Hi Guys, Im new to this site and I need help regarding my solar panel on top of my van that Ive recently purchased. The old owner didnt know the size of the solar panel on the roof. How can I figure this out? Cheers in advance.
Measure the physical size and let us know what the measurements are I am sure someone (not me), who has plenty of experience with solar panels can then take an educated guess
You could run your battery down a bit, and have someone use an AMP clamp meter, to check what is going into the battery at around noon
For example my 300 watt solar panel is about 1800mm X 900mm It will also put out about 15 amps, if the batteries requires it
If you cannot get to the label on the back of the panel, I suggest you site your van in full sun under a clear sky at midday, clean the front of the panel, then disconnect the panel from the controller, measure Open Circuit volts and short circuit Amps. If the panel is a nominal 12 volt panel (most likely), multiply the measured short circuit Amps by 12 and you will have a reasonable estimate of the panel Watts. A lot of multimeters are limited to measuring up to 10 Amps so if the panel is larger than 150 Watts, you may need a larger capacity meter to measure the Short Circuit current.
Iza
-- Edited by Izabarack on Sunday 4th of August 2019 06:33:00 AM
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Iza
Semi-permanent state of being Recreationally Outraged as a defence against boredom during lockdown.
Another quick and rough method is to measure the panel in each direction, then look for panels with those measurements on Evil Bay or Low Energy Development's site and that will give you a close approximation of the advertised panel capacity. Used as an RV battery charging source, you will not see the total output as advertised by the manufacturer, but it is a good guide to comparing one panel with another.
T1 Terry
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