Caravan solar panel kits - whats the verdict???

[discipleofsketch]

Cheers guys, all useful info - i'm currently thinking 80 Watt monocrystalline panel + fitting kit with dual battery charge controller capable of handling 160 Watts, so I can add a second leisure battery and second 80 Watt panel at a later date if I think I need it..

[windysurfer]

May as well get a 100w as there the same physical size as a 80w panel. A 20amp controller will give you the option of fitting another 100w panel at a later date.

[phil_b]

Just to add my bit to the debate...

Fitted 2 x 50w semi flexible mono panels in April this year and as a test temporarily disconnected the split charge relay, have not had to charge the batttery since and its always fully charged within a few hours of daylight/sunshine, so havn't needed to reconnected.

We have used the van alot since then including 3 weeks of camping and most weekends, all off grid, ie no hookup. We have the usual power draws, multiple phone and camera charging, lights, water pump, radio/cd, plus Erber (not needed to use that much recently ), I also use an oldish laptop which draws about 4 amps.

For us its been a very worthwhile upgrade and I would have no hesitation in fitting another if this went faulty or we changed the van.

As other have said maximum power output is in direct full sun, but we also get very good results in bright cloudy days and typically 1 amp in overcast conditions. Also don't forget that in winter the loads will be more and for longer periods and the available recharge time and sun power less, so get the biggest panel you can afford/fit on your roof. If you do any winter or early/later season camping then you probably need a minimum of 80 watt but preferably more. Hope this helps in your decision making..

Phil

[MattBW]

i've been edging towards the flexible panels they seem more suited to a van roof. Did you find fitting them was easy/difficult? I see that they generally weigh less than the framed panels.

[phil_b]

Semi flexible panels were easy to fit, they bend to gentle curves so followed the contours of my hightop roof perfectly, some people just bond with suitable sealant/glue but I also used the four pre-drilled mounting holes and used stainless dome headed bolts, with domed headed nuts on the inside.

Does requires hole in roof to pass cable through also, so need to consider cable routing to keep it neat and suitable mouting place for control box, very simple wiring, +/- cable to each of panel, battery and load(optional).

Cheers.. Phil

[waltraud]

This might seem like a silly question but when the charge controller is connected to the leisure battery as well as the split charge relay is there any risk of the controller being damaged or overloaded when engine is running? I'm assuming that charge controller s would / should have some sort of 'valve?,'

[ghost123uk]

No risk of damage

[MattBW]

80w panel and dual charger now in my possession. Will fit it this week. Exciting times.

[LeeME3]

80w panel and dual charger now in my possession. Will fit it this week. Exciting times.

If I may ask, where did you purchase from, and what sort of £££?

[MattBW]

80w semi flexible panel was from Titan Energy, cost £155, I think I got it via ebay or amazon, not sure which I can check if you want. I got this one because its about a quarter of the weight of the framed panels, very low profile and should hug the contour of the poptop.

Dual charge controller from Maplin £22.99 so I can charge my leisure battery and the van battery too
http://www.maplin.co.uk/dual-16a-solar- ... tor-266145" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

10a wire, silicon sealant and mounting stuff I already had which was why I didn't go for a kit.

[waltraud]

Wise move going semi flexible. I got a solid 40w because it was on sale and I already had the controller and means to fit it but it does not look good on a nicely/slightly curved pop top, flex or semi flex next time for me.

[MattBW]

It doesn't look too bad, still nice and tidy setup. Having a 1.6d I am overly paranoid about any extra weight heh Even the framed panels stick up less than a roof vent does.

Out of interest, how did you decide to drop the power cable through? How did you seal up the hole? (E D I T sorry mistyped)

[keith]

looking forwards to seeing the flexy one fitted up....

[waltraud]

Power cable though rear upper air vents drilled hole with grommet and silicon sealant then run cable behind kitchen units on o/s of van to charge regulator.

[MattBW]

So I've done my first proper week away with the solar panel ( vid on other thread http://vimeo.com/73590502" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and thought I'd share my experience.

I have the 80w panel with a dual 16a regulator but at present it's only feeding my leisure battery (100ah). Later I may wire up the vehicle battery.

Camping on exmoor and a site without hookup for a week, we happily charged 2 phones, powered my gps tracker, an iPad, powered a wifi hotspot, charged a gopro several times and even watched a small 8inch tv for a few hours each night with one or two lights on too . Even on a cloudy day it was full again by 9am.

Now I admit we charged our phones in the day mostly but we honestly found we couldn't fault the supply and had more than we needed. In the day with two phones and an iPad on charge the battery was saying full and taking charge intermitantly. Maybe at a club meet I'll try the 16inch tv and see how that fares.

Will update on a winter experience later in the year maybe. At the moment I'm delighted with the setup.