It’s Winter..should I buy solar panels?

[PG’s trips]

With dealer today to arrange LPG installation. He was trying to tell me about the positives of considering solar for wild camping. I would like the convenience of avoiding EHU if and when I do a longish road trip without worrying about leisure battery top up. He suggested 3/4 days use if using 12v was probably maximum I would get without EHU refresh or doing decent mileage especially if running gas and fridge etc. It’s about £500 to get a decent system in, is it worth considering?

 

[peterc10]

Our 250W of solar means we do not need to hook up at all in the summer in most of the UK and Europe and the autumn and spring in Southern Europe. But it is not just about solar, you also need a couple of decent leisure batteries to store the electricity the solar produces.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Yes very worth it, we've got a 150w panel and an 80ah gel battery and it's plenty even in the UK.
Depends on usage of course, we use an 18" TV for a few hours, LED lights and charge phones

 

[Eggs]

Yes, get as many solar panels up there as you can and fit decent batteries. Living off grid can be hard in the winter, give yourself every chance.

 

[Wh05apk]

Realistically forget about solar in the uk/northern Europe during winter, even with 420w we barely get anything during winter, you need to look at extra batteries and b2b for winter use, provided you are driving every couple of days.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Raul]

Solar alone will not cut it. A combination of B2B, solar and decent battery bank it will work very nice. The deciding factor is your personal needs. How much electricity you use daily, and look at ways to replenish that back. Solar for me works 95% of the time and the reminder of 5% is covered by B2B. I have reduced the lpg consumption drastically, by shifting the investment into a healthy lithium bank. The possibilities are endless if you willing to invest, we even have a 1400w grill/ oven, electric kettle, induction plate, electric fridge, electric freezer and this year we hooked up once because was there for free.
Solar does work, but, it has its limitation, couple that with a B2B, and you stand a good chance to succeed.

 

[Gaston aires]

You should buy them anytime of the year. Even in winter they help keep your batteries topped up if stored/parked outside.
Phil

 

[69473]

Had two 100w panels fitted to our Hymer Grand canyon with factory fitted x2 95ah batteries.
Summer is no problem, plenty of available power to run fridge, lights, and diesel heater fan etc.
However in poor overcast conditions solar does not produce enough to sustain prolonged off grid camping.
Bear in mind if winter camping you tend to spend more time in the van and have a greater drain on stored power.
Recently spent a few days in the lakes, poor solar input, after two days batteries were down to 25%.
One other advantage of solar is a slow trickle charge effect to keep winter batteries topped up.
Personally wouldn't be without them but definitely not a panacea to winter off grid camping in the UK.

 

[paddymcc]

If you go for solar (which I would) then make sure that the dealer is fitting a MPPT controller. They won't unless you specify it as it cost more. It makes quite a difference to efficiency in low sun situations as we have in the UK.

 

[peterc10]

Had two 100w panels fitted to our Hymer Grand canyon with factory fitted x2 95ah batteries.
Summer is no problem, plenty of available power to run fridge, lights, and diesel heater fan etc.
However in poor overcast conditions solar does not produce enough to sustain prolonged off grid camping.
Bear in mind if winter camping you tend to spend more time in the van and have a greater drain on stored power.
Recently spent a few days in the lakes, poor solar input, after two days batteries were down to 25%.
One other advantage of solar is a slow trickle charge effect to keep winter batteries topped up.
Personally wouldn't be without them but definitely not a panacea to winter off grid camping in the UK.

In a PVC with a 2 way compressor fridge, the fridge is one of the main 12v drains when not on EHU. But the OP, like us, has a coachbuilt motorhome so will almost certainly have a 3 way absorption fridge, which will run on gas when not on EHU. That will mean a much better chance of lasting longer.

Earlier this week on a sunny day the solars were putting in about 4 amps, not bad for a November afternoon in the UK with the sun low. I have spent 3 nights in February in mainly cloudy conditions and managed to survive on solar alone with enough left for a 4th night if I needed it. But it does depend upon how much electricity you use and how much battery capacity you have of course. In the winter we tend to read more and limit watching TV and tend to go to bed earlier. In our case I suspect the main drain is the Alde heating pump.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[peterc10]

If you go for solar (which I would) then make sure that the dealer is fitting a MPPT controller. They won't unless you specify it as it cost more. It makes quite a difference to efficiency in low sun situations as we have in the UK.

Good advice. But not all MPPT controllers are equal. Make sure they use a decent one from a know maker. Or even better buy the kit yourself and DIY fit it. That is what we did in our previous motorhome. Found it very easy with lots of advice on this forum about what to buy and how to do it. Just take it easy and you will be OK. You may find that, like me, the most difficult bit is stopping your hand from shaking in fear while you are drilling the hole through the roof .

 

[Raul]

Had two 100w panels fitted to our Hymer Grand canyon with factory fitted x2 95ah batteries.
Summer is no problem, plenty of available power to run fridge, lights, and diesel heater fan etc.
However in poor overcast conditions solar does not produce enough to sustain prolonged off grid camping.
Bear in mind if winter camping you tend to spend more time in the van and have a greater drain on stored power.
Recently spent a few days in the lakes, poor solar input, after two days batteries were down to 25%.
One other advantage of solar is a slow trickle charge effect to keep winter batteries topped up.
Personally wouldn't be without them but definitely not a panacea to winter off grid camping in the UK.

You found the limitation of a mismatched system to your needs. That system is to small for you. If you average let’s say 35ah a day, then you size for worst case scenario(winter) north of 50 deg latitude, then you will need at least 420w solar and 210ah of storage. That would give you a daily average 35ah to burn, 3 days reserve capacity at 50% depth of discharge.
There are online calculators to estimate the solar harvest at different locations almost the entire world. Once you know your daily needs, size the solar needed to harvest that, then work your storage capacity for lead times six your daily need and for lithium min times two.

Oh, your existing system is good for a average 15-16ah a day in UK winter. In summer you can exceed 80ah daily. Move south of Europe and you can harvest in excess of 100ah daily.

 

[Stealaway]

If you go for solar (which I would) then make sure that the dealer is fitting a MPPT controller. They won't unless you specify it as it cost more. It makes quite a difference to efficiency in low sun situations as we have in the UK.

And Dual battery. To keep the starter battery fully charged

 

[Lenny HB]

We recently survived 14 days in October in Germany with not a lot of sun. We had 3x 80a/h Gel batteries, 300 Watts of solar and a good mppt regulator. Fridge running on gas, weren't using much heating and careful with the lights.
For winter use you probably need at least 600 Watts of solar I know I would.

 

[68c]

Perhaps also get a portable 100watt panel that can be pointed at the low angle sun in the winter.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[RobL]

Absolutely fit them. Have motorhomed with and without. Definitely with. Nothing worse than running out of power.

 

[Langtoftlad]

I'm not technical nor a tweaker... and it obviously depends on your demand needs... but my van came with 1 solar panel [120w] and 2 leisure batteries [100Ahr].
Pretty much whatever is taken out at night, is replenished by the time I get up the next morning.
This is toodling around North Yorkshire.

 

[Cyclewalkbob]

Having had two engine batteries and two leisure batteries fail in storage over winter ( my own fault delaying putting the van on charge for the first engine battery, illness caused the same issue for the second) therefore I decided to take the plunge and went to Van Bitz to get a 135w solar panel, mppt controller, and two new leisure batteries fitted.

I already had the b2b unit fitted when I had my alarm fitted at Van Bitz so I was all set to go.

So far all my batteries are fully charged using just the solar panel, which was my main aim, however it does give us the added advantage of going off grid when we want to.

I wish I had done it earlier, it would have solved much frustration, never mind the battery costs!!!!!

 

[Ian Bosman]

Having had two engine batteries and two leisure batteries fail in storage over winter ( my own fault delaying putting the van on charge for the first engine battery, illness caused the same issue for the second) therefore I decided to take the plunge and went to Van Bitz to get a 135w solar panel, mppt controller, and two new leisure batteries fitted.

I already had the b2b unit fitted when I had my alarm fitted at Van Bitz so I was all set to go.

So far all my batteries are fully charged using just the solar panel, which was my main aim, however it does give us the added advantage of going off grid when we want to.

I wish I had done it earlier, it would have solved much frustration, never mind the battery costs!!!!!

Maybe I have been lucky, but my two batteries have been kept on charge with the solar panel, 120 watts at 50/50 charge. I have started the engine about once a month. The starting battery I have a couple of time times last year used the hook up at home, where it is kept, to charge it up if it showed any sign of weakness. Cannot give you the display data as I am not that well organised! I have noticed that the cold weather brings up the glow plug light for a few seconds. But I am glad that the solar panel especially in the summer does the job of allowing me to stay somewhere without having to resort to EHU, especially on Aires.

 

[Tarn2]

Very well worth it. We only had one 100w panel and one 135ah battery in last van. This time have 2x 120w panels and 2x 135ah batteries which has enabled us to off grid without any hesitation (6 days easily done, but could have done more). Even used instant pot off inverter, without a problem (also have an 80litre compressor fridge). Have used Photonic Universe panels and mppt if of interest?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[discokid]

I think even in winter in the UK you will still have to hook up to the mains to maintain a good charge to the batteries regardless of whether you have a solar panel fitted. After 11 years without a solar panel and also using a Cee-tek for the vehicle battery, I decided to invest. My vehicle battery had given up the ghost and my 11-year old leisure batteries were now not so reliable in holding a charge, so it seemed a good time to upgrade.
I bought a new vehicle battery, Lucas Supreme LS019 and two leisure batteries, Varta pro AGM LA95. That made a dent in the wallet. With the help of a technically-minded neighbour plus articles in MMM I fitted a 120w German-made solar panel and a Steca 20A PWM solar controller. Additionally two isolator switches for the vehicle and the leisure batteries. Once the leisure batteries are fully charged the excess is transferred to the vehicle battery to keep that topped up. This winter I still need to hook-up as the solar panel on its own would not cope. Lastly, I changed all of the standard fuses in the van and switched to LED glow fuses - in for a penny etc.
It's been an expensive outlay but well worth it knowing I now have a reliable system with a visual display of the state of the batteries and can be self-sufficient for power in the spring and summer months if need be. It's just a crying shame that I'm not going anywhere for the foreseeable future!!