My van has a 100amp/hr calcium battery with a 240v Electro 3-stage charger. I have a 2kva Honda genny which I use to re-charge the battery - usually every 2nd night.
The 12v items in the van are - 3 fluro lights (usually only have one on at a time), water pump, spark-lighter for gas and the TV which I don't usually watch when camping except for perhaps an hour to catch up on ABC News and 7:30 Report. I run the fridge on gas.
I am considering installing solar panels on the roof of the van. I have had advice that two 80W panels - each panel producing 18V nominal voltage and 4.4Amps nominal current would be what I require to keep the battery charged.
The panels will have a solar panel controller/regulator which shows current battery voltage , solar panel output volts , current input current in amps , current charge type (Bulk, Absorb, Float) and the usual 'management' stuff.
Would appreciate any advice/comment by those who have knowledge/experience with solar panels.
Cheers
John
-- Edited by rockylizard on Monday 2nd of January 2012 08:45:14 AM
__________________
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
By the figures you have there, the panels will have no trouble keeping up with the draw. Keep an eye on the reg, and when the voltage gets low , start the genny, or plug into the power.I get about 5 days from my 150 amp/hr lead acid battery, running the waeco, and the lights,etc,before I have to start the motor or genny. Your setup seems OK. Bill
What you are suggesting sounds feasible in its' own right: With the genny as backup it is even better. I would suggest an MPPT solar controller if you haven't already bought one - they are more efficient. I'd also suggest looking at replacing the 12V fluoro lights with LED lights, or alternatively, picking up some LED units that run off AA cells and use them for general lighting with the fluoros used only as required. You can get an LED tent light - ~30 LED's - for around $7.00 and being portable you can use it outside at night. There are quite a few good LED lights at very reasonable prices.
Just one more thing. We have just the one 80W panel on the roof of our van, as I was advised that, for our requirements, we would only need the one and anything extra would be overkill. Let me tell you that, at the beginning of last December, we did five days of free-camping in the forest in WA, just to see how the system would perform. During that time we had two overcast days and yet the system performed beautifully. We were able to watch TV (DVD Movies at nights), had all the lights on - all are LED lights - and ran all the gadgets (pumps for showers etc., but the fridge ran on gas). We didn't take our 2KVA Honda gene with us and found that, at least on that short trip, we didn't need it. In short, it all depends what you want (or need) to use, which will dictate as to how many panels you would need.
-- Edited by Going gone on Saturday 14th of January 2012 10:06:58 AM
Not sure if you have one battery or two. If only the van battery you may consider getting an auxillary/house battery and some form of isolation. I have one of the 'marine' switches or you could use an isolation switch. Im sure they are discussed elsware on the forum.
