Solar panel

[Karen&co]

Hello, We're thinking of getting a solar panel for our van to use when there's no electric hookup.

Can anyone recommend one or have pro's or con's to using them?

Thank you

[weegaz22]

Hello, We're thinking of getting a solar panel for our van to use when there's no electric hookup.

Can anyone recommend one or have pro's or con's to using them?

Thank you

Thee only "con" if you can even call it that is the fact that you have to mount it to the roof and might not keep that "stock" look or look as aesthetically pleasing, but that's really about it from my point of view, I can only see benefits from them, I don't have one myself but have been looking at them for my own van once i finish doing the work to it, most guys have installed Biard flexible panels and bond them to the roof, usually rated at 100w as they fit nicely on the roof, they do do 150w and 200w panels but not sure what size they come in at so might be too big, but you can get 2 100w panels on most roofs easily, controller wise if its a camper then you should pay the tiny bit extra and get a dual battery controller that way it will charge the starter battery as well as the leisure battery.

How many panels depends on what you are using inside i suppose, i think most people have installed 1 but i think covkid put 2 on as he said the 100w wasn't charging quick enough for him personally

if you search for solar panels on here you will get a few installation threads that members have put up

[Winchweight]

I'm about to install a mono crystalline 120w panel with a dual controller feeding a pair of 75ah leisure batteries and the starter battery. We went rigid panel as most efficient and will roof rack mount it as lack of cooling can reduce efficiency further and we intend going to Morocco etc. Also because we have a roof rack and didn't want to fit it over the skylight.

In addition we have a 120w portable panel if extra required, but we might sell that if unnecessary.

Pros: free power, self sufficiency when off the grid, no need to carry hook up cables etc.
Cons: initial cost and installation faff.... That's it.

We have a led lighting, Waeco CR80 fridge, numerous USB charging sockets, Eberspacher diesel heater and I have a Webasto diesel cooker waiting for me to finish installing. THe idea is one fuel type, no gas, no hook up.

[dapple]

HI,I've had solar panel on camper about 3 years,very happy with it ,keeps van fully charged with fridge and tv running,been away over a week still fully charged ,when I leave
No more generator which I hate,no more starting and revving van for power

[BOXY]

I've got a couple of panels on flying leads. Each is connected to one of the batteries through it's own charge controller. Having them on flying leads means I can put the panels where ever they are going to get the most sun. Sometimes the bike rack doubles as a panel rack.



Last time we went away the leisure battery got 28Ah of free charge from a few days of sun.

[Karen&co]

Thanks for the replies I'm not sure we can mount on the roof as it's a side opening pop top, but I like the idea of being able to move them around to follow the sun. Someone gave us a reasonably big panel a number of years ago, it's been stored safely ever since and now we need it I can't for the life of me find it

Thanks again

[CovKid]

You can if you fit a flexible one. They weigh very little and shed water quickly too. I run 2x100watt and you can't even see them at ground level.

[Karen&co]

That's interesting, will get my other half to have a look, he's only been looking at rigid ones.

[weegaz22]

Thanks for the replies I'm not sure we can mount on the roof as it's a side opening pop top, but I like the idea of being able to move them around to follow the sun. Someone gave us a reasonably big panel a number of years ago, it's been stored safely ever since and now we need it I can't for the life of me find it

Thanks again

you will need to check what the panels output is if you do find it, some panels are 12v, 24v, 36v 72v etc depending on whatever the original application was intended for, ie home, caravan, camper etc

[CovKid]

Flexible ones are around £100 each or less. Basic controller around the £20 mark. The one I have will charge both starter and Leisure.

Mine is a tintop but its a case of finding out the size of each panel and seeing where they might fit best. For me it was about not having flat batteries in the Winter and having two panels means the starter battery is always kept topped up, even if I leave the camper for a few weeks or for short journeys when the alternator might not be vable to keep up. In Summer, both batteries (even if I use power the previous evening) are topped up before 8am the next day. Its quite astonishing at times.

I did dump the unwieldy connectors they come with and instead fitted a waterproof connector box on the roof. That made everything far more tidy and easier to service. Obviously you'd need to adapt to suit yours but heres how I did it on a tintop:

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ca ... o_a_tintop" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My reasoning was that I didn't want something I had to store inside and erect every time I camped or have to orientate all the time which is why I just doubled the power and fitted two straight on top. What I may lose in not always having them full-on to the sun, is made up for by having two (soon to be three). They just sit there and do the job. Others will spend time pointing them to squeeze every bit of power out of them but I didn't want to end up thinking of nothing else so adopted the "fit and forget" approach. It has paid off. That said, it may not be for everyone
.

[davegsm82]

I run a 120W rigid panel, keeps 70Ah of leisure battery topped up as well as the starter battery.

I don't have any large power consuming items in the van, lights are all LED, I don't use the fridge on 12v unless moving and my music system doesn't consume much. I can run all lights and music from sun down to falling asleep and a few hours into the next day the batteries are full again, I find that even on an overcast day the batteries stay full.

My panel was bought from Bimble solar near Brighton, only cost about £50 and paired that with a cheap charge controller from eBay, although a PWM or MPPT type would be more efficient.



Dave.

[California Dreamin]

My advice...Solar panels are great but unlike the 'National Grid' (where power stations are brought online when needed at peak times) panels produce power as and when they can. What this means is: if you want to 'maximize' their generating potential you will also need a good chunk of battery capacity to hold their generated power.

Obviously this depends on how much reserve power you need but I would honestly look towards having at least two batteries amounting to at least 160AH (over 200AH prefered)

Martin

[CovKid]

Agree on that. Even I have two batteries strapped together for the leisure side. They're not exactly matched but will do the job until I can afford two of the same type. Flexible panels are certainly lighter though and that may be a factor if it takes some effort to get the roof up already, and its the most practical solution on a tintop. They get washed now and then to maintain efficiency but other than that I don't give them much thought.

[nordberg]

I have a build thread for my Westfalia camper which may be of interest.

http://www.daswolfgang.com/solar-install/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's specific to my van as far as cable routing etc but the general stuff is in there. I decided to go for rigid panels for a couple of reasons. I like the idea that they can be removed if needed. This may be due to one developing a fault which would make a swap our easier, or if I am camping in a shaded area to keep the van cool and still require a charge from a sunny spot not to far away. My van is fitted with a roof rack that allows this functionality and i really didn't like the idea of gluing a flexi panel to the roof of my van. As with everything there are a multitude of different ways to do achieve the same thing, but it's really down to you with the budget and skills you have at your disposal.

[Ant-t]

I have a build thread for my Westfalia camper which may be of interest.

http://www.daswolfgang.com/solar-install/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Very interesting read that