Solar Panels - Residential vs RV

[rarebear.nm]

Nice job!!

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by Reed Cundiff

Wow, 2750 W of solar. That is quite enough to run an air conditioner without depleting battery suite. I am jealous.

Both solar contractor son and wife think we have quite enough solar and my protests for more panels fall on deaf and engineering exact calculations. They both note we go to high elevations in Rocky Mountains for summer.
Reed and Elaine

Hi Reed, Yes I run living room a/c with it in a good day no problem. Initially I had to overcome the inverter overheating issue. After installed a power vent to the inverter compartment, the whole thing works great.

Push harder and harder for a bigger array! And refuse to go higher and higher in the mountains.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

Here you go...
2750w Solar Panels, I Made It... - iRV2 Forums

My battery is a 1200ah Lifepo4 pack, and inverter is a Magnum MS2812.

Very cool. I love seeing real solar on a coach. For the OP heres a roof pic of 5 residential solar panels on a coach. Probably 25000 miles and no issues but Newmar’s roof construction made mounting panels easy. Also pics of the monitor (Victron Color Control) and my lithium battery pack (24 cells from a Nissan Leaf). The inverter is a Victron 24/3000 that easily runs the air conditioning, and controllers are two Victron BlueSolar MPPT 150/35. Now the only time I use the generator is to exercise it although I think Ill do this while driving on hot days to run the AC and let the solar charge the battery bank.

[RVGlen]

Originally Posted by R.Wold

Very cool. I love seeing real solar on a coach. For the OP heres a roof pic of 5 residential solar panels on a coach. Probably 25000 miles and no issues but Newmar’s roof construction made mounting panels easy. Also pics of the monitor (Victron Color Control) and my lithium battery pack (24 cells from a Nissan Leaf). The inverter is a Victron 24/3000 that easily runs the air conditioning, and controllers are two Victron BlueSolar MPPT 150/35. Now the only time I use the generator is to exercise it although I think Ill do this while driving on hot days to run the AC and let the solar charge the battery bank.

He has a nice setup. I intend on trying residential panels. I don't know enough to use car lithium batteries and I've read there's a higher risk in using them. I liked their cost.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by RVGlen

He has a nice setup. I intend on trying residential panels. I don't know enough to use car lithium batteries and I've read there's a higher risk in using them. I liked their cost.

The risk with lithiums is in not managing them properly, and they degrade with heat, so to get the expected life out of them they need insulation from heat sources and/or ventilation. Setting proper charge and discharge limits will address the safety concerns. Mechanical damage causing a short in a cell generating heat and igniting the chemicals within seems to be the most common safety concern.

Used electric car batteries are still expensive but a bargain compared to lead-acid when you consider the number of discharges (life expectancy) you get out of them. But another concern is how and where they were used initially in determining their current (no pun intended) condition. A battery from a three year old wrecked electric car in Arizona would likely be near the end of its useful life while a six year old one from Minnesota might be in near new condition. And size and shape also come into play. These Nissan cells worked out perfectly for the location on my coach (spare tire is on the other side) and its 2/3 of a Leaf battery. It weighs around 200lbs and is sitting right on top of a frame rail. Its about 1/4 the weight of the same capacity in lead-acid and occupies about half the space. Also maintenance free.

Its not a simple set up and if I were doing this by myself, Id probably stick with an all 12v system. But my son has turned solar tech into an avid hobby and he is quite adept - far more so than myself. He has designed and installed many mobile and residential systems and developed sources for materials and equipment that yield significant savings. But that said, I still have over $5000 in this one.

As it is with a 32.8v battery bank, there is no connection between the house system and the automotive system. Better IMO but complex. A lot of power though - with the batteries alone I can run the AC for hours, and with the solar, usually as long as needed, although I now find myself seeking full sun parking spots instead of shade thus heating the coach more to run more cooling - admittedly a questionable methodology. Another negative of this set-up is that the inverter will only charge to 28v so only the solar can fully charge the battery. Lots of compromises when designing these systems, so you have ti start with your power/usage goals and go from there.

Below is the inverter and controllers. The battery is sitting on the other side of the mounting panel behind the controllers and inverter (short cable runs), environmentally isolated and ventilated. This compartment is separately ventilated with a 12v fan. A cord reel is probably next, as well as some form of interior cabinet door (smoked plexiglass maybe) to hide the ugly. Thats also the original transfer switch supplied by Newmar in its original location. The original inverter (600w...???) is still on board (as is all original wiring) but serving only as a junction box. If I sell this coach I can easily convert it back to the original configuration and take my solar set up with me which Ive already done once.

[RVGlen]

Originally Posted by R.Wold

The risk with lithiums is in not managing them properly, and they degrade with heat, so to get the expected life out of them they need insulation from heat sources and/or ventilation. Setting proper charge and discharge limits will address the safety concerns. Mechanical damage causing a short in a cell generating heat and igniting the chemicals within seems to be the most common safety concern.

Used electric car batteries are still expensive but a bargain compared to lead-acid when you consider the number of discharges (life expectancy) you get out of them. But another concern is how and where they were used initially in determining their current (no pun intended) condition. A battery from a three year old wrecked electric car in Arizona would likely be near the end of its useful life while a six year old one from Minnesota might be in near new condition. And size and shape also come into play. These Nissan cells worked out perfectly for the location on my coach (spare tire is on the other side) and its 2/3 of a Leaf battery. It weighs around 200lbs and is sitting right on top of a frame rail. Its about 1/4 the weight of the same capacity in lead-acid and occupies about half the space. Also maintenance free.

Its not a simple set up and if I were doing this by myself, Id probably stick with an all 12v system. But my son has turned solar tech into an avid hobby and he is quite adept - far more so than myself. He has designed and installed many mobile and residential systems and developed sources for materials and equipment that yield significant savings. But that said, I still have over $5000 in this one.

As it is with a 32.8v battery bank, there is no connection between the house system and the automotive system. Better IMO but complex. A lot of power though - with the batteries alone I can run the AC for hours, and with the solar, usually as long as needed, although I now find myself seeking full sun parking spots instead of shade thus heating the coach more to run more cooling - admittedly a questionable methodology. Another negative of this set-up is that the inverter will only charge to 28v so only the solar can fully charge the battery. Lots of compromises when designing these systems, so you have ti start with your power/usage goals and go from there.

Below is the inverter and controllers. The battery is sitting on the other side of the mounting panel behind the controllers and inverter (short cable runs), environmentally isolated and ventilated. This compartment is separately ventilated with a 12v fan. A cord reel is probably next, as well as some form of interior cabinet door (smoked plexiglass maybe) to hide the ugly. Thats also the original transfer switch supplied by Newmar in its original location. The original inverter (600w...???) is still on board (as is all original wiring) but serving only as a junction box. If I sell this coach I can easily convert it back to the original configuration and take my solar set up with me which Ive already done once.

Great setup! I've watched some YouTube videos about RVers who used Tesla batteries to setup their system. I would go for that though a few of them have stated not to unless you know what you're doing. None of them were electricians so they did learn how to do it. Maybe one day though that will probably be after I bought LiPo4 batteries.

Thanks for sharing.

[Birdman76]

From King:

KING is developing a mobile, sun-tracking solar system - the first of its kind on the RV & off-grid market. Traditional solar panel setups are not efficient for RV use, due to limited roof space and limited placement options. We have now tackled that issue head-on with a rotational, sun-tracking system, complete with side concentrators to maximize energy absorption.

Our mission is to provide customers in mobile and off-grid spaces with the power they need to live off of solar energy. All in a compact system that collects up to 4x more solar energy for the same or less surface area than traditional flat panel setups.

You've trusted KING with your RV connectivity needs for years, and now we're bringing you the latest innovation to revolutionize the way your power your mobile lifestyle.

[Itinerant1]

Who's King?

[caryt]

Originally Posted by Itinerant1

Who's King?

X2, google didn't turn up anything.

[peggwn]

rarebear.nm,

RVGlen originally estimated he needed 600 watts. Two 350 watt panels would have given him 700 watts, but ONLY IF he tilted those panels. Since he did not want to tilt he estimated he would lose 30% of the 700 watts, netting him only about 490 watts. By adding one more 350 watt panel (a third more capacity) he would then have 1050 watts if tilted, and 735 watts if not tilted (1050 watts less 30% = 735 watts).

I hope this helps clarify the math.

[winningbagel]

I installed a 330 watt Panasonic commercial- type panel on the rear roof of our class C. Nicely filled the entire space.
No other large space available. Panel puts out 65 VDC, with good sun. Victron MPPT controller works great, fills the trojan T-105 AGM's quickly.

[Birdman76]

https://mailchi.mp/edf413c44d40/kingsolar

Satellite antenna, etc.

[bikemiker]

I flat mounted 3 275w LG panels on a DIY aluminum rack above skylight and forward A/C unit on my motorhome. Raised the overall height of my rig 1" and no shading issues

[vandelhearts]

Hi.. I have large panels on my TT. Got them on ebay. USA made in Indiana. free shipping. Made by company called Hightec. IF you run panels in parallel, you dont have to worry about part shading on panels. You do not get full power from them but still work. IF you run them in series, and have even just a spec of shade on one.. they dont produce any power. Here is the link that I purchased mine from:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/fred480v/m....1&_ipg=&_from=
The seller is fred480v