Buying a solar panel kit, advice needed!

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Bartholomew

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Fiat Ducato
Hi all, I’d like to fit a solar panel to my van, a Fait Ducato. Can you please recommend a make, suppliers and what watts I would need to keep the Liesure and van batteries charged when off grid for 3 or 4 days at a time. I also use the van in the cooler months and the Webasto heater tends to run the battery down. Would I need more than 150w?
Thanks in advance
Bart
 
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You need to do some more sums really.

As you mention Webasto heating running down the battery I assume that your anticipating the solar panel being useful at these times, which it won't

Admittedly if your in Southern Spain or Greece is probably would, but then you wouldn't be running the heating so I am assuming your further North

I sell loads of solar, and the advice I always give is a rule of thumb for the UK. For most of us the latter half of Spring, the Summer and the first half of Autumn, you can use and replenish, so pretty much be of grid if your frugal and sensible. The more solar and battery capacity the less frugal you have to be

The latter half of Autumn, the Winter months and the first part of Spring solar is more of a "maintenance charge" to keep your leisure and engine batteries topped up

This is a "guideline though" but we get people who think that they can be power independent all year round and full time off grid and most set ups simply won't allow this in the UK
 
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In my opinion you don't need to charge the engine battery unless you leave it for weeks/months without moving it. (Unless you have something drawing power from it?)
 
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Thank you for your comments, I just want to keep the leisure battery topped up when off grid for only a few days between days when travelling. I think that I will add another battery as I’d rather have more than I need than be on the limit. Let’s say I need a 300w panel, can you please suggest a kit that I can install myself?
Thanks in advance
Bart

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Bart, go see/PM eddievanbitz he will sort you out giving the best advice on here. There are lots of "know it all's" on here, but make a mistake following them (going to small or wrong solar controller) will cost you in the long run.
 
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Just to give you some idea of what you may need. You may find similar though in France. Try your country's eBay. (y)
 
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bimble solar often get reccomendations on here personally i dont buy kits as itds usually cheper to by the panels and controller seperately
 
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There are some good 200w kit's on eBay With dual battery controller

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As eddievanbitz says, you need to do some sums. First to decide how much charge you use per day from the batteries, and then how much solar you need to refill the batteries by that amount.

If for example you have a 100Ah battery, and it normally lasts 2 days, then you are probably taking the battery down to maybe 30%. So you will have used 70Ah in 2 days, ie 35Ah per day.

A 100W panel will give you about 35Ah on an average summer day, and maybe 40 or 45Ah on a good day. So 100W of panel should be OK to keep you going indefinitely in summer.

The other side of the coin is that solar power is not exactly the optimised source of energy in the UK. In the long summer days you don't need heating or lighting, and probably out exploring or sitting outside so not watching much TV. In the cooler months you use more lighting, power for heating controls and sitting inside watching TV much more. So your power requirements increase, just as the sunshine hours decrease.

If you get by on 100W of solar in the summer, you'll need 300W or more in the cooler months, and as eddievanbitz says, no reasonable amount of solar will be enough for winter. There's a 4000W array on my house roof, and some days in winter I'll be lucky to get enough solar to charge a phone.
 
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Don Quixote said:
Please explain why they are crap? I have never had a problem.
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Loads of people do have trouble with flexible panels longevity though, some respectable sellers have stopped selling them due to warranty claims. I wouldn't touch them.
 
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Richard n Ann said:
Loads of people do have trouble with flexible panels longevity though, some respectable sellers have stopped selling them due to warranty claims. I wouldn't touch them.
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Yes, agreed if you buy cheap stuff but to state "they are crap" without showing why is plain silly. I have used the same one for 6 years before selling motorhome and currently owner (lives close to me) is still using them (300watts). My current camper van has 200 watts and I get 10.5amps from it here in Spain most days. Strange that they are fitted to yachts, 10 times the cost of a motorhome and work well!

As they say, each to his own.
 
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Don Quixote said:
I have used the same one for 6 years before selling motorhome and currently owner (lives close to me) is still using them (300watts). My current camper van has 200 watts and I get 10.5amps from it here in Spain most days.
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So what make/model are these flexible panels? Were they fitted on a curved or flat roof? What adhesive did you use to stick them to the roof? Was it a steel, aluminium or fibreglass roof?

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Don Quixote said:
Yes, agreed if you buy cheap stuff but to state "they are crap" without showing why is plain silly.

As they say, each to his own.
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And equally stating "There are lots of "know it all's" on here, but make a mistake following them" is also plain silly. Be consistent please.;)
 
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I’ve just fitted 2 x 225W 24volts Victron Mono panels along with a Victron Smartsolar MPPT 100-30 controller inc 2 lots of 5mtrs excellent quality cable, 6 mounts per panel and Sikaflex adhesive for £500 delivered from Alpha Batteries
 
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SeanF1 said:
And equally stating "There are lots of "know it all's" on here, but make a mistake following them" is also plain silly. Be consistent please.;)
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Sorry, but there are "lots of "know it all's" on here" FACT and I made it consistently clear. How else would you like me to say it?
 
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autorouter said:
So what make/model are these flexible panels? Were they fitted on a curved or flat roof? What adhesive did you use to stick them to the roof? Was it a steel, aluminium or fibreglass roof?
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I only use NDS panels. This is the current one on camper van stuck direct to fibreglass flat roof using recommended guides.

www.roadpro.co.uk

NDS 200W LightSolar LSE Solar Panel - bottom junction box

<p>This is a high-quality 200W panel with excellent performance characteristics and high reliability. The rear-mounted junction box makes it especi...
www.roadpro.co.uk www.roadpro.co.uk
www.ndsenergy.uk

Light Solar - NDS | Dometic

Semi-flexible solar panels
www.ndsenergy.uk www.ndsenergy.uk

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I bought a cheapish flexi panel from EBay and fitted to a "floating" caravan roof and it failed after a year due to the 'panting' of the alloy roof panel. Subsequently had resin encased semi-flex panels bonded to sandwich construction moho roofs without issue.
 
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VXman said:
In my opinion you don't need to charge the engine battery unless you leave it for weeks/months without moving it. (Unless you have something drawing power from it?)
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Pretty much all modern vehicles have a constant drain on the battery, caused by the electronic systems that are kept acrivated when the vehicle is 'parked and locked'
aIt maybe only a few milli-amps, but it is a drain at the end of the day !!
My PVC solar installation charges both the leisure (x2) AND van battery all the time, I appreciate less in the winter months but it is still adequate.
 
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autorouter said:
Fearing not I'd become my enemy the instant that I speak.
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That's why i get involved less and less nowadays , mate . Too many point scoring , i've even had one search the internet for an answer , just to prove me wrong . I answer honestly , often through something i've actually done , but still they come . But frankly , and honestly , it's just not worth the effort .
 
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airwave said:
That's why i get involved less and less nowadays , mate . Too many point scoring , i've even had one search the internet for an answer , just to prove me wrong . I answer honestly , often through something i've actually done , but still they come . But frankly , and honestly , it's just not worth the effort .
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I usually put "I'd do this, or that" etc so I'm not telling anyone what to do, or if it's right or wrong 👍

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Richard n Ann said:
I usually put "I'd do this, or that" etc so I'm not telling anyone what to do, or if it's right or wrong 👍
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Yep , i know where you're coming from mate . Gotta be honest , right now i'm having a problem with some advice being given on another thread . Basically , although the information is correct , it's a very difficult job to complete . It's certainly not an job for an amateur .
 
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