is solar worth it?? (1 Viewer)

do1977

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Oct 28, 2008
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i want to no for anyone has solar pannels and are they worth getting?

i have 8 110amp batters and a inverter that runs my rv when i am on the move i dont hook up to the mains i use the engine when driving to charge or my genny

so is it worth me getting solar??
 

Wildman

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2x 130W panels will work a treat for you, you have a decent battery bank so can use them to good effect. during the winter they will keep your batts topped up. got to be good. They will put a steady charge into the system all daylight hours, for zero fuel cost not noise, no exhaust.
 
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do1977

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Oct 28, 2008
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where i park up
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2x 130W panels will work a treat for you, you have a decent battery bank so can use them to good effect. during the winter they will keep your batts topped up. got to be good. They will put a steady charge into the system all daylight hours, for zero fuel cost not noise, no exhaust.

ok i have seen so many pannels and where is the dest place to get them or is there a make i should look for?

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Wildman

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May 30, 2008
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ok i have seen so many pannels and where is the dest place to get them or is there a make i should look for?
fleabay will give you an idea of prices, maybe someone else can help with that one. You also have to think of installation, charge controller etc however with that size battery bank I doubt a controller would be necessary. Go to a speciallist firm for advice on size and type, in fact ask several as it is interesting to see how many different answers the "experts" will give.
With 880amp/hrs of storage you need to work out how much power you use. for every amp you use allow 4 at least amps of charge as the output will never be met under normal conditions. see the thread how much charge do you get from your solar panel. For a real time idea of what to expect.
 

scotjimland

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Jul 25, 2007
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Well worth it if you are not going to use sites with ehu

Last year I spent eight months in France on aires, some with ehu, the ones without I used my small Honda genny for charging.
Downside to the genny is fuel cost and having to stay with the RV while charging .. not to mention noise and annoying the neighbours..

I plan to fit 2 x 130watt panels when funds permit.. two panels and a decent charge controller and self fitting I estimate about £1400 - £1500 .. a considerable investment and it would talk a long time to get the payback if I wasn't full time.. £1500, that buys a lot of site nights with ehu..
 
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do1977

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Oct 28, 2008
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i have got my old rv up for sale it has 2 pannels on it and charges 4 to 5 amps on a summy day what do you think they are ( 40w 60w ect )

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hobson

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I'd say definitely worth having if you have the cash, our RV had a 2x4 foot panel already fitted and it's been worth its weight in gold! especially now we aren't on EHU, we'd have killed the batteries if we hadn't had it!
also worth a look if it's not for a huge power supply or if it's to trickle charge are the smaller briefcase chargers, you can pick them up for £50-60 upwards now, they used to be a bit rubbish but the technology is progressing all the time, have a look at Solar Gorilla (about £150) and Maplins own...
 

Douglas

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i want to no for anyone has solar pannels and are they worth getting?

i have 8 110amp batters and a inverter that runs my rv when i am on the move i dont hook up to the mains i use the engine when driving to charge or my genny

so is it worth me getting solar??

The answer to this starts with a couple of questions!

How often do you live in the MH?

Where do you live, IE the UK or further south?

At one extreme living in the UK and only using the MH for holidays and weekends then I would say no! it takes too long to recoup your money.

At the other end, living most of the year and mainly south of latitude 40' then I would say yes.

Now! if you are planning a trip to Morocco then Wait until the before buying the panels as the are much cheaper there.

I have lived in my MH for 5 years for about 8 months a year and have never been connected to a mains supply or a generator with 2* 80 watts and a 30 watt panel on the roof.

Doug...

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do1977

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Oct 28, 2008
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i just going to start livining in the rv and i am going to pu a 26" tv and sat in it i will se in the south of uk most of the time but europe is the place i want to go
i want to use it without needing hook up
i do have the LPG genyas back up

i have seen these Link Removed
 
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scotjimland

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i just going to start livining in the rv and i am going to pu a 26" tv and sat in it i will se in the south of uk most of the time but europe is the place i want to go
i want to use it without needing hook up
i do have the LPG genyas back up

i have seen these Link Removed

Hi

follow the link from the ebay seller then download the pdf for full panel specs

the 225 watt panel has an output of 46.83volts , no good for a 12v system.

they do have a 90watt panel with 17.54v output which is suitable

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vwalan

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hi jim ,doug is right they were cheaper in maroc but now its almost as cheap here ,look on google or e.bay. i have 3x80w work lovely all summer here . powering my house fridge +deepfreezer through inverter at moment. (long extention lead). in winter never use sites in spain or maroc always have power only use genny for welding repairs . saw some chinese panels for about 250 pounds last week on ebay.
 

Douglas

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Aug 22, 2008
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Hi

follow the link from the ebay seller then download the pdf for full panel specs

the 225 watt panel has an output of 46.83volts , no good for a 12v system.

they do have a 90watt panel with 17.54v output which is suitable

Jim, Its possible that the 46volt panels can be rewired for a 12volt system, but the figure of 46volt seems a strange one, the common panel voltage is about 17 volts per 12volt battery. IE 17v for 12v then 34v for 24v so maybe they were meant for another use.

Doug..

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scotjimland

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Jim, Its possible that the 46volt panels can be rewired for a 12volt system, but the figure of 46volt seems a strange one, the common panel voltage is about 17 volts per 12volt battery. IE 17v for 12v then 34v for 24v so maybe they were meant for another use.

Doug..

Hi Doug

I agree, that was why I advised to look at the specs on the pdf before buying .. this information should be clear on the ebay advert... which it aint.

Jim
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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think its for linking to get 220/40. bit like some of the enormous panels in spain .
 

vwalan

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i looked at it here. buy 20or30 panels in maroc, use a special inverter n go through an export metre .but here you must let the authorised fitting company supply panels 500 for what you used to pay 120 in maroc. never make it pay on there figures but mine would have been great. 3 times the cost of nuclear they pay you for green energy (only 2times now)so i use as much as i can from the truck n keep my bills down in the house. i take it you looked at the panels from china , the price is getting better every year. i still use gas lights in truck heat n warmth . i find ring good for inverters but you need to buy a few to get the price right, club together makes sense. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
T

Tony60

Deleted User
solar panels

i want to no for anyone has solar pannels and are they worth getting?

i have 8 110amp batters and a inverter that runs my rv when i am on the move i dont hook up to the mains i use the engine when driving to charge or my genny

so is it worth me getting solar??
Hi, great for keeping batteries charged when not using vehicle , with regards to keeping batteries on mine charged ( 1x 100 watt that folows the sun ) I use too much power ,remember on a good day they are no better than a car trickle charger ,ask yourselve how long would it take to charge a car battery ? mind you the more powerful / number of solar panel(s ) the more current you can generate
 

gazznsam

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May 15, 2009
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we wouldent give up out 3 x 123 watt panels for anything, allowed us to wild camp all over europe, use any aire/stellplatz we liked without having to hope there'd be a ehu there, use the cheap pitches on C&CC sites with no lecky.

once i replace my well overused battery bank, we'll be able to go back to using the van as if we were on hookup, yet be in the middle of a showground with no mains power for miles.

but even now, our badly sulphated battery bank (460AH... but prolly 200AH if that useable) we can last indefinately as long as we get sunny days, 2 overcast days and we need to use the genny, but we do have a lot of electrical loads:

12 volt compressor fridge freezer.. 9 amps, runs about 15 mins on, 30 off.

eberspacher wet central heating, 10 amps for upto 3 mins starting, then 3.5 amps on high, 1.5 on low.

1500 watt pure sine wave inverter, pulls 150 amps from batteries running the centeral vacuum, 100 amps for the microwave and 30 amps for the washing machine, 3 to 5 amps for the desk and clip on fans, oh and 120 amps for sams hairdryer.

laptop 12 volt psu, upto 7 amps depending on internal battery state.

5 amps for the Tv, sat and dvd/amp.

7.5 amps water pump,

lights... upto 18 amps if all on, but as little as 1/2 an amp to run the 2 x 12 inch cold cathodes above the bed.

5 amps fo the roof fan,

Then i have the battery chargers for my electric gliders power pack, TX pack, phone chargers, camera chargers,


we paid £350 for the first panel, then 350 euros each for the other 2 from germany (got them after we had fitted the compressor fridge freezer, and found out they want 80 amp hours a day in spanish summer temps)
100 euro's for the regulator (steca 30 amp one with the display, Ah counters, battery 'fuel' gauge etc, it shows we get an average of 20 amps into the batteries, have seen 28 amps shown, but that may be panel current and not charge current,
it also tells us that we've harvested 10.1 KAH of power since fitting the extra panels and hence the new regulator, that's just over 2 years.

fitted them our selves, easy enough to do, and ment we got to choose the size wires to use, so went over spec (some 'proffesional' instals take the pee by using tiny wire, maybe to sell you anotehr panel later on when the origional dosent work as expected)

We hear a lot of 'solar dosent work in the uk' but we know it can, install it properly, but dont expect miricals, when our battery bank was new, we'd last 4 days easily with no charge, so with the solar panels we'd need 5 days of badly overcast weather to bother us (as it's light not heat that produces the power, so even on a cloudy day you'll get some charge)

now our battery bank is badly sulphated up, maybe a quarter of it's capacity now, we can go 2 overcast days and be ok, but if the third day is overcast then we need to use the genny,
sunny days and we have no probs, but as soon as i sell the motorbike and trailer, we're getting new batteries.
 

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