Solar Panels

T X

Guest
When I go traveling I'll be going weeks sometimes months and 90% of the time I'll be wild camping, Am just wondering what wattage solar panels to get. Am thinking of mounting two 100W solar panels to my roof. and having 2 100AH leisure battery's.

Do yours think two 100w solar panels bit to extreme and just go with one, or maybe three.
 
T X said:
When I go traveling I'll be going weeks sometimes months and 90% of the time I'll be wild camping, Am just wondering what wattage solar panels to get. Am thinking of mounting two 100W solar panels to my roof. and having 2 100AH leisure battery's.

Do yours think two 100w solar panels bit to extreme and just go with one, or maybe three.
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depend where ur going and your usage and have you got a split relay to your lesuire battery already? i would go for at least 400 watt and 400 amp worth of battery power using 12v pllinaces and chrgers instead of a power hungry inverter is a good start but more cost than using exscitng 240 v stuff

memebr slike firefox and vwv alan have a ot of knoledge in ths area worth pming them
 
It will depend on where you are going, so you need to be more specific. At moment I am In Spain and my 90 watt is OK as it is clear blue sunny skies. Had I been at home I would struggle.
 
Fit the biggest output panels that will physically go on your roof space.
 
Whatever you decide, it will be the best decision you will make.

I fitted a panel before I went to France, which cost me about £140 and was really simple to fit. Even at this time of year it's charging as soon as there is light and I've been out in the van even later in the year than this, when the days are really short. Usage depends on how many people are in the van and we noticed before I fitted the panel that when our daughter was with us the battery ran down quicker. When I'm alone there is no problem, but obviously every extra person puts their own demands on the system. I use a small inverter from Maplins to charge stuff when we are off grid, but when we stop at a site to empty the loo and get water I tend to go on mains and charge everything using a four gang extension. There are various ways of saving energy and I'm in the process of fitting LED lights to replace the original fluorescent ones. I always download programmes from Iplayer before I leave, so I don't have to waste energy and bandwidth downloading then I'm away.
 
its difficult to work it out really .
i have been using solar in the winter now for about ten years in spain and morocco.
in summer in uk it powers things in the house .
but its not free .
just if you are wilding you get power.
hopefully its cheaper than using campsites with ehu.
quieter than a gennie .
but you do need to replace the batteries every now and again .
panels are incredibly cheap at the moment . a third of what they were .
at times it certainly aint free but usefull.
 
Have you seen any drop off in power with panels that are 10 years old? (assuming that they are the same ones still!) I understand that they typically have a guaranteed output for 25 years, so was just wondering if that is a 25 year steady decline in output, or sudden cliff at end of useable life.

Personally, I fitted 2 80w's as they were a good price point, but left room for 2 more, or even a couple of 100w's.
ROOF INSTALL.jpeg
 
In Spring, Summer and Autumn, we have managed well with one 90 watt panel for a few years. Depending on the time of year, I would go for 200 watts minimum for Winter use and also fit a better system for charging the batteries when on the move.

If you are wilding then you should really stay no longer than 2 nights and lack of 12 volt power will never be an issue as driving will put charge back into your batteries. depending on your 12 volt charging system, most do not put a large charge back in quickly. I work on the basis that you should never put too much charge into a battery as it can shorten its life. With 2 x 100 Ah batteries, I would work on a maximum of 30 amps charge (equivalent to 15 amps per battery) and I think that is stretching it a bit. This is just my opinion of course.
 
Hi,
Look at the charge regulator before adding extra panels a good Mppt controller whilst as expensive as a panel is at least 7 kgs lighter and could be as useful as an extra panel similarly batteries are seriously heavy lumps compared to an extra panel and probably more expensive than a panel. If you require an inverter then you will need a large bettery bank.
You need to look at your lighting and if not already on Led swap to Led, again you could save the need for an extra panel, if you use quality LED arrays it will cost as much as a panel but saves lots of kgs in weight, if weight isn't an issue you have can choose which way to go.
Calculate your potential 12 volt usage by modelling your nightly needs then look at where you will be in the winter, your solar wattage needs will be greater in UK winter than Spain winter, then work out your Solar wattage requirements.
I put 200 watts of panel with a 300 watt Taiwan built Mppt controller(ebay purchase) and during the summer the system recharges our 110ah battery before we are out of bed but in the winter it will struggle to fulfill this requirement during the whole day. I haven't felt the need for a 2nd battery yet, we don't use an inverter and we use 12 volt TV occasionally, I charge a laptop, Nexus tablet, phone and kindle reader all through 12 volt and do this during best light period of the day.
Your batteries are also recharged whilst driving and you should account for that when calculating your usage.

Good luck in your choice, the decision is yours but much can be calculated.

Clive
 
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