Can I Start My Rv Generator Thru a Solar Controller

SOLAR POWER FOR RVS: WHAT You SHOULD KNOW

Solar power is a popular bailiwick for those hoping to salvage money while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. In areas with arable sunshine, it is not unusual to run into solar panels covering the roofs of habitation after home. For RVers, who travel in a small, portable home, solar power can exist an of import part of the electrical supply. Withal many people practise non fully understand how a solar ability organization works, which can lead you to waste money on an crowd or detect yourself stuck without electricity when yous need it most. Here is what you should know.

HOW SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS Work IN RVS

The well-nigh of import matter to empathize is that solar panels are only part of the equation. They are role of a larger system that works together to power your rig.Solar panels are one of several potential energy sources for your RV. The others include shore power (plugging in to the ability box at your campsite), your vehicle'due south alternator (which builds up energy every bit you bulldoze), and a generator (if yous have one). Each of these sources may be "on" or "off" at any given time. For case, shore power is only on while the rig is plugged in, and solar panels are merely on when the sunday is shining.Your RV has a set up of batteries, which store ability from all the unlike energy sources. This allows you to use electricity when none of the energy sources are on. Yet, it is of import to annotation that once the batteries are full, they're full. You can't shop more 100% of your rig's battery chapters. And unlike a dwelling solar power system, you tin't sell excess power to the electric company. This means that it is very of import to correctly size your RV's solar ability system. Besides small, and yous may run out of ability when needed. Too big, and you are just wasting coin.

Understanding CAPACITY

To figure out your solar ability needs, showtime you need to understand the output of all your available energy sources. There is a LOT of math involved, and you volition need to read up on the specifics of the power organization you lot have. For instance, your alternator may put out as little equally 40 amps or as much as 180 amps per hour when the engine is running. Shore ability comes in at 120 volts, and so it goes through a converter or an inverter to become 12 volt storable power for the battery. Inverters and converters have capacities ranging from 40 amps to 100 amps per hour. Generators run through the inverter or converter, and have capacity limits of their ain.

Information technology is important to notation that solar panels are mostly the to the lowest degree powerful of all available energy sources. A 100 watt console (mutual size for RVs) actually generates 100 watts but at acme efficiency (78 degrees, no clouds, solar noon, on the equator during the equinox—or, in other words, lab conditions, not real world conditions). In this best case scenario, it will generate just over 8 amps. If yous have iii of these panels, you can generate around 25 amps per hour at best.

This does not hateful that yous should forget about solar power. Instead, it means that you demand to dig deeper to figure out whether solar is right for you lot and, if and so, how much you actually need. If yous nearly always connect to shore power, or you typically drive several hours every mean solar day, solar power may not do y'all much good. If you boondock, or camp without hookups, for several days at a fourth dimension, though, solar power may exist essential, even if you have a generator.

TERMINOLOGY

You will need to understand some basic terminology to properly size your RV's solar power organisation:Watts vs. Amps: Electrical loads and solar panels are rated in watts. A watt is a standard unit of measurement of power. RV battery capacity is measured in amps (brusque for amperes), which are standard units of electric current. To convert between watts and amps, y'all also need to know the volts, or units of electrical potential. From there, information technology's piece of cake:

Since watts are the standard unit of measurement of power, they do not change. You can have different numbers of watts, but a watt itself is consequent. The same is not truthful for amps, since the amount of current can change, nor for volts, since the amount of voltage can change. In fact, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to see this voltage change in your RV, since you know that you can bring in 120 volt AC (alternating current) from shore ability, or 12 volt DC (direct electric current) from the batteries.

So now the math is easy to determine how many amps are generated by a 100 watt solar panel feeding ability to a 12 volt battery.

Information technology is true that resistance, battery charge and type, etc. can all change the numbers a piddling. Simply for purposes of solar power calculation, it is condom to assume 12 volts for a battery, 100 watts for a solar panel, and 120 volts for shore power or generator power.

Amp-Hours: To learn how much usable power you actually accept, you need to empathise amp-hours, or the total capacity of the battery. Amp-hours are typically based on 20 hours of total available utilise, unless otherwise stated on the battery. To figure out how many amps per 60 minutes, but divide the amp-hours (AH) listed on the battery by 20 (or another number if specified on the battery):

So the bombardment will deliver 5 amps (at usable current, divers as x.5 volts or college) for 20 hours. You tin can depict more amps for less time, just the chapters decreases as the discharge charge per unit increases. A 100 AH battery will only give you about 40 minutes at 100 amps of usage.

You can use amp-hours to figure out how fast your bombardment will accuse as well. For a 100 watt solar console, we already know that information technology produces 8.33 amps. In this case, ane amp of current flowing for 1 hour charges the battery by one amp-hour. So eight.33 amps of electric current create eight.33 amp-hours of charge per hour.

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TERMINOLOGY

Batteries: Atomic number 82-acrid batteries are the almost commonly used type in RVs. Somewhere in your rig, you will find a panel that shows yous approximately how fully your batteries are charged. It is inexact, peculiarly if your batteries are not "at residuum" (not draining or existence charged for at least 30 minutes), but it will give y'all a reasonable thought. Information technology's not harmful to bleed lead-acid batteries completely, but to maximize their lifespan, try not to let them get below 50% without a recharge. Newer lithium-ion batteries are more convenient for a variety of reasons, only due to costs, they are not yet popular in RVs.

Types of Solar Panels: Solar panels come in ii types—monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Monocrystalline panels are slightly more efficient, but they are too more expensive. If you take a modest RV with piddling roof space, monocrystalline panels can be physically smaller for the aforementioned output. If y'all have the space, though, cheaper polycrystalline panels work just fine.

Flexible vs. Apartment Solar Panels : Flat solar panels are less expensive and more durable than flexible panels, and usually have a longer warranty. Notwithstanding, flexible panels are lighter, more aerodynamic, easier to mountain, and in some cases (such every bit on an Airstream) more aesthetic. Choose whichever makes more sense for your rig.

Solar Charge Controller: Solar panels typically provide sixteen to xx volts of electric potential. An RV battery tin can handle 12 volts. A solar charge controller is a standard part of an RV solar installation. It regulates the voltage and current to prevent battery harm. The standard controller is fine unless you have an unusual setup or use your RV in extremely cold conditions.

Bodily SOLAR POWER GENERATED

And then far, we've been working with the assumption that a 100 watt solar panel will generate 100 watts of power. But as we noted in Agreement Capacity, it won't. There are numerous factors that affect the bodily amount of solar ability generated, from the fourth dimension of day to the ambience temperature to the cloud cover to the level of pollution.Fortunately, experts have come with a dominion of thumb. On boilerplate, a 100 watt solar panel will generate 30 amp-hours per day. If you lot need more than specifics, you tin can find quite a few free solar position calculators online, or you can go with the National Renewable Free energy Lab'southward free solar ability energy estimator at http://pvwatts.nrel.gov. It isn't perfect, but it is remarkably close most of the fourth dimension.

ENERGY USAGE

The next footstep is to figure out how much energy you really employ per day in your RV. There are innumerable costless energy calculators bachelor online, so you might exist tempted to start there. All y'all have to practise is click on each listed appliance and input how many minutes or hours per mean solar day y'all apply it. Piece of cake, correct? But do you lot know exactly how long you lot use the toaster every mean solar day? Or the microwave? Or the air conditioner? The best you will get is a wild guess that could be remarkably far off from your actual free energy consumption.

A far easier, more accurate, and more than fun solution is to actually take your RV out for a camping trip. Make sure your batteries are charged by nightfall, and then remove all sources of power. Plough off the generator, unplug the shore power, and practice not turn on the engine.

Apply your RV as you commonly would. Go out if that'due south function of your routine. Watch TV as usual. Run the hair dryer afterwards your shower.

Keep an centre on your bombardment every bit y'all go nearly your daily RV life. The goal is to drain your batteries to empty (or to fifty% if they are lead-acrid). When you achieve your goal, summate how much power you used.

As an instance with simple math, let's say that your batteries drain to 40% in three days. That means you used threescore% of your total bombardment capacity. Allow's also assume that you take a total of 200 amp-hours in bombardment capacity. So you used 60% of 200 amp-hours, or 120 amp-hours, in three days. Dissever by iii, and you used xl amp-hours per twenty-four hour period.

200 amp-hours * lx% used = 120 amp-hours

120 amp-hours / 3 days = forty amp-hours per day

BALANCING THE EQUATION

Now all that is left is to residue the equation. Remember, your goal is to have the power input roughly match the power output. In this hypothetical instance, your power output is 40 amp-hours per day. By the dominion of thumb, a 100 watt solar panel inputs 30 amp-hours per day into your batteries.

twoscore amp-hours per twenty-four hours = 30 amp-hours per panel per day * X panels

twoscore amp-hours per day / 30 amp-hours per panel per day = X panels

And then you would need 1.33 100 watt panels, or one 133 watt panel to lucifer your solar power needs. You can't buy a tertiary of a console, nor tin yous buy a 133 watt console. But you tin can buy a 160 watt panel. That volition embrace your average daily needs, with a little spare energy in instance the weather is atrocious or you utilise a chip more power than average on the occasional day. And since we're using the fifty% battery drainage rule, in that location *is* actress battery power available in an emergency.

Solar power can be an first-class way to generate electricity for your RV. To make the most of your investment, though, it is vital to empathise exactly how it works and how much power you need. Taking the time to go through the calculations tin salvage y'all a keen bargain of money and frustration in the long run. At Car Boss RV, we are always happy to assist yous select but the correct solar ability system to run into your needs.

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