Solar novice

[Mona Owner]

I inherited a roof mounted solar panel on my Moho when I bought it.
Today it's sunny in Denmark about 20°.
My control panel is showing solar panel input to van of 2.8 amps.
Someone pleased tell me what this is. Great? Good? Bad? Lousy? Ludicrous?
Many thanks for a little understanding please.
Alan MonaOwner

 

[LithiumConvert]

2.8 amps is OK - depending on the size of the panel and what type of controller it is.

And what time it is and where the sun is, etc., etc.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Its probably just a 100watt panel. So that's all your going to get in reality. If you have more space then consider putting some more on but then you may need a better controller. If your going lithium eventually buy a controller that will work for that.

 

[1967bowesj]

Is it in bulk absorption float state?

Might be worth checking the label on the under side of panel if you can. Or any paperwork you got with the van, that way you should know what you can expect from it.

 

[CAB96]

Is the battery full?

It can only shove in what the battery can take.

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[DBK]

I inherited a roof mounted solar panel on my Moho when I bought it.
Today it's sunny in Denmark about 20°.
My control panel is showing solar panel input to van of 2.8 amps.
Someone pleased tell me what this is. Great? Good? Bad? Lousy? Ludicrous?
Many thanks for a little understanding please.
Alan MonaOwner

The first step is to know what your battery voltage is. This is a very good guide to the state of charge of your battery or batteries. The next step would be fitting a battery monitor which measures the current going in and out of the battery and from that tell you the state of charge. A voltmeter will be easy to fit and inexpensive, a monitor is more involved to fit and more expensive.

 

[MrsC]

Very interested in this, wonderful question - likewise I bought an elderly Bessacarr with a solar panel and it reads 3.8. I have lots of technical installation info but nothing for a novice like me - it’s a MeTer and the remote meter display shows it feeds the two leisure batteries. The battery icons each show with five strips and it says each strip equals 20% of battery capacity. So if it helps the 3.8 takes the strips up to the maximum of five. So 2.8 seems pretty efficient to me.

 

[autorouter]

I inherited a roof mounted solar panel on my Moho when I bought it.
Today it's sunny in Denmark about 20°.
My control panel is showing solar panel input to van of 2.8 amps.
Someone pleased tell me what this is. Great? Good? Bad? Lousy? Ludicrous?

The solar input of 2.8A is probably at about 14V. That means that the power is 2.8 x 14 = 39.4W. I'm guessing your solar panel may be a '100W' panel. That means 100W in full tropical sun, tilted at right angles to the sunlight. When flat on a MH roof, in Europe, you are lucky to get 80% of that, ie 80W. So your panel is producing about half of its maximum expected power, if it's a 100W panel.

The solar controller only outputs what is demanded of it. If the battery is quite full, and the electric loads are not using power, then the solar controller reduces its output. So this output may be perfectly normal if the battery is quite full.

 

[Ian_H]

Is the panel clean and not partially shaded from an open vent? A present from a passing gull can reduce output by a surprising amount!

 

[Mona Owner]

Is the battery full?

It can only shove in what the battery can take.

Yes, the panel is showing good results for both van and leisure batteries. And we are on EHU anyhow

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[Mona Owner]

I inherited a roof mounted solar panel on my Moho when I bought it.
Today it's sunny in Denmark about 20°.
My control panel is showing solar panel input to van of 2.8 amps.
Someone pleased tell me what this is. Great? Good? Bad? Lousy? Ludicrous?
Many thanks for a little understanding please.
Alan MonaOwner

Hey many thanks everyone for their input (see what I did there) very useful advice and info. Boy I just wish I was more clever!
Alan

 

[herald_400rl]

The solar input of 2.8A is probably at about 14V. That means that the power is 2.8 x 14 = 39.4W. I'm guessing your solar panel may be a '100W' panel. That means 100W in full tropical sun, tilted at right angles to the sunlight. When flat on a MH roof, in Europe, you are lucky to get 80% of that, ie 80W. So your panel is producing about half of its maximum expected power, if it's a 100W panel.

The solar controller only outputs what is demanded of it. If the battery is quite full, and the electric loads are not using power, then the solar controller reduces its output. So this output may be perfectly normal if the battery is quite full.

Would there be efficiencies gained/lost via a pwm/mppt and would they differ between the 2?

 

[autorouter]

Would there be efficiencies gained/lost via a pwm/mppt and would they differ between the 2?

Solar controllers can be PWM or MPPT. In full blazing sun, they perform about the same. When it gets cloudy, or as the sun goes lower in the sky, an MPPT holds up better than a PWM, and can be up to 30% better in those conditions. PWM controllers are generally cheaper than MPPT controllers.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Yes, the panel is showing good results for both van and leisure batteries. And we are on EHU anyhow

If your on ehu your on board charger will also be charging your batteries and your solar will therefore not contribute very much. Best to check it again when you are off ehu

 

[herald_400rl]

I'm currently getting 126w from the panel/9.2a into the battery. Overcast today.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

I'm currently getting 126w from the panel/9.2a into the battery. Overcast today.

Is that a 200watt panel?

 

[herald_400rl]

Is that a 200watt panel?

535w

 

[1967bowesj]

178w from a cloudy North East that's from 2 170w panels although I have suspected that one is only producing half power. So possibly 250w panel equivalent

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

130w from a 240w panel. Central Surrey, mostly cloudy today. Been similar all week.

 

[CAB96]

We are two months past midsummer, so a drop off is to be expected.

Our eyes adjust, so it doesn't seem much difference to us. But the panels can tell the difference.

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