We’ve all seen these guys with one million watts of RV Photo voltaic panels on their roof, and 30 batteries within the stomach of their camper boasting how they’ll run each of their AC items and an air fryer whereas they watch TV of their rig. This text isn’t about a type of programs, I’m not that man.
My Spouse and I’ve been residing on the highway full time in our RV for a couple of yr now.
We tried our hand at Boondocking at a Harvest Hosts one evening, and at 2 a.m. the low battery alarm began going off. Hell we didn’t even make it someday, we left our campground with full hookups at 9 a.m., bought there at midday, and 14 hours had no juice left.
Properly now we have to work out a technique to maintain sufficient cost within the batteries in order that I would be capable of sleep till dawn. We hadn’t achieved ANY analysis in any respect on RV Photo voltaic, however then I got here throughout the 400 Watt RV Photo voltaic Equipment from Renogy.
It appeared to have all the pieces we would have liked to throw some panels on the roof, and maintain our batteries charged sufficient to have the ability to use the lights within the kitchen and maintain our low battery alarm from going off, so we ordered it.
We ordered it from Amazon, and it confirmed up at my buddies home in 3 days, and it did include ALMOST all the pieces we would have liked to finish the set up. The one issues it didn’t include was the roof sealant, and a cross by for the wires to go from the roof down and into the RV, however we ordered these as nicely, so now we have been able to go.
You may watch my quick Set up video right here: Renogy RV Photo voltaic Equipment Set up
The RV Photo voltaic package from Renogy comes with 4 100 Watt Photo voltaic Panels, a 10 amp inline fuse, panel combiner plugs, cables to go from the roof to the cost controller, a 40 amp MPPT Cost Controller, a Battery fuse, a Bluetooth antennae so you possibly can monitor your energy manufacturing with an App in your telephone, and cables to go from the controller to your batteries.
The instructions for set up have been fairly straight ahead, besides how the panels themselves needs to be wired collectively on the roof. There are just a few choices for placing them collectively, and I’ll admit I did it ‘Incorrect’ the primary time. With photo voltaic panels you could have the choice of wiring them in Collection, Parallel, and Collection-Parallel.
Wanting on the elements readily available, and the included combiner plugs, I assumed they wanted to be wired in Parallel. Which is when all of the Constructive cables tie collectively, and all of the Adverse cables tie collectively, then go right down to the Cost Controller. Once you wire them this manner, the entire Amperage from every Panel is added collectively, and on a full Solar day, will pop the ten amp fuse.
I replaced the fuse, and rewired them in Collection, Constructive to Adverse, Constructive to Adverse, Constructive to Adverse, Constructive to Adverse, then right down to the Cost Controller and all the pieces began working completely.
We had 200 amp hours of standard previous Deep Cycle Lead Acid batteries from the manufacturing facility, so we figured that needs to be sufficient storage to maintain us going. We have now a residential fridge in our RV that runs off a 1,500 Watt Energy inverter that auto switches ON once we unplug the RV at a campground.
IF we ONLY use the 12 volt lighting, and go away the fridge working like regular, the photo voltaic will cost our batteries throughout the day on a decently Sunny web site, and get us by the evening with no battery alarms. Realistically that’s all I used to be searching for, so it was doing what it wanted to do, and will get us off grid steadily sufficient that I WOULD spend the cash on it once more if we have been to do it over again.
Referring to that topic, of If we had it to do over once more, There are issues I might do in a different way, like altering out the batteries, and looking out into measurement the system to get a sure variety of hours out of it. BUT…
Based mostly solely on, whether or not or not this method carried out as I imagined it might, Sure, it did.
The package got here with most all the pieces wanted for the set up, It does cost the batteries throughout the day, and the set up was straight ahead. If you’re searching for a straightforward RV Photo voltaic possibility, that may get you off grid for the weekend with out a whole lot of sophisticated math, that is it. Simply be sure to get the roof sealant, and a cross by, and it couldn’t harm to seize a spare fuse to throw in a junk drawer simply in case.
Keep tuned for my comply with up article on evaluating our RV Photo voltaic vs Generator, and measurement an RV Photo voltaic System to get you thru a complete day of clouds and rain.