Too much solar?

[Ched]

We are buying a 2009 Triango Tribute 650 in a couple of weeks and I in the planning stage . It has 3 transverse roof rails that I am intending to use to affix solar panels to. In my mind I am thinking I should fit the maximum number of panels (maybe 400watts) I can as we intend to run off grid as much as possible most of the year when we go away. I know from our panels at home that in spring/autumn the output drops significantly. So I'm hoping that by having extra panel capacity I can maintain the charge in 2 x 110Ah batteries all/most of the year. I'm intending using a Victron mppt controller. We will use a reasonable amount of power per day (no inverter) but tv, pump, diesel heater (in winter) etc...

Will it cause a problem having something like 400 watts of panels charging just 220Ah of lead acid batteries - would love lithium but too expensive at moment.

Thanks for any suggestions and advice.

 

[Robmac]

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[maingate]

Apart from the middle of Summer, horizontally placed panels will not deliver their full capacity. A couple of members on here have hinged them to harvest more power in the rest of the year.

 

[wildebus]

impossible to say if you will have enough or not. everyone is different.
As you have already found out, the harvesting dips notably away from the summer months. I find in summer I can get >2kWh a day from my ~450W array, which is enough to provide my general needs of Compressor fridge and fairly high background demand; But in the Spring and Autumn it is hard pushed to harvest enough for the fridge and Solar in the winter is pretty irrelevant.

having 400W of panels for a pair of 110Ah Lead Batteries will not cause an issue. What you might find is that when you are at peak harvest times - summer around noon - the batteries may not be able to accept all the power the panels are providing due to limits on how lead batteries charge. This would be true of mains and B2B chargers as well - nothing to do with it being solar, just down to the current. If you were to use Lithium this potential limit would disappear.

 

[Robmac]

What occurs to me is that it will do no harm in having the 400w up there now as they can still be used with whatever battery setup you may change to in future and this would serve as a good shakedown to see how it copes now.

Would I be right in thinking that you intend to use 2 x 110a batteries which are already fitted to the van? If so, go for it fit the panels and see what changes you may need when these batteries reach the end of their life.

 

[mistericeman]

We have a 400w bifacial on the roof and 3 x 100ah agm batteries ...

Via A Victron mppt charge controller ....

From late Feb-till early November we never need hook up

Running
tv
Lights
Phone charging
240v fridge via victron inverter
Eberspacher heater
Etc etc
And batteries are usually back up to 100% a couple of hours after sun up .

 

[Boris7]

We have a 400w bifacial on the roof and 3 x 100ah agm batteries ...

Via A Victron mppt charge controller ....

From late Feb-till early November we never need hook up

Running
tv
Lights
Phone charging
240v fridge via victron inverter
Eberspacher heater
Etc etc
And batteries are usually back up to 100% a couple of hours after sun up .

Pretty much what he said tbh, 450w solar panels, 400ah lithium and an EcoFlow, I do carry a generator but been 3 years since I started it (other than maintenance)

 

[Fisherman]

My only point would be to fit a good quality MPPT solar charger large enough to handle 400W and maximise your solar harvesting. I recently bought a victron 100/30 controller for my 330w set up, and have found an improvement from my old 100/20 charger. I have actually managed up to 365w. Amazon prime were selling the 100/30 charger with blutooth for £98. An MPPT charger will improve your harvesting between 20-30% against the cheaper chargers. You can’t get to much solar if you intend using your van in winter.

 

[Ched]

My only point would be to fit a good quality MPPT solar charger large enough to handle 400W and maximise your solar harvesting. I recently bought a victron 100/30 controller for my 330w set up, and have found an improvement from my old 100/20 charger. I have actually managed up to 365w. Amazon prime were selling the 100/30 charger with blutooth for £98. An MPPT charger will improve your harvesting between 20-30% against the cheaper chargers. You can’t get to much solar if you intend using your van in winter.

Cheers, I was thinking of a Victron mppt with the bluetooth. Thanks for sharing you experience of the Victron mppt controllers.

 

[martinmartin]

Ecoworthy are selling a 100 amp lithium for £210 on ebay and that will come very close to what your two 110 lead acid will give you.The offer ends today but im sure they will repeat it.

 

[1 Cup]

100 / 30 is close to its max. But you on to a winner all day long. Nights are long by 10 pm the battery are on there own. Go to bed befor cinderella.. all good.

If it stops raining

 

[1 Cup]

I've gone for 100/ 50 from bms used discounted code from WC

 

[Zebede]

I curently have 150w's of solar panels on my VW with a 110ah lithium battery. In shaded conditions this will keep my fridge (12v only) and other systems going for 2 days. Solar panels on the roof are not at the optimum angle to collect the max amount of powers, even at mid day (52deg latitude) the max power is Sin(52) x 150w. As I also have split charging, traveling to a new site every other day seems to work for me.

 

[Robmac]

Ecoworthy are selling a 100 amp lithium for £210 on ebay and that will come very close to what your two 110 lead acid will give you.The offer ends today but im sure they will repeat it.

That's a real bargain Martin, I might have a couple of those myself!

Their solar panels are at a good price too;

Optimize Energy with 100W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panels

Power up with our 100W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panel. Perfect for off-grid living. Maximum efficiency in a compact design. Reliable power in any condition.

uk.eco-worthy.com

 

[Fisherman]

That's a real bargain Martin, I might have a couple of those myself!

Their solar panels are at a good price too;

Optimize Energy with 100W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panels

Power up with our 100W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panel. Perfect for off-grid living. Maximum efficiency in a compact design. Reliable power in any condition.

uk.eco-worthy.com

Eco worthy panels are excellent.
MMM did a comparison between them, Renogy, and the grossly over priced and over rated Truma panels. Truma came out on top, due to them being slightly smaller, and with their better fixing brackets, but by a tiny margin, then came ecoworthy, and just behind them Renogy. But if I was looking for panels I would price Victron panels, they are excellent and surprisingly cheaper than you may think. I have two of these also on my new van.

Victron BlueSolar Monocrystalline Panels Select solar The solar professionals Select Solar - The solar power professionals

The BlueSolar panels are designed to provide power to off-grid, domestic, motorhomes and boat systems, providing great performance in low-light and minimizing losses in shaded areas.

www.selectsolar.co.uk

 

[trevskoda]

Panels have dropped 50% in the last few years, new panels in the pipeline which can produce over 25% more even in bad light.

 

[Fisherman]

Ecoworthy are selling a 100 amp lithium for £210 on ebay and that will come very close to what your two 110 lead acid will give you.The offer ends today but im sure they will repeat it.

Martin, do these batteries come with their own blutooth BMS.

Just checked I see they do, well what a great buy.

 

[Robmac]

Eco worthy panels are excellent.
MMM did a comparison between them, Renogy, and the grossly over priced and over rated Truma panels. Truma came out on top, due to them being slightly smaller, and with their better fixing brackets, but by a tiny margin, then came ecoworthy, and just behind them Renogy. But if I was looking for panels I would price Victron panels, they are excellent and surprisingly cheaper than you may think. I have two of these also on my new van.

Victron BlueSolar Monocrystalline Panels Select solar The solar professionals Select Solar - The solar power professionals

The BlueSolar panels are designed to provide power to off-grid, domestic, motorhomes and boat systems, providing great performance in low-light and minimizing losses in shaded areas.

www.selectsolar.co.uk

Thanks Bill, I might well go with a couple of those. I'm reviewing my 12v system at the moment.

 

[Fisherman]

Thanks Bill, I might well go with a couple of those. I'm reviewing my 12v system at the moment.

I currently have two 45W smaller Victron panels at the rear of my van Rob, and they have exceeded their rated output by around 15-20%.
David reckons they deliberately underestimate their harvesting levels.
Bye the way the aluminium angle pieces I bought proved to be excellent when used as brackets.
And Sikaflex 544 may be expensive, but I doubt if there is a better adhesive for fixing solar panels.
The 50mm aluminium brackets offering a much larger surface area, than the normal corner brackets.

 

[Robmac]

I currently have two 45W smaller Victron panels at the rear of my van Rob, and they have exceeded their rated output by around 15-20%.
David reckons they deliberately underestimate their harvesting levels.
Bye the way the aluminium angle pieces I bought proved to be excellent when used as brackets.
And Sikaflex 544 may be expensive, but I doubt if there is a better adhesive for fixing solar panels.
The 50mm aluminium brackets offering a much larger surface area, than the normal corner brackets.View attachment 132494

Do you use any mechanical fixings as well Bill?

I'm tempted to put one bolt for each panel as a sort of 'dead man's handle' but not sure if it's necessary.