We’ve all seen these guys with one million watts of RV Photo voltaic panels on their roof, and 30 batteries within the stomach of their camper boasting how they’ll run each of their AC models and an air fryer whereas they watch TV of their rig. This text isn’t about a type of techniques, I’m not that man.
My Spouse and I’ve been dwelling on the street full time in our RV for a few 12 months now.
We tried our hand at Boondocking at a Harvest Hosts one night time, and at 2 a.m. the low battery alarm began going off. Hell we didn’t even make it sooner or later, we left our campground with full hookups at 9 a.m., obtained there at midday, and 14 hours had no juice left.
Properly now we have to work out a approach to maintain sufficient cost within the batteries in order that I would be capable to sleep till dawn. We hadn’t finished 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 would have liked 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 would have liked to finish the set up. The one issues it didn’t include was the roof sealant, and a cross by way of 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 possibly can watch my brief Set up video right here: Renogy RV Photo voltaic Equipment Set up
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’ll be able to 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 must be wired collectively on the roof. There are just a few choices for placing them collectively, and I’ll admit I did it ‘Improper’ the primary time. With photo voltaic panels you’ve the choice of wiring them in Collection, Parallel, and Collection-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 Unfavorable cables tie collectively, then go all the way down to the Cost Controller. While 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 Collection, Optimistic to Unfavorable, Optimistic to Unfavorable, Optimistic to Unfavorable, Optimistic to Unfavorable, then all the way down to the Cost Controller and all the things began working completely.
We had 200 amp hours of normal previous Deep Cycle Lead Acid batteries from the manufacturing unit, so we figured that must be sufficient storage to maintain us going. We now 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 depart the fridge working like regular, the photo voltaic will cost our batteries throughout the day on a decently Sunny website, and get us by way of the night time with no battery alarms. Realistically that’s all I used to be on the lookout for, so it was doing what it wanted to do, and will get us off grid regularly sufficient that I WOULD spend the cash on it once more if we have been to do it yet again.
Concerning 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 could, Sure, it did.
The equipment got here with most all the things wanted for the set up, It does cost the batteries throughout the day, and the set up was straight ahead. In case you are on the lookout for a straightforward RV Photo voltaic choice, that may get you off grid for the weekend with out lots of difficult math, that is it. Simply ensure you get the roof sealant, and a cross by way of, and it couldn’t harm to seize a spare fuse to throw in a junk drawer simply in case.
Keep tuned for my observe up article on evaluating our RV Photo voltaic vs Generator, and methods to measurement an RV Photo voltaic System to get you thru a whole day of clouds and rain.