Solar panels small or large panels (1 Viewer)

Bart

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Hi we have a Bessacarr E560 and will be looking to put solar panels onto it.
My plans have sort of been thrown a curve ball as i have realized that part of why i fell in love with the motorhome was due to all the light gained via the roof, however i have also now realized that all them sunroofs have minimized the space available to me for solar panels.
my plan was to get as large a panels as possible , but now i think ill have to go for smaller ones.
or can you mix n match ? as in a 200w larger panel linked with a smaller 100w panel ?
or must they all be kept the same size / make ?
 

Minxy

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Before you buy any work out how much 'power' you actually need - it could be a lot less than you expect.

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vwalan

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i prefer not to go too large with the individual panels , 80-100wt is ok . that way should one get damaged you only lose a bit of power . have enormous panels and you could lose all your power .
mind these days there are some cheap big panels around , its swings and roundabouts sometimes .
 
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Bart

Bart

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in the Bessacarr E /560 there is a full size fridge , is it possible to run that from solar / batteries / invertor or would that just take a very large / expensive set up as i know power useage wise that would be the most due to it running 24/7
 

vwalan

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i run a 240v house fridge in mine . sometimes i fit a house fridge freezer and can run that.
but if yours is a 3way they do seem to use more power .
mind i do have 6x80wts on the roof and a 1kw inverter pure sine wave .
i am parked next to the house at moment and run a lead from inverter into the house to run the house fridge and on sunny days a full size freezer , very often power other items as well.
was better when i had a 2kw inverter but the new fridge in the trailer doesnt like modified sine . so i do have a modified sine wave inverter as well for powering some items .

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Bart

Bart

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The Fridge is a Thetford LCD N180 and from the fridge manual it says "input (kWh/24h) is 3.7" does that mean on average it will use 3.7 KW of power per 24hrs cycle ?
That sounds like its a thirsty bugger <>
 
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from the fridge manual it says "input (kWh/24h) is 3.7" does that mean on average it will use 3.7 KW of power per 24hrs cycle ?

It means that in 24hrs it will use about 3.7kW-hours of energy. So on average that is 3700/24 = 154 watts. That sounds about right. It probably has a 200 watt element turned on and off by the thermostat.

Translated into 12V leisure battery speak, it will require 3700/12 = 308 amp-hours of energy per day.

A 100 watt solar panel typically will supply 40 to 70 amp-hours per sunny day depending on how near you are to John O'Groats or Gibraltar. So you're looking at over 500 watts of panel, and that's just for the fridge. That's why most people use gas.

Having said that, I believe there are solar controllers that will, once the batteries are charged, divert excess solar electricity to the fridge to cut down on gas usage.
 
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DBK

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in the Bessacarr E /560 there is a full size fridge , is it possible to run that from solar / batteries / invertor or would that just take a very large / expensive set up as i know power useage wise that would be the most due to it running 24/7
Running your fridge off solar isn't really practical, as well explained above. You can run fridges off solar but you would need to change it to a compressor model, which will use much less electricity as they are very much more efficient. This is the type @vwalan has.

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Bart

Bart

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It means that in 24hrs it will use about 3.7kW-hours of energy. So on average that is 3700/24 = 154 watts. That sounds about right. It probably has a 200 watt element turned on and off by the thermostat.

Translated into 12V leisure battery speak, it will require 3700/12 = 308 amp-hours of energy per day.

A 100 watt solar panel typically will supply 40 to 70 amp-hours per sunny day depending on how near you are to John O'Groats or Gibraltar. So you're looking at over 500 watts of panel, and that's just for the fridge. That's why most people use gas.

Having said that, I believe there are solar controllers that will, once the batteries are charged, divert excess solar electricity to the fridge to cut down on gas usage.

+

Running your fridge off solar isn't really practical, as well explained above. You can run fridges off solar but you would need to change it to a compressor model, which will use much less electricity as they are very much more efficient. This is the type @vwalan has.

Looks like it will be gas for the fridge then :)
lol sort of thought it would be impractical to run it on solar , i just never knew how much that would translate in the Amp-Hours .... @308 amp hrs id need a trailer for the batteries :)
 

Techno

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The fridge uses very little gas anyway but if you have enough solar and enough battery back up and enough sun it is possible but not at the expense of anything else
My fridge can draw over 15 amps
image.jpeg

But on good days I can maintain that without loss
image.jpeg
This relay tricks my control panel into thinking the engine is running
image.jpeg

My battery voltage under load while supplying fridge
image.jpeg
 
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Bart

Bart

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@Techno thanks for the pics :)
how much watts of solar panels do you have , and is your fridge a full size fridge like my Thetford LCD N180.

edit : actually just seen you have 232w input from your panels :) . does that mean 300w panels and that is the amount you are getting in charge?

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Techno

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When you've mapped your roof properly and have specific dimensions to play with you can then order panels to fit. You cannot have too much solar BUT you can have too much weight!
You can save space by making your own brackets and turning them inwards
CA_05061409150545-X2.jpg

CA_05061409132625-X3.jpg

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Bart

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Nice , ive still to venture up onto our roof since buying the MH last week . prio 1 is getting a gas it system sorted for it , its a special order canister as its gonna be a 18kg cylinder. so 2-3 weeks ive been told , solar most likely will not get installed till after the summer. but when i do it i wanna make sure its done as best as i can, to make the most out of the space.
Are some solar panels better than others as in wattage per sq inch ? or is it always more watts = bigger panels.
 

Techno

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There's not much rubbish about to be honest. Yes power is relative to size not so much price. Certainly no more than £1 per watt
 

Minxy

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Nice , ive still to venture up onto our roof since buying the MH last week . prio 1 is getting a gas it system sorted for it , its a special order canister as its gonna be a 18kg cylinder. so 2-3 weeks ive been told , solar most likely will not get installed till after the summer. but when i do it i wanna make sure its done as best as i can, to make the most out of the space.
Are some solar panels better than others as in wattage per sq inch ? or is it always more watts = bigger panels.
Just word of caution ref the gas-it 18kg cylinder ... if/when you change your MH you may not be able to get it into the compartment as not all will take that size ... just a though for the future!

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Bart

Bart

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Just word of caution ref the gas-it 18kg cylinder ... if/when you change your MH you may not be able to get it into the compartment as not all will take that size ... just a though for the future!
Good point MEL but dont think i will be changing it for a while , well thats the plan unless i win the lottery , or sell the house :) ,, mind u the latter could happen :D
but yar who knows i might go away in it and realize what i thought was the perfect payout ,, sucks for us ^^
 
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We have a Bessacarr E560 with a solar panel. The panel is 100w and certainly in the summer is more than adequate for continual use with only the original battery. The fridge runs on gas and a 6Kg cylinder can last for 3 weeks just on the fridge. With all the rooflights etc you'll find it difficult to get a larger single panel on though you may get 2x100 on. We don't always go off grid but mix and match, the panel means we never worry about power anymore, and importantly, for most of the year, never have to plug the van in at home to keep both batteries fully charged.
 
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Bart

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@WillH Thanks for the info :D 3 weeks from 6kg is great and also that you only have 100w and you are happy is good. do you have an inverter in your set up or all just 12v useage?
Thanks :)

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No inverter, and the three weeks would be for the fridge alone, cooking would cut into that. I have a good measure for this as our 240v fridge element packed up on the first day of a three week tour in France a couple of years ago so the fridge was on gas the whole time we were not travelling. Virtually everything you could need will run off 12v, I have fitted all LED lighting to minimise consumption. We have just done three weeks in the Western Isles using campsites and just parking up, never even thought about power, just take it for granted. If you tour in colder weather the battery is only good for a couple of days heating, the Truma heater fan uses quite a bit of juice when running so you have to watch it.
 

vwalan

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gas cooking ,gas heating . , gas for shower , gas lighting . but in my mind 240v fridge run off solar .batteries and inverter is great. i do use 240 for computer, charging phones ,tv , but best thing i ever did was household fridge .
mind i do like gas lights . after seeing my mate had them in his caravan fixed to back of a truck .
have had mine 16 yrs now . great bits of kit . i could power ant of my lights by 12v but always its the gas lights .catalytic room heater for me thermex great bit of kit .
 
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Bart

Bart

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No inverter, and the three weeks would be for the fridge alone, cooking would cut into that. I have a good measure for this as our 240v fridge element packed up on the first day of a three week tour in France a couple of years ago so the fridge was on gas the whole time we were not travelling. Virtually everything you could need will run off 12v, I have fitted all LED lighting to minimise consumption. We have just done three weeks in the Western Isles using campsites and just parking up, never even thought about power, just take it for granted. If you tour in colder weather the battery is only good for a couple of days heating, the Truma heater fan uses quite a bit of juice when running so you have to watch it.
Thanks for the info , that sucked your fridge element packed in at the start of your holidays <> , i was going to change the lights inside to LED's once i get the solar sorted, but i then read in the MH book that it came with LED's , i take it these are power hungry LED's that come fitted ?
Also never knew the Truma heater ran on 12v , mind you ive only had the MH 1 week now and still to go anywhere in it :D

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Minxy

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Thanks for the info , that sucked your fridge element packed in at the start of your holidays <> , i was going to change the lights inside to LED's once i get the solar sorted, but i then read in the MH book that it came with LED's , i take it these are power hungry LED's that come fitted ?
Also never knew the Truma heater ran on 12v , mind you ive only had the MH 1 week now and still to go anywhere in it :D
Hi Joe, the LEDs you've already got fitted won't be power hungry, they are all a low power draw so don't worry about them.

As for heater, it doesn't just run on 12v (ie you can't heat with it just on that), it's just that it requires 12v for the fan which circulates the air round, you still need gas or mains electric (if it has that facility) to produce the heat in the first place.
 
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Bart

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When you've mapped your roof properly and have specific dimensions to play with you can then order panels to fit. You cannot have too much solar BUT you can have too much weight!
You can save space by making your own brackets and turning them inwards
@Techno been looking at your brackets for your solar panels again , did you screw them down to the MH roof ? or just glue them down with sikaflex ?
 

vwalan

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could screw the brackets down then fit the panels?
i think it was one of your pics showed what could have been a screw or bolt in a hole on the face that goes on the roof .
but yes gluing does work well. less holes in the roof the better i say.

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