When we started building our van we looked into many different solar situations and ended up going with components. We bought the 2 100 watt panels then saved for a while bought a controller, saved for awhile, battery, saved, misc parts. It works great and we're glad we did it this way because we got to learn as we went.
Really good information. I lived for years, as a family of 4 with a tiny 130w solar setup, I would say if you can start with a 200w system. I have also used auto batteries, but they do not hold much charge, but if you were broke like I was, then it works! Charging batteries with a generator is slow, charging when driving worked well.
A kit is surely easy... but: I strongly recommend avoiding the ‘packaged’ ready to go systems. Suggest doing a little research and putting your own together, not only to save a fair bit of money, but more importantly to be able to trouble-shoot any problems yourself. That’ll save time and money in the future. I’ve seen pre-packaged solar setups that aren’t anywhere near what I put together myself for over 200% of what I invested. But just as importantly, if I run into a problem, since I had to do a fair bit of research and learning in the process, I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to trouble-shoot and solve the problem myself instead of having to wait till I can find help (not to mention the cost of the help)… DIY! Learn and Save! Just a thought to consider before you spend more than you should, or need to, getting juice from the sun.
I do wanna learn but it's not that easy for you if you don't have an interest in electronics. I can barely understand it but I'm learning even if I'm slow. I just keep trying and I'll eventually get it.
Best series ever! Thank you so much. I may get a small solar setup to run some things in my backyard now. ie - fountain, twinkle lights. Then, in the future, I may be able to run much of my house ( if I ever get out from under the trees that are currently shadowing my entire roof) Again, this is the video series I have been looking for to get me started. You are right on time Bob, thanks.
Wow, I have been watching this series this morning and it is wicked good. Your analogies really help. Also love how this video let's me start understanding what I might be able to do to be comfortable with just solar. Thanks so much.
Happy and Peaceful Thanksgiving to my van camper friends on this channel. This lifestyle is amazing to me and others who are not happy in this crazy world. Granted it's not for everyone. It has solved a very big problem though for a lot of folks; how to live a very high quality life with a level of freedom and happiness that would otherwise be just a dream for a fraction of the cost. Blessings 👍🏼😌
I know that this is an old video, but I would just say that I have many types of pwms and mppts around my place. They are all used in many different projects. The cheap Chinese pwm controllers do have their place and can work for many years as well as the battery they charge. This is proven around my place. Why is this? I use them for very small projects with a focused task. Batteries always maintain there 100% charge as the loads are very small, never dropping my battery charge below 50% on my lead acid batteries. My lithium batteries use much better mppr controllers because they have larger loads and different tasks. To sum up: The cheap pwm controllers do have their place like with anything. Good video
Thanks Bob. I got my Van and hope to join you all in Jan. RTR as I have been planning for the last 3 years ( seems as if this Van search has taken for ever ) I found a 2005 E-150 Econoline and I have fallen in love with it. I have bought a 120 watt solar case very cheep off brand and am trying to finish the inside but I think it will be a rough job and look that way also. I will be real primitive but I can live with it till I learn better or find help along the way. Oh yes a big P.S You know me on line as member Tweedle2 from Sacramento (Sacramento Bob, or Sacramento Rob I forget )
I love this video !!!!! I’ve seen a lot. And by a lot , I mean A LOT. I loved yours the best because it was very black and white, and even though I know off the grid electrical is a little more complicated than that, it helped me understand my boundaries and perimeters. Thank you 😊
Good Morning. W40Vhat is the best way to work out the fuse from the solar panels. I will Have 4 HQST 100W panels. 10A 40V . 2 panels series and then put them in parallel. Jack
Hey Tim, thanks for this link from your thumbnail. I have an 40ft Fleetwood. Now new hobby. Will Focus on this and not females (love young women,legal of course ). Thanks again, Logan Masterson of the Masteron Family.
Oh Sir Tim, got the link from Sandman, He is a very knowable Man...I am Focused to wrap my mind around MGTOW. Sorry about John,at MGTOW is Freedom,he just got banned. Dam.But I will find him. Any info I would appreciate it. At Whitbuff@icloud.com...thanks Logan.
John's videos were backed-up and they are reposting his videos. You can find the links in the mgtow comment sections. Ill send you the link when I find it again.
Do you have any videos highlighting induction cooking? I know Lee, the electrical engineer has one, but are there many others who aren't electrical engineers that manage to cook with induction instead of propane? Open flames in vans etc. sort of frighten me. Also, do you know of any nomads who use swamp coolers in the desert in the summer?
Good info. A bit confusing tho. 100W, 200W or 400W of which component. Being more specific about panel vs battery storage vs inverter capacity... "How many WATTS of panels & minimum battery amp hours do I need to run a Dometic 45L 12v fridge fulltime?"
New bee here on solar pannels and batteries. 2 questions: 1-if the charger controler gets faulty, will it stop the batteries from charging from the solar pannels? As we can only use 50% of the batteries power, are there any devices that can manage the batteries voltage in order not to over discharge the batteries?
If I have a 2x300 panels hooked to 4x100 batteries, should my MPPT charge controller on a bright day show somewhere close to 600? The most I ever see is around 235. Note that my RV is usually hooked to power. I am wondering if the batteries need to be holding less charge to show closer to the 600. Hope I explained well.
Trojan is a popular 6V golf cart battery brand. There are others. I bought a pair of 6V, 230AH batteries at NAPA auto parts for $134 each with 2 year nationwide warranty. Join them in series for a 12V, 230AH battery bank.
Kurt, A good balance is one amp hour of batter per watt panel. 200 watts of panels for 200 amp hours of batteries. A big consideration is using good wire and quality connections and using an MPPT controller to maximize your energy. Ideally one charge controller per panel. I have 500 amp hours of batteries with 570 watts of panels. I could do with less battery. Never have more amp hours of battery than watts in panels. Batteries must be charged fully as much as possible as frequently as possible to have good battery life. Consistently running batteries on less than full will significantly reduce their life; AGMs are more susceptible to this type of abuse compared to standard lead acid with lithium being the most tolerant. Having more solar panels than batteries is good. Shadows are an anathema to panels. If you are in a place that has little sun, double the amount of panels. If you use cheap wire and cheap charge controllers, half again to double the amount of panels. I wish I could give a simple answer to your question, but context is king.
Keith, I have to emphatically disagree with your absolute statement of ALWAYS getting the largest battery bank you have weight allowance and room for. Absolute statements are almost always wrong, and this one surely is. Here is how this works: If he has 200 amp hours of AGM batteries and uses 60 amps, they are 30% discharged (this is an acceptable discharge). During charging the batteries will get the *bulk charge* , which means all the amps the solar panels can create are pushed into the batteries until the batteries reach about 20% discharge. At this point he batteries still need 40 amps to be full and the charger goes into *absorption charge* . This takes much, much longer than the bulk charge part. Fewer amps are pushed into the battery with the amps decreasing as the battery reaches a full charge. The third and final stage is called the *float charge* . This brings the battery to a full 100% charge and keeps it there. Batteries are happy at this stage. Keeping the batteries at less than full charge is hard on them and wears them out. Having 600 amp hours of AGM batteries would result in only a 10% discharge. This is great. The less you draw from your batteries, the longer they will last; however, they take longer to charge. In the above example the first one third of the charge happens quickly with the other two thirds taking a few hours to complete assuming good sun. With the 600 amp hour battery bank, the entire charge is within the *absorption charge* stage which takes much longer than the *bulk charge* stage. If there is enough sun, then there will be no problem. If the day is cloudy or you have short days during the winter, charging fully becomes more of a problem. You would need around 4 hours of good sun in the previous example and around 6 hours of good sun in the second example. I don't know about you, but I have many more days where I barely have 4 hours of good sun. It's a lot harder to get 6 hours of good sun in the winter. Batteries, especially AGMs, don't like to be at less than full discharge. They get cranky and stop working much sooner. Why is this? I don't know. It just is. I would rather have more panel wattage than batteries so I can more reliably get that juice into the batteries on those less than ideal days. I also don't want to carry more weight than I need and I don't care to spend more money on batteries than I need. If 400 amp hours of batteries comfortably takes care of my needs for 3 days of no sun, then why should I get 1000 amp hours of batteries? Batteries are expensive to buy and expensive to replace every 5 to 10 years. Hooking up 4 or 6 batteries is more involved as well with every connection is a loss in power and a potential for developing a poor connection. The more batteries you have, the harder it is to get an equal charge on them, too. Charging a 2-battery bank is far and away easier than a larger bank. Finally, storage is a huge issue. That is one of the biggest concerns vandwellers have. "What do I do with all my stuff?" "Will I be able to store enough propane, batteries, and food to make it for two weeks at a time?" "Why-oh-why did I have to get a Great Pyrenees when I could have settled for a Chihuahua?" Batteries take a lot of room. The vast majority of us would gladly utilize that extra space instead of investing in another $1500 in batteries that we don't need to fill up that space. There are advantages to having a large battery bank, but like nearly everything in the universe, there are also cons. What are your needs/risks? What is your financial situation? I'm not saying don't get a large battery bank; look at it in context then decide. P.S. The 3000i is an awesome charge controller. Highly recommend. However, there can be only one 3000i in a networked system as that one can only be a "master" not a "slave". Something to keep in mind. If only 12 volt panels are used, more options in charge controllers are available. If the panels are high wattage 60 cell or 72 cell panels or are 12v panels connected in series, a 3024i is needed for a networked system.
Answers sooooo many questions I've had. thank you. Do you know what the fewest number of panels its possible to have and still achieve an 800 watt system?
Isaac, two 24 volt, 72 cell panels or three 20 volt, 60 cell panels or five 12 volt, 36 cell panels. Expect to spend at least $1200 for those efficient panels.
Im a bit confused. How come you cant have luxury with solar? Your buddy Jim is running AC and he sys everything. Did I misunderstand something? Also what about heat? Did Jim or anyone figure out how to get heat
If your trying to have a solar setup on a shed do you think a 200 watts would be enough for basic power tools and lights trying not to over do it cause budget lol
Bob just an FYI about some of your links, I click on then and get an alert that there is potential malware, phishing? attached at that link not sure if it’s just me or others are getting those alerts as well. David
Thanks so much Bob! Question: my 14' camp trailer has 1- 12 v. battery that charges when my vehicle is going down the road. If I want 400 watts of solar....what should I do now with regards to batteries? ...change the 12-volt battery out to 2 or more six-volt batteries? Purchase 1 or more 12-volt batteries? ....or..? AND if I choose to also have a generator what is the quietest and best one? Thanks y'all ahead of time.
Joyce'sRVLegacy I would by Honda or Yamaha generator as they are quiet,efficient, & can be worked on. I want the Honda 2000 it’s a little small but should run small window unit. The made in china ones are throw away & it might very well be soon. Good luck to you.
I'm glad I watched this to the end. I learned a few things. Thanks Bob
When we started building our van we looked into many different solar situations and ended up going with components. We bought the 2 100 watt panels then saved for a while bought a controller, saved for awhile, battery, saved, misc parts. It works great and we're glad we did it this way because we got to learn as we went.
Really good information. I lived for years, as a family of 4 with a tiny 130w solar setup, I would say if you can start with a 200w system. I have also used auto batteries, but they do not hold much charge, but if you were broke like I was, then it works! Charging batteries with a generator is slow, charging when driving worked well.
A kit is surely easy... but: I strongly recommend avoiding the ‘packaged’ ready to go systems. Suggest doing a little research and putting your own together, not only to save a fair bit of money, but more importantly to be able to trouble-shoot any problems yourself. That’ll save time and money in the future.
I’ve seen pre-packaged solar setups that aren’t anywhere near what I put together myself for over 200% of what I invested. But just as importantly, if I run into a problem, since I had to do a fair bit of research and learning in the process, I’m pretty confident that I’ll be able to trouble-shoot and solve the problem myself instead of having to wait till I can find help (not to mention the cost of the help)… DIY! Learn and Save!
Just a thought to consider before you spend more than you should, or need to, getting juice from the sun.
Yes, I like the idea of spending more time learning in order to gain problem trouble-shooting skills.
I do wanna learn but it's not that easy for you if you don't have an interest in electronics. I can barely understand it but I'm learning even if I'm slow. I just keep trying and I'll eventually get it.
Best series ever! Thank you so much. I may get a small solar setup to run some things in my backyard now. ie - fountain, twinkle lights. Then, in the future, I may be able to run much of my house ( if I ever get out from under the trees that are currently shadowing my entire roof)
Again, this is the video series I have been looking for to get me started. You are right on time Bob, thanks.
Thanks Bob very informative,Thank you for all you do,you are very caring, to us soon to be Newbies,
Love the legend at the front of your videos so we can go right to the spot we want to watch to help for our build.
Bob you are the number one guy on utube for me you've taught me a lot thank you sir
As always, well done and informative Bob.
Thanks for taking the time.
So informative as usual! Thank you Bob!!🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thanks for sharing Bob Wells. You are truly the Master of Living full-time in a van, camper, car or truck. Amazing guy! 👍😎
Hi Elmer, you follow a lot of the same channels i do, Rusty, Rob etc etc, great minds think alike !!
Thanks Bob! I understand a little better now.
This is what I needed to understand....so many thanks for helping so many people..,.,.we are grateful...Happy Turkey Day...
Thanks for breaking this down for the solar-impaired. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Thanks, Bob! I'm looking forward to learning everything that you are willing to take the time to teach us!! You're the BEST!!
Wow, I have been watching this series this morning and it is wicked good. Your analogies really help. Also love how this video let's me start understanding what I might be able to do to be comfortable with just solar. Thanks so much.
UR THE BEST BOB 😃😄& THANKYOU for ANSWERS about Solar Components 👍 AWESOME Dr. Wells 😁 ✌..
Excellent video Bob and fantastic presentation all the best 😃
Happy and Peaceful Thanksgiving to my van camper friends on this channel. This lifestyle is amazing to me and others who are not happy in this crazy world. Granted it's not for everyone. It has solved a very big problem though for a lot of folks; how to live a very high quality life with a level of freedom and happiness that would otherwise be just a dream for a fraction of the cost. Blessings 👍🏼😌
thank you BOB! i fear that i would spend way to much and not have quality products, thank you for the video
This is a really important series Bob. Thanks. I think if I lived in Alaska I would add a wind turbine to the solar kit.
Hope that you used the kit used for wind and not solar, or purchased a hybrid kit for both solar and wind.
I know that this is an old video, but I would just say that I have many types of pwms and mppts around my place. They are all used in many different projects. The cheap Chinese pwm controllers do have their place and can work for many years as well as the battery they charge. This is proven around my place. Why is this? I use them for very small projects with a focused task. Batteries always maintain there 100% charge as the loads are very small, never dropping my battery charge below 50% on my lead acid batteries. My lithium batteries use much better mppr controllers because they have larger loads and different tasks. To sum up: The cheap pwm controllers do have their place like with anything. Good video
Very informative! Thank you!
Thanks Bob! Looking forward to the next video.
Thanks for such an informative and entertaining video 👍
Thank you, Bob-your whole solar series is excellent!
Camping solar panel shootout
Good stuff, thanks. Keeping it simple helps. I’m saving all your podcasts
This is a much needed video, Bob. Well done! I'm looking forward to the upcoming videos on this topic!
Great video, lots of people are wanting to learn about the solar subject and how they can apply it to their needs.
I’ll be watching the entire series and taking notes. Thank you Bob.
Thanks Bob. I got my Van and hope to join you all in Jan. RTR as I have been planning for the last 3 years ( seems as if this Van search has taken for ever ) I found a 2005 E-150 Econoline and I have fallen in love with it. I have bought a 120 watt solar case very cheep off brand and am trying to finish the inside but I think it will be a rough job and look that way also. I will be real primitive but I can live with it till I learn better or find help along the way. Oh yes a big P.S You know me on line as member Tweedle2 from Sacramento (Sacramento Bob, or Sacramento Rob I forget )
Keep it up Bob. Thanks very much. I do not know very much about solar & want to learn. Stay well & happy.
Still wrapping my heard around the solar powers stuff before I install mine. Thanks for explaining things so clearly.
Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you.
I love this video !!!!! I’ve seen a lot. And by a lot , I mean A LOT. I loved yours the best because it was very black and white, and even though I know off the grid electrical is a little more complicated than that, it helped me understand my boundaries and perimeters. Thank you 😊
Good Morning. W40Vhat is the best way to work out the fuse from the solar panels. I will Have 4 HQST 100W panels.
10A 40V . 2 panels series and then put them in parallel. Jack
That looks like my town in the southern part of AZ.
Thank you Bob for your time on telling us about solar.
Thank you Bob! Learning a lot.
GREAT, simple video Bob, Very educational
Great information papa bear!
Thank you soo much for this series. I want to learn solar and know your comprehensive approach will allow me to get it!
thanks, Bob, loving your channel, binge watching and researching. Its all really helpful!
Thanks Bob ! Great video.
Well done, Bob!
You really have a way of explaining things/teaching very well. Thank you!
great channel. ☺
Good information, Bob! Thank you. I need a couple of those flexible solar panels. Thin, light, durable and stores easily when not in use.
Great information Bob. Thanks!
thank you good info and hello from quebec canada
This is good information as far as I can tell, but the comment section makes my head spin.
So glad you put out this information; I was hoping for a video like this. :)
Thank you for sharing good information.
Thank you Bob, really appreciate all your knowledge and look forward to your videos 😄
Thanks Bob, another great and informative video.
Thank you so much. Happy holidays. Take care.
Thx Bob that was useful and concise...well as concise as you can be....lol
This helped answer a lot of questions for me, thank you sir!
Enjoy your thanks giving.
i am not a preper , but some of this is not bad infor to have and buy, esp if you live in an area were the electricity goes out often.
This is very valuable info ! Thank you Bob !
Thanks, Bob!
Hey Tim, thanks for this link from your thumbnail. I have an 40ft Fleetwood. Now new hobby. Will Focus on this and not females (love young women,legal of course ). Thanks again, Logan Masterson of the Masteron Family.
Anytime, man! Lots to learn on this channel!
Oh Sir Tim, got the link from Sandman, He is a very knowable Man...I am Focused to wrap my mind around MGTOW. Sorry about John,at MGTOW is Freedom,he just got banned. Dam.But I will find him. Any info I would appreciate it. At Whitbuff@icloud.com...thanks Logan.
John's videos were backed-up and they are reposting his videos. You can find the links in the mgtow comment sections. Ill send you the link when I find it again.
Merci
Hey Bob - would this be in addition to a Jackery - everyone talks about the Jackery
Thank you, Bob. Good information!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Awesome, thanks for breaking it down.
Sooo Helpful, thanks, Bob!!!
Do you have any videos highlighting induction cooking? I know Lee, the electrical engineer has one, but are there many others who aren't electrical engineers that manage to cook with induction instead of propane? Open flames in vans etc. sort of frighten me. Also, do you know of any nomads who use swamp coolers in the desert in the summer?
Hi Bob! Thanks for the info. I am upset because my forest river class c is broken. Most opinions are that it's a fuel pump issue. I hope it's ok soon.
Thanks for the info. Very helpful.
Thanks Uncle Bob!
Brilliant video, ... thank you, sir!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Good info. A bit confusing tho. 100W, 200W or 400W of which component. Being more specific about panel vs battery storage vs inverter capacity... "How many WATTS of panels & minimum battery amp hours do I need to run a Dometic 45L 12v fridge fulltime?"
Great Bob ! Thanks !
Great information. Thank you.
Renogy 400w kit comes with mppt as well if you want
Nicely done. Very clear, well prepared and well organized. No wasted words; very succinct. Quite enjoyable. Thank you for being who you are.
Very informative thanks
Great video! Thank you!
Always giving great advice! Thank Bob, I will be using your channel a LOT when I put solar on my rig! #Bobthebuilder
Thank you!
New bee here on solar pannels and batteries.
2 questions: 1-if the charger controler gets faulty, will it stop the batteries from charging from the solar pannels? As we can only use 50% of the batteries power, are there any devices that can manage the batteries voltage in order not to over discharge the batteries?
Great info
Can I mix solar panels. For example, Can I combine 2 100 watts panels with a 200 watt panel?
Wow, I just now saw how expensive solar panes are
in Alaska could you not use wind in Winter and solar in summer?
Whats with the shirt? Business in the front, Party in the back ? LOL
Bob the only thing i want to know is can i run my TV and one light that's it and for how long
If I have a 2x300 panels hooked to 4x100 batteries, should my MPPT charge controller on a bright day show somewhere close to 600? The most I ever see is around 235. Note that my RV is usually hooked to power. I am wondering if the batteries need to be holding less charge to show closer to the 600. Hope I explained well.
How many batteries do you need for 400watts of Solar and how would you connect them all together and use in a 13ft travel trailer?
Does my choice of kits depend upon the weight of the vehicle
Thank you for making it simple! But, what is a "trojan"? and what does it do?
Trojan is a popular 6V golf cart battery brand. There are others. I bought a pair of 6V, 230AH batteries at NAPA auto parts for $134 each with 2 year nationwide warranty. Join them in series for a 12V, 230AH battery bank.
I wished i could get a list of what i need to put it in my jeep
How many batteries does a person need for a 200 watt panel
Kurt, A good balance is one amp hour of batter per watt panel. 200 watts of panels for 200 amp hours of batteries. A big consideration is using good wire and quality connections and using an MPPT controller to maximize your energy. Ideally one charge controller per panel. I have 500 amp hours of batteries with 570 watts of panels. I could do with less battery. Never have more amp hours of battery than watts in panels. Batteries must be charged fully as much as possible as frequently as possible to have good battery life. Consistently running batteries on less than full will significantly reduce their life; AGMs are more susceptible to this type of abuse compared to standard lead acid with lithium being the most tolerant. Having more solar panels than batteries is good. Shadows are an anathema to panels. If you are in a place that has little sun, double the amount of panels. If you use cheap wire and cheap charge controllers, half again to double the amount of panels. I wish I could give a simple answer to your question, but context is king.
K9 thanks
Keith, I have to emphatically disagree with your absolute statement of ALWAYS getting the largest battery bank you have weight allowance and room for. Absolute statements are almost always wrong, and this one surely is.
Here is how this works: If he has 200 amp hours of AGM batteries and uses 60 amps, they are 30% discharged (this is an acceptable discharge). During charging the batteries will get the *bulk charge* , which means all the amps the solar panels can create are pushed into the batteries until the batteries reach about 20% discharge. At this point he batteries still need 40 amps to be full and the charger goes into *absorption charge* . This takes much, much longer than the bulk charge part. Fewer amps are pushed into the battery with the amps decreasing as the battery reaches a full charge. The third and final stage is called the *float charge* . This brings the battery to a full 100% charge and keeps it there. Batteries are happy at this stage. Keeping the batteries at less than full charge is hard on them and wears them out.
Having 600 amp hours of AGM batteries would result in only a 10% discharge. This is great. The less you draw from your batteries, the longer they will last; however, they take longer to charge. In the above example the first one third of the charge happens quickly with the other two thirds taking a few hours to complete assuming good sun. With the 600 amp hour battery bank, the entire charge is within the *absorption charge* stage which takes much longer than the *bulk charge* stage. If there is enough sun, then there will be no problem. If the day is cloudy or you have short days during the winter, charging fully becomes more of a problem. You would need around 4 hours of good sun in the previous example and around 6 hours of good sun in the second example. I don't know about you, but I have many more days where I barely have 4 hours of good sun. It's a lot harder to get 6 hours of good sun in the winter. Batteries, especially AGMs, don't like to be at less than full discharge. They get cranky and stop working much sooner. Why is this? I don't know. It just is.
I would rather have more panel wattage than batteries so I can more reliably get that juice into the batteries on those less than ideal days. I also don't want to carry more weight than I need and I don't care to spend more money on batteries than I need. If 400 amp hours of batteries comfortably takes care of my needs for 3 days of no sun, then why should I get 1000 amp hours of batteries? Batteries are expensive to buy and expensive to replace every 5 to 10 years. Hooking up 4 or 6 batteries is more involved as well with every connection is a loss in power and a potential for developing a poor connection. The more batteries you have, the harder it is to get an equal charge on them, too. Charging a 2-battery bank is far and away easier than a larger bank.
Finally, storage is a huge issue. That is one of the biggest concerns vandwellers have. "What do I do with all my stuff?" "Will I be able to store enough propane, batteries, and food to make it for two weeks at a time?" "Why-oh-why did I have to get a Great Pyrenees when I could have settled for a Chihuahua?" Batteries take a lot of room. The vast majority of us would gladly utilize that extra space instead of investing in another $1500 in batteries that we don't need to fill up that space.
There are advantages to having a large battery bank, but like nearly everything in the universe, there are also cons. What are your needs/risks? What is your financial situation? I'm not saying don't get a large battery bank; look at it in context then decide.
P.S. The 3000i is an awesome charge controller. Highly recommend. However, there can be only one 3000i in a networked system as that one can only be a "master" not a "slave". Something to keep in mind. If only 12 volt panels are used, more options in charge controllers are available. If the panels are high wattage 60 cell or 72 cell panels or are 12v panels connected in series, a 3024i is needed for a networked system.
Answers sooooo many questions I've had. thank you. Do you know what the fewest number of panels its possible to have and still achieve an 800 watt system?
Isaac, two 24 volt, 72 cell panels or three 20 volt, 60 cell panels or five 12 volt, 36 cell panels. Expect to spend at least $1200 for those efficient panels.
Im a bit confused. How come you cant have luxury with solar? Your buddy Jim is running AC and he sys everything. Did I misunderstand something? Also what about heat? Did Jim or anyone figure out how to get heat
If your trying to have a solar setup on a shed do you think a 200 watts would be enough for basic power tools and lights trying not to over do it cause budget lol
Bob just an FYI about some of your links, I click on then and get an alert that there is potential malware, phishing? attached at that link not sure if it’s just me or others are getting those alerts as well. David
Thanks so much Bob!
Question: my 14' camp trailer has 1- 12 v. battery that charges when my vehicle is going down the road. If I want 400 watts of solar....what should I do now with regards to batteries?
...change the 12-volt battery out to 2 or more six-volt batteries? Purchase 1 or more 12-volt batteries?
....or..?
AND if I choose to also have a generator what is the quietest and best one?
Thanks y'all ahead of time.
Joyce'sRVLegacy I would by Honda or Yamaha generator as they are quiet,efficient, & can be worked on. I want the Honda 2000 it’s a little small but should run small window unit. The made in china ones are throw away & it might very well be soon. Good luck to you.