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Old 05-29-2022, 02:50 PM   #1
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450 watts

Just added 350 watts more to my existing Attachment 366898100 watt panel! Hope it helps!
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Old 05-29-2022, 04:38 PM   #2
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Excellent! You more than tripled your solar.....YES, you will likely see a great improvement!


Question: How did you fasten those to the roof? Is that Eternabond tape?


What kind of solar charge controller do you have? Obviously, you'll want to make sure it can handle the additional current flow you'll be getting/generating.


Solar is addictive


Happy camping!
Chris
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Old 05-29-2022, 08:06 PM   #3
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Yup on the tape! Those are the very thin, flexible ones from Renogy! Did not want to put any more holes in the roof! Renogy controller and they’re wired in parallel so I think it’s ok?
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Old 05-29-2022, 10:27 PM   #4
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Yup on the tape! Those are the very thin, flexible ones from Renogy! Did not want to put any more holes in the roof! Renogy controller and they’re wired in parallel so I think it’s ok?

I had my Renogy flexible panels mounted like that. In 1.5 years the "burned out". I was told that was not the proper way to install them, even though there are not installation instructions in the box or on the website.

I am in the process of trying to decide the best route to replace my 6 panels.......
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Old 05-30-2022, 02:51 AM   #5
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Solid panels with a 2" air gap works well for me, but then I'm real old school.
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Old 05-30-2022, 02:51 AM   #6
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Yup on the tape! Those are the very thin, flexible ones from Renogy! Did not want to put any more holes in the roof! Renogy controller and they’re wired in parallel so I think it’s ok?

I'm not an expert, but I have heard many people talking about heat buildup on/under solar panels and thus creating a need for some airflow between the roof and the solar panel. That's why most of the brackets are the way they are.


I don't know if is simply creates a higher likelihood that they will degrade, or if it could actually do anything undesirable (heat related) to the rooftop. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in...


How many amps is your Renogy solar charge controller? Is it PWM or MPPT type? How many maximum amps is your controller? At 450w you would probably want a 30amp solar charge controller. A 20amp controller might actually result in some of your solar potential not being used.


-Chris
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Old 05-30-2022, 10:28 AM   #7
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I'm not an expert, but I have heard many people talking about heat buildup on/under solar panels and thus creating a need for some airflow between the roof and the solar panel. That's why most of the brackets are the way they are.


I don't know if is simply creates a higher likelihood that they will degrade, or if it could actually do anything undesirable (heat related) to the rooftop. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in...


How many amps is your Renogy solar charge controller? Is it PWM or MPPT type? How many maximum amps is your controller? At 450w you would probably want a 30amp solar charge controller. A 20amp controller might actually result in some of your solar potential not being used.


-Chris
A little disappointed to hear the comments about mounting these panels! Clearly they are designed to lay flat! I guess I’ll wait and see how it goes because there’s no way to get them off now!!!🤪

My controller is a 30 amp PWM type so I hope I’m ok there!?!?

Thanks for the info
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Old 05-30-2022, 10:34 AM   #8
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A little disappointed to hear the comments about mounting these panels! Clearly they are designed to lay flat! I guess I’ll wait and see how it goes because there’s no way to get them off now!!!🤪
I hear you.

I had a different brand flexible panels on a previous trailer. They had adhesive built into the back side. They were still going strong after 5 years when I sold that trailer.

I installed my Renogy panels the same way and the "burned out". They said sealing around the edges traps heat.
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Old 05-30-2022, 02:46 PM   #9
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A little disappointed to hear the comments about mounting these panels! Clearly they are designed to lay flat! I guess I’ll wait and see how it goes because there’s no way to get them off now!!!🤪

My controller is a 30 amp PWM type so I hope I’m ok there!?!?

Thanks for the info

Perhaps flat mounted panels are designed better to handle it. I suggest you not worry about it and just enjoy your solar power. If they crap out, you can deal with it then. Hopefully they last for you as long as you own the rig.


Your 30 amp PWM controller should handle it without any problems. Although you can probably read the user's manual to see how many max watts it is supposed to have. You are likely using 12v rated panels (which actually produce at ~16-18v) and deliver a maximum of ~5.5amps per 100w. 5.5amps x 4.5 panels (450w) = 24.5amps would likely be your max charging amps. But in actual use you probably will get slightly less due to the regular inefficiencies of solar. You should be fine.


Enjoy your solar! Go boondock somewhere now

Chris
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Old 05-30-2022, 04:42 PM   #10
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I believe you are on the edge with 450W going through that controller. I have 415W and use a 40A Rich Solar MPPT charger with no issues. The MPPT controller will give you much more charge for the same amount of sun.
"
Which is better MPPT or PWM?
The main difference between PWM and MPPT charge control devices is that the MPPT devices are more efficient. MPPT charge control devices are 30 % more efficient in charge efficiency according to PWM type. Panel voltage and battery voltage should be matched in PWM systems."
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Old 05-30-2022, 05:16 PM   #11
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I believe you are on the edge with 450W going through that controller. I have 415W and use a 40A Rich Solar MPPT charger with no issues. The MPPT controller will give you much more charge for the same amount of sun.
"
Which is better MPPT or PWM?
The main difference between PWM and MPPT charge control devices is that the MPPT devices are more efficient. MPPT charge control devices are 30 % more efficient in charge efficiency according to PWM type. Panel voltage and battery voltage should be matched in PWM systems."
Canyon

450w of 12v panels will not produce more than 30 amps of input to the PWM controller or output to the batteries, so he will be fine.


aquablanco is pointing out a separate issue: PWM vs MPPT. Your PWM controller will work just fine as you were expecting. IF you wanted to purchase a more expensive MPPT controller you would in fact expect to see a 20-30% increase in charge output to your batteries. I installed a 12v solar system with MPPT controller just recently and saw similar results/improvement:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f56/mppt...ls-573526.html


HOWEVER, depending on how large your battery bank is it might not be worth it. How many AH total is your battery bank? What type of batteries? How many AH do you typically use in a day when boondocking? If you don't already have a battery monitor I highly recommend you install one. Easy to do. Fun to be able to see what is happening at all times to your batteries. I personally use an inexpensive (<$50) Aili monitor you can purchase online. There are other more fancy bluetooth versions that display info/etc on your phone which is cool if you are into that.


Your 450w solar with PWM charge controller will keep most casual RVers with happy batteries up to about 300AH total battery bank while boondocking. If you've got a generator as backup, then even less to worry about.



-Chris
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Old 05-31-2022, 03:22 PM   #12
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A look at what it’s doing today! It only charges my two 6 volt coach batteries!
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Old 05-31-2022, 05:35 PM   #13
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A look at what it’s doing today! It only charges my two 6 volt coach batteries!

Looks like it is working well!


So you have ~210AH worth of batteries. 450w should be more than enough to get them charged up every day (provided there is sun).


Have you ever calculated your "typical" AH usage for one 24hr period? For me, I find the largest power draw is my furnace when I am camping at 40 degrees or below nighttime temps. Even then, when I wake up in the morning my 200AH battery bank usually is not below 80%.


I'm a pretty casual RV camper. I have 200-210AH in my various RVs. I use as many lights as I want in the RV, charge phones, a laptop, watch TV/DVD, run the furnace if it is cold at night....and I think the lowest I ever saw my batteries was at ~63% full (~75AH used). As soon as the sun comes up, my 500w has them back up to 90-95% by 11am or noon.


Enjoy your expanded solar! Let us know how it works out after your next boondocking trip.


Happy Camping!
Chris
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