Hey we’ve all seen these guys with 1,000,000 watts of photo voltaic panels on their roof, and 30 batteries within the stomach of their camper boasting how they will run each of their AC items and an air fryer whereas they watch TV of their rig. This text isn’t about a type of programs, I’m not that man.
My Spouse and I’ve been dwelling on the highway full time in our RV for a couple of 12 months now. After we first received began we had extra kinks to work out of our system than we thought we did, and spent most of our time bleeding cash in gasoline and campground prices. We tried our hand at Boondocking at a Harvest Hosts one evening, and at 2 a.m. the low battery alarm began going off. Hell we didn’t even make it someday, we left our campground with full hookups at 9 a.m., received there at midday, and 14 hours had no juice left.
Effectively now we have to work out a solution to maintain sufficient cost within the batteries in order that I would be capable to sleep till dawn. We hadn’t carried out ANY analysis in any respect on RV Photo voltaic, however then I got here throughout the 400 Watt RV Photo voltaic Equipment from Renogy. It appeared to have all the things we wanted to throw some panels on the roof, and maintain our batteries charged sufficient to have the ability to use the lights within the kitchen and maintain our low battery alarm from going off, so we ordered it.
We ordered it from Amazon, and it confirmed up at my buddies home in 3 days, and it did include ALMOST all the things we wanted to finish the set up. The one issues it didn’t include was the roof sealant, and a cross via for the wires to go from the roof down and into the RV, however we ordered these as nicely, so now we have been able to go.
You’ll be able to watch my brief Set up video right here:
The RV Photo voltaic equipment from Renogy comes with 4 100 Watt Photo voltaic Panels, a 10 amp inline fuse, panel combiner plugs, cables to go from the roof to the cost controller, a 40 amp MPPT Cost Controller, a Battery fuse, a Bluetooth antennae so you may monitor your energy manufacturing with an App in your cellphone, and cables to go from the controller to your batteries.
The instructions for set up have been fairly straight ahead, besides how the panels themselves ought to be wired collectively on the roof. There are a couple of choices for placing them collectively, and I’ll admit I did it ‘Mistaken’ the primary time. With photo voltaic panels you will have the choice of wiring them in Sequence, Parallel, and Sequence-Parallel.
Trying on the elements available, and the included combiner plugs, I assumed they wanted to be wired in Parallel. Which is when all of the Optimistic cables tie collectively, and all of the Destructive cables tie collectively, then go right down to the Cost Controller. Once you wire them this fashion, the entire Amperage from every Panel is added collectively, and on a full Solar day, will pop the ten amp fuse.
I replaced the fuse, and rewired them in Sequence, Optimistic to Destructive, Optimistic to Destructive, Optimistic to Destructive, Optimistic to Destructive, then right down to the Cost Controller and all the things began working completely.
We had 200 amp hours of standard outdated Deep Cycle Lead Acid batteries from the manufacturing unit, so we figured that ought to be sufficient storage to maintain us going. Now we have a residential fridge in our RV that runs off a 1,500 Watt Energy inverter that auto switches ON once we unplug the RV at a campground.
IF we ONLY use the 12 volt lighting, and go away the fridge working like regular, the photo voltaic will cost our batteries in the course of the day on a decently Sunny web site, and get us via the evening with no battery alarms. Realistically that’s all I used to be searching for, so it was doing what it wanted to do, and will get us off grid often sufficient that I WOULD spend the cash on it once more if we have been to do it yet again.
Referring to that topic, of If we had it to do over once more, There are issues I’d do in another way, like altering out the batteries, and looking out into methods to measurement the system to get a sure variety of hours out of it. BUT…
Based mostly solely on, whether or not or not this method carried out as I imagined it will, Sure, it did.
The equipment got here with most all the things wanted for the set up, It does cost the batteries in the course of the day, and the set up was straight ahead. If you’re searching for a straightforward RV Photo voltaic possibility, that may get you off grid for the weekend with out lots of sophisticated math, that is it. Simply ensure you get the roof sealant, and a cross via, and it couldn’t harm to seize a spare fuse to throw in a junk drawer simply in case.
Full disclosure, when you click on on one in every of our Amazon hyperlinks, and buy this stuff via them, we do get a referral fee. It doesn’t value you something additional, however it does assist us throw some gasoline within the tank so we will carry on trucking.
Keep tuned for my comply with up article on the issues I’d do in another way, and methods to measurement a system to get you thru a complete day of clouds and rain.
