand correctly, we will need a solar controller, solar panels, and wiring. Do we need a converter to charge the batteries, or do we connect the controller directly to the batteries. Do we need anything else?
Sorry that this is so long. I wanted to give all the information I could.

[kfergiez]

I don't think you're confused as you think you are.

You need:

• Solar Panels
• Solar Controller
• Wiring

Your panels need to be matched to your consumption, which isn't too hard. They also need to be matched to themselves.

There are two types of controllers. PWM, and MPPT. In multiple solar panel setups, I would highly recommend a MPPT controller. Also, in the realm of controllers, you get what you pay for. DO NOT purchase the cheap controllers from Amazon. They'll work for a bit, but for your situation you want to invest in a good quality and robust controller.

Finally, your controller directly connects to your batteries. No need for additional conversion.

What do you use your pure sine inverter for?

I've set up a few of these systems so please let me know if you need any help.

[rk06382]

Originally Posted by Lasegen

I have read all the threads I can find about solar and just get more and more confused. Please help me.
1) Yes, I am sure I want solar.
2) Yes, we spend more time camping without hookups than we do driving or camping with hookups.
We have a new to us 2017 Puma Palamino travel trailer. It is just my husband and I. We use propane for our refrigerator and cooking. We plan on spending another wonderful summer in Sterling AK. We will not need a/c. We camp in a campground with no power hookups. We have sewer and we get our water filled once a week. Once we get settled in, we do not move the trailer for 3 months. We used a generator last summer but it didn’t charge the batteries to full.
Our electric panel in the trailer does not have a separate converter. We currently have two Napa GC2 golf cart 6volt deep cycle batteries #8144 and a WZRELB Reliable 2000w Pure Sine Wave Inverter 12v 120v 60hz LED Display Solar Power Inverter.
If I understand correctly, we will need a solar controller, solar panels, and wiring. Do we need a converter to charge the batteries, or do we connect the controller directly to the batteries. Do we need anything else?
Sorry that this is so long. I wanted to give all the information I could.

You should start with a battery monitor like Victron BMV-712. It will measure how the amps you use and calculate how many amps you have left.

You may also need more batteries. You should not discharge lead acid batteries more than 50%. Your 230ah Napa GC2 only have a 115ah usable capacity at 50%.

With Alaska's low sun angle, you should install as many solar panels as you can fit on your roof.

The Solar Charge Controller needs to connect direct to the batteries. It can be run in parallel with the converter/charger.

Good luck. Ask questions.

ps. I ordered almost everything with Amazon free shipping to Alaska without Amazon Prime.

[Lasegen]

The inverter was bought for a residential refrigerator in a trailer we no longer have. I figure we will need it to run microwave occasionally and possibly TV. I am looking at 12v TVs also. I assume a 12v would use less power?

[Lasegen]

We plan on having our panels portable. We do not want to mount them on the roof.

[Lasegen]

Originally Posted by rk06382

You should start with a battery monitor like Victron BMV-712. It will measure how the amps you use and calculate how many amps you have left.

You may also need more batteries. You should not discharge lead acid batteries more than 50%. Your 230ah Napa GC2 only have a 115ah usable capacity at 50%.

With Alaska's low sun angle, you should install as many solar panels as you can fit on your roof.

The Solar Charge Controller needs to connect direct to the batteries. It can be run in parallel with the converter/charger.

Good luck. Ask questions.

ps. I ordered almost everything with Amazon free shipping to Alaska without Amazon Prime.

We live in Texas and travel to Alaska. We stay in campgrounds with and without hookups on the way up and back. We will put our system together in Texas so shipping will not be an issue. We have used Amazon in Alaska though and it works great!

[Flybob]

A few general suggestions.
Use the heaviest wire you can afford/manage to connect panels to controller as you are planning to use them portable. Mount the controller close to the batteries.

Purchase a controller with a capacity 50% to 100% higher than you think you need. This will allow the addition of more panels if your demand is higher than anticipated.
Get a good monitor that will track usage and charging capability.

I recommend staying away from kits and purchasing individual components.

Major Solar suppliers routinely have sales, if you plan ahead, you can be ready when a sale starts.

[formerFR]

Solar for your situation is pretty simple: find an online package that comes with the number/size/output of panels you desire. It should have the appropriate sized charge controller, wiring, and connectors that you'll need to hook directly to your House battery bank.
Whether you mount them, or just have them sitting outside the RV to collect sun, the outcome is the same. You may actually have BETTER outcomes with them being 'portable' so that you can tilt them or situate them better to where the sun is, out of shade from where you park, etc.

You can easily get caught up in the conversations about charge controllers, size of wiring, type of panels, etc... but most panel packages have already built in coverage for any concerns you have - keep it simple. You can always change something later, nothing is set in stone.

Also, you'll probably still need a generator - the SUN does not run on a predictable cycle - cloudy days, even in Alaska, are going to severely cut into the battery charging during the day. Running the gen early in the morning, and late in the afternoon, will probably still be needed.

If you have a larger battery bank, you'll also have more 'storage' for the Solar - otherwise you can find yourself buying 1,000watts of solar panels, and little place to store the amps that are coming in. If you have two batteries, your can easily add two more, and double your storage for overnights and cloudy days.

[BaltimoreMark]

Following

[cmysstailights]

Join a solar group on facebook. I didand got a wealth of information and help.

Firat sit down and figure out what your running and how much they draw. Next is figure out how much in a battery bank you need for 2 to 3 days of no sun or you can recharge via a generator. General rule of thumb is 2 180 watt panels for 1 100-150 ah of battery.

The charge controller should be as close to the batteries as possible. Ive been told to use a mmpt charger, im.looking at 330watt panels and gonna do 3 for ground deploy.

Also look into battery options. Many have said lithium is better and faster but is also more costly.

[B and B]

Originally Posted by formerFR

Solar for your situation is pretty simple: find an online package that comes with the number/size/output of panels you desire. It should have the appropriate sized charge controller, wiring, and connectors that you'll need to hook directly to your House battery bank.
Whether you mount them, or just have them sitting outside the RV to collect sun, the outcome is the same. You may actually have BETTER outcomes with them being 'portable' so that you can tilt them or situate them better to where the sun is, out of shade from where you park, etc.

You can easily get caught up in the conversations about charge controllers, size of wiring, type of panels, etc... but most panel packages have already built in coverage for any concerns you have - keep it simple. You can always change something later, nothing is set in stone.

Also, you'll probably still need a generator - the SUN does not run on a predictable cycle - cloudy days, even in Alaska, are going to severely cut into the battery charging during the day. Running the gen early in the morning, and late in the afternoon, will probably still be needed.

If you have a larger battery bank, you'll also have more 'storage' for the Solar - otherwise you can find yourself buying 1,000watts of solar panels, and little place to store the amps that are coming in. If you have two batteries, your can easily add two more, and double your storage for overnights and cloudy days.

What this guy says ^^^^. Some people make it too complicated.

[babock]

If you have 2 golf cart batteries and you regularly discharge them 100A, you need to calculate how much equivalent sun hours you need to charge them. You can look up the number of equivalent sun hours with an online chart like this one:
Solar Electric System Sizing Step 4 - Determine the Sun Hours Available Per Day,solar power,solar power home,solar power system,solar power plant,residential solar power,power services solar,solar power panel,residential solar power system,solar powe

Divide 100A by the number of sun hours you will be camping in and that is the number of amps your solar system needs to supply in a perfect world. For example, if you need 100A and you have 5 equivalent sun hours, you need a system that can supply 20A. If you use an MPPT controller, 14V times 20A means you need 280W. For my application where I don't tilt, I double that number and that helps me in times where there may be cloud cover and later in the year. You will typically never get the output that your solar panels are rated for.

You size the wires to give you 3% or less voltage drop for the current and length you are going to be running.

I have a 700W system with a Victron MPPT controller, Victron 712 battery monitor and 2 Battleborn lithium batteries. The advantage of the lithiums is that they can be discharged and left discharged with no consequences. With flooded lead acid, you want to get them completely charged as soon as possible to avoid sulfation hence the reason to make sure your solar array appropriately unless you want to run a generator too.

The nicest thing about solar is that I never have to run my generator. I bring one along in case I get multiple cloudy days or park in a heavily shaded area but haven't needed it yet. It just sits in the back of the pickup.

[Flapjackdenny]

Hello,

Call Solar Penny solar in Arizona, they will put together system to meet your needs. No one will beat their prices. Then buy a Kodiak Solar Lithium powered generator and you will be all set. 2 years running no issues.

[babock]

Originally Posted by Flapjackdenny

Hello,

Call Solar Penny solar in Arizona, they will put together system to meet your needs. No one will beat their prices. Then buy a Kodiak Solar Lithium powered generator and you will be all set. 2 years running no issues.

They must give better prices than what are listed on their website.

[Philkaty]

following

[UT_Grandpa]

If you run your panels in series, ie. panel ==> panel ==> panel ==> battery then your system voltage will be higher and the loss by smaller wire will not be significant. If you do this make sure your solar controller can handle the higher voltage. Some are only good for 30 Volts others for 400 Volts. 30 Volts means the panels have to be run in parallel and large wires need to connect to each panel and the controller. 400 Volts is good for 18-19 panels in series but be careful. 400 Volts can kill you, 20 Volts won't

I would get some advice from an integrator or tow and see where they take you. We use portable panels as we like camping in the shade and we have to move the panels to follow the sun. Also we can match the angle of the sun to get more efficiency over panels mounted flat to the roof.

[seizethebay]

I bought a portable panel when i was in Ontario from ESP Watt Mobile. Solar RV – ESPWattMobile.com
Great price and customer service.
They are now selling via amazon.
I understand that the "furrow" plug on the outside of many FR units are reverse polarity so you have to reverse the wires if you want to use the adapter. I plugged directly to my battery as the panel has a monitor and trickle charges!!!

[joeuncool]

Here is some real world experience. I have 2 6 volt golf cart batteries and 200 watts of portable solar panels. We also don't go easy on electrical usage meaning we run heat at night, stereo with music most of the evening and aren't afraid to turn on lights. We even use a small inverter to plug in a laptop now and then.

I found the batteries to be between 60-70% in the morning. From this point I found that it took all day on the 200 watts of solar to recharge and I know they weren't charged all the way back to 100% but were very close. The realities of solar is that you only get maximum power from the panels if they are 100% in the sun (no little bits of shade anywhere) and they are also at a perfect angle to the sun. I was regularly turning the panels to face the sun. This can't always be done as the idea of camping isn't to sit all day watching your solar panels. We also ran into a cloudy day which caused the batteries to run down to around 50% with some conservation due to the poor charging day.

If you are going to rely on solar heavily, I would have at least 4 batteries and probably look into at least 600 rated watts of panels. That way on bright sunny days, you are more likely to get a full charge sooner and on those partly cloudy days you are still more likely to get closer to a full charge. A full overcast day you would still be screwed but with 4 batteries would be more likely to get past it.

If you can afford them, lithium batteries are the way to go. I want them bad but, hoo boy, are they expensive.

[PSU Turf]

I agree with the recommendation for at least 600 watts of solar panels and 4 batteries. You will need at least that much capacity if you run into 2 cloudy days in a row to supply the electricity for the loads you described.

[Lasegen]

Originally Posted by joeuncool

Here is some real world experience. I have 2 6 volt golf cart batteries and 200 watts of portable solar panels. We also don't go easy on electrical usage meaning we run heat at night, stereo with music most of the evening and aren't afraid to turn on lights. We even use a small inverter to plug in a laptop now and then.

I found the batteries to be between 60-70% in the morning. From this point I found that it took all day on the 200 watts of solar to recharge and I know they weren't charged all the way back to 100% but were very close. The realities of solar is that you only get maximum power from the panels if they are 100% in the sun (no little bits of shade anywhere) and they are also at a perfect angle to the sun. I was regularly turning the panels to face the sun. This can't always be done as the idea of camping isn't to sit all day watching your solar panels. We also ran into a cloudy day which caused the batteries to run down to around 50% with some conservation due to the poor charging day.

If you are going to rely on solar heavily, I would have at least 4 batteries and probably look into at least 600 rated watts of panels. That way on bright sunny days, you are more likely to get a full charge sooner and on those partly cloudy days you are still more likely to get closer to a full charge. A full overcast day you would still be screwed but with 4 batteries would be more likely to get past it.

If you can afford them, lithium batteries are the way to go. I want them bad but, hoo boy, are they expensive.

We plan to limit our electric use as much as possible. We have 2 Predator generators that we used last summer with no solar. We ran a residential refrigerator, a chest freezer, and an electric coffee pot. We had to run the generators about 6 hours a day and batteries never fully charged, but we made it work. This year, rv refrigerator on propane, no chest freezer or electric coffee pot. Still bringing generators to use as needed. Lithium batteries would be awesome but, wow are they expensive!
Did you get your 200 watts of panels as a kit or buy separate parts? Do you use anything that is not 12 volt? None of our outlets will work unless we are running the generator or plugged into shore power. Our old trailer had a converter we could plug an inverter to. Our new trailer doesn’t have a separate converter. The electric panel is wired to a mass of components and boards that apparently work as the converter/battery charger. I have no idea how to connect an inverter in this trailer.