Where do you start with solar?

[Landy Andy]

Where do you start with installing/pricing/considering solar panels?

What are the import things to consider and that control what you could/should have?

I assume roof space would be a major point.

Andy

 

[tonyidle]

1) You cannot have too much
2) Available space
3) the depth of your wallet
4) No user control - but a good battery monitor
5) MPPT controller rated to match the panels

Single large panel cheaper per Watt than multiple smaller panels. Best value at present seems to be 250W panels because they are also used for home solar installations - but see (2) above.

 

[TerryL]

Much depends on your style of motorhoming. As you are thinking of solar I presume you're looking at spending time "off-grid". Even then you should think about if you are just stopping a few days or longer as it affects your re-charging options e.g. if you're moving on after a day or two your existing alternator based system may be sufficient, or a B2B may be an alternative.

That said, you need two things - your rate of consumption of electricity from the leisure batteries (before anything else IMO there must always be at least one extra battery) which will tell you how long you can last before needing a recharge, and then room to deploy as much solar estate as you can find on the roof. You may want to add portable too if you're a huge power user. Then it's a balancing act with affordability the next concern.

Personally, and many others will agree, I think you can't have enough solar power, but within reason of course. Hope that helps for a start.

 

[Lenny HB]

First thing is to work out your usage requirements. Do you just want it to keep your batteries topped up, do you want it to be independent in the summer or are you trying to be independent all year round. Are you using it in the UK or mostly in southern Spain.

Once you know how you are going to use it you can then work out your best option.

For us we like to be independent so I fitted the most panels I could get on the roof and a decent Votronic MPPT regulator.

 

[Silver-Fox]

The roof

I used Photonic Universe.
Reasonable prices with good kit.

10% off if in ccc
I’m sure your in it

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[Richard n Ann]

First thing I did was fit a BM2 battery monitor. That tells you what you use over night. Then you need a panel that will replace what you used plus provide daytime power.
150w is plenty for us, we'd probably be ok with half that.
It helps if you're in Spain though

 

[Landy Andy]

Never seen our batteries low to be honest. We have two GF12065Y Sonnenschein batteries (https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/sonnenschein/gf12065y/). We are planning on changing the way our trips work this year. We normally move on every day, or every second day, and go some distance. Mostly aires, but the very occasional site where we would ehu it. This year though we are going to try less miles, so possibly still moving on most days but only an hour (possibly less) or so. My concern is that an hour of driving won’t really top the batteries up.

Usage wise, we don’t really hammer it. All lights are led, but electric for heating/water (using gas, but still needs power), fridge cooling fans, mifi unit, and possibly a couple of hours of tv. That’s it really.

More thinking, fitting a panel = no worries/concern required.

Thanks for your input so far.

 

[DBK]

In October last year we struggled with 200W on the roof down the Mosel as we were only driving half an hour so each day and the sun was very low in the sky. As a result I've now fitted a 60A B2B charger which seems very effective but I haven't really tested it yet. We used aires to cross France recently but we were driving 4 hours a day. Worth noting we have a diesel heater which does use a lot of power compared to a gas heater.

My suggestion would be to fit 200W minimum and see how you get on.

 

[pappajohn]

You need to consider payload as well.
While not excessively heavy they aren't the lightest of things either.

 

[TerryL]

We tend not to stay in one place for more than a few days and also prefer non-commercial sites - because of our setup we rarely use hookup. We're not heavy users, maybe a couple of hours of TV plus the usual lights, pump etc. and occasional charging of a laptop through a small inverter.

We started with an extra leisure battery then added a Sterling 50 amp battery-to-battery charger. We realised that for longer stays we needed solar so bought a 100w panel and basic regulator - not a lot of room on our roof after an air-con unit and satellite dish, which has now been removed. To keep the cab battery charged whilst in storage we finally added a battery master. For now most of our touring is abroad where we can (usually) expect plenty of sunshine; in Morocco the solar has usually fully recharged the batteries before we get up!

With this lot we've never had any problems with battery power although next upgrade will probably be an MPPT regulator and more solar if I can find room on the roof.

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[Landy Andy]

Will get up on the roof tomorrow and take a look at what room I’ve got. That appears to be a good start place.

 

[DL42846]

Will get up on the roof tomorrow and take a look at what room I’ve got. That appears to be a good start place.

I would check how much payload you have to play around with. Your van looks quiet long and might be getting towards your max payload if your a 3.5 ton.

 

[Two on Tour]

Will get up on the roof tomorrow and take a look at what room I’ve got. That appears to be a good start place.

While your up there, have a think about positioning the panels to shorten the cable runs on the roof and where would be a sensible place to bring the cables through into the hab area. I was lucky and have a false panel in the back of the cupboard above our microwave which allowed me to keep the cabling out of sight and mount the MPPT and other gear in the cupboard out of general view.