BigT
Well-known member
Darn, I was just going to ask if I could get away with using a single 100W panel, hooked to a single 12V 125Ah AGM battery.
I really only need to run a CPAP machine that runs 6.67A for 8 hours a night. That should be 53.36 Ah per 8 hours of sleep.
That would be less than 50% of the battery capacity per night and I'd have all day to charge it back up again (weather permitting).
One major downside to running a single panel is that I plan, once I'm full-timing it, to have a kayak on the roof 100% of the time (at least when I'm not in it), and I know this will cause some shadowing of the cells. I read somewhere on this board that when you block one cell, you're actually blocking an entire string of connected cells. For that reason, more panels, and thus more separated strings, would be a great advantage.
My reason for considering fewer panels has nothing to do with cost, but logistics. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough room between my roof rack and the large beam that supports the carport I park under. Once I move to full-time van dwelling, I could add an additional panel, but right now I just don't have the room.
Explanation: My van is slightly higher in the rear, so anything mounted up top, especially long things, like 8 feet of solar panels and plywood, will be at risk of hitting the beam the further back it extends.
It's possible that I could mount the plywood slightly higher at the front of the van, making the panels level with the earth instead of the van, but I'm not sure what that would do to my mpg.
Uh Oh. I just took another look and It seems I only have 2" of room between my rack's rear crossbar and the wooden beam of my carport, and the Renogy panels are 1.5" thick. I was planning to mount the panels to a 1/2" piece of plywood, but combined that would be 2", and that's without taking into account the z-brackets.
Even if I forgo the brackets, opting for large vents cut into the plywood, it would still hit the beam! I'm doomed!
Can I drill holes into the frames of the panels? if so, I could still mount a single panel directly to the crossbars and save the 1/2" the plywood would take up.
I could also secure two of the panels to each other using two, 8' lengths of aluminum channel, and then bolt that directly to the crossbars.
Is there any risk of drilling into wires if I should cut holes in the frame of the solar panels?
I really only need to run a CPAP machine that runs 6.67A for 8 hours a night. That should be 53.36 Ah per 8 hours of sleep.
That would be less than 50% of the battery capacity per night and I'd have all day to charge it back up again (weather permitting).
One major downside to running a single panel is that I plan, once I'm full-timing it, to have a kayak on the roof 100% of the time (at least when I'm not in it), and I know this will cause some shadowing of the cells. I read somewhere on this board that when you block one cell, you're actually blocking an entire string of connected cells. For that reason, more panels, and thus more separated strings, would be a great advantage.
My reason for considering fewer panels has nothing to do with cost, but logistics. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough room between my roof rack and the large beam that supports the carport I park under. Once I move to full-time van dwelling, I could add an additional panel, but right now I just don't have the room.
Explanation: My van is slightly higher in the rear, so anything mounted up top, especially long things, like 8 feet of solar panels and plywood, will be at risk of hitting the beam the further back it extends.
It's possible that I could mount the plywood slightly higher at the front of the van, making the panels level with the earth instead of the van, but I'm not sure what that would do to my mpg.
Uh Oh. I just took another look and It seems I only have 2" of room between my rack's rear crossbar and the wooden beam of my carport, and the Renogy panels are 1.5" thick. I was planning to mount the panels to a 1/2" piece of plywood, but combined that would be 2", and that's without taking into account the z-brackets.
Even if I forgo the brackets, opting for large vents cut into the plywood, it would still hit the beam! I'm doomed!
Can I drill holes into the frames of the panels? if so, I could still mount a single panel directly to the crossbars and save the 1/2" the plywood would take up.
I could also secure two of the panels to each other using two, 8' lengths of aluminum channel, and then bolt that directly to the crossbars.
Is there any risk of drilling into wires if I should cut holes in the frame of the solar panels?
