For 10 years our travel trailer’s 280 Watt solar system served us well. We never had a dead battery, even when camping for 30 days in the same spot. Since retirement our camping habits have changed and it was time for some upgrades. This article will look into the options of upgrading (adding on) an existing solar system, along with some of the sand traps and water hazards of the upgrade path. Continue reading Our RV Solar System Upgrade
In Part One and Two of this series we discussed how to measure how much energy is used daily, how to determine needed power storage (what size battery bank), and how to size the solar array.
This post (Part 3) will take a look at all the components and conditions that impact how much solar power will actually be generated. This is the final step to see how the previous calculations will really work for a real world RV solar systems. First we need to define some terms.
This second part of the series will delve into larger solar systems for an RV.
Part One (simple solar systems) covered:
We’ll follow the same methodology to size and design a larger solar array.
This post will detail how to calculate a small solar system including how to determine what battery and solar panels will be optimum.
I am following up on the two previous solar system posts:
It isn’t a theoretical exercise, but looks all the steps I followed for my small remote power system for my telescope rigs.
This system is smaller than what most people might want for a camper. Although it could work for a van setup. The methodology is important and is applicable for any RV Solar System planning.