How much power can I put on 200sq ft?

[morkani]

Not sure the best panels to use (watt's/sq ft). But my rig will have about 200sq ft. 
I'm also not sure if I need to fill that to accomplish my power needs.

24/7 air conditioning capabilities. (1500 cubic ft.)
24/7 PC + 3 monitors capabilities.
24/7 chest freezer capabilities
24/7 minifridge capabilities
mini-microwave capabilities
(HOPEFULLY heating & stove can be electric, but I know i'll probably have to use propane/other solution. also maybe on demand water heater)

running modem/router/wifi&cell extenders.
of course lighting & charging phones/ipads & ventelation fans.


I doubt I will be able to put the solar I need in that 200sq ft. & I have made sacrifices already and I anticipate I will need to make more. 

BUT, is what I want possible so far in that roof amount? can I do it in less area?

Thanks

 

[user 423]

How much money do you have available to accomplish all of that?

 

[morkani]

This is my top priority so I'm willing to spend on my power system. I plan to make this my forever home.

I'd spend 10-20k if i had to but I don't think these types of systems cost anywhere near that unless i'm wrong.

 

[abnorm]

What about the batteries...……………

You're doing this backwards...…………..First...….you add up what you need/want to operate....

Next you size your Batteries to supply that load...….

THEN you determine how much Solar you need to charge the batteries.

 

[highdesertranger]

I want to say noway. but lets crunch the numbers. you need to do this anyway. here's what you need to to,

1. add up the electrical use of all your items.
2. size your battery bank to the result of #1
3. size your solar to the result of #2

of course there are fine points to this, but start with #1 and post up the results and we will help. you are going to learn real fast that being your own power company is not that easy.

remember it is always cheaper and easier to conserve power then it is to make it.

I already see a miscalculation. if you are running an AC 24/7 why do you need a heater?

highdesertranger

 

[highdesertranger]

haha Doug, great minds think alike. or so I am told. you posted that as I was typing. highdesertranger

 

[morkani]

You're doing this backwards...…………..First...….you add up what you need/want to operate....

THEN you determine how much Solar you need to charge the batteries.

Would it be possible to answer the question assuming a megawatt battery?
I'm just wondering if it's possible to have the things I've listed with the sq footage I have available for solar. 
I'm certain that I'll be using less than the solar is providing in an hour, but I'm wondering if it will provide enough for 24 hours assuming my batteries can handle 24 hours worth of the power provided by the solar.

also, 
[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I just want the solar to have the "capability" of 24/7 AC. even though sometimes I'll be up north and won't need it, [/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]in those instances I want to be able to use heat.[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The reason I'm working solar panels first and not the batteries[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]....is that these are going [/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]to being my power NEEDS, and if it's zero possibility to do this in the sq footage of the cargo truck roof i'll be using[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif], then I may need to reconsider if I want to do this. T[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]he batteries of course are the primary concern, and I know that going solar means that I am [/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]guaranteed[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] not to get enough light to do this always every day of the year, but I plan to carry a gene for the times when solar is insufficient.[/font]

 

[morkani]

I want to say noway.  but lets crunch the numbers.  you need to do this anyway.  here's what you need to to,

1.  add up the electrical use of all your items.
2.  size your battery bank to the result of #1
3.  size your solar to the result of #2

of course there are fine points to this,  but start with #1 and post up the results and we will help.  you are going to learn real fast that being your own power company is not that easy.

remember it is always cheaper and easier to conserve power then it is to make it.

I already see a miscalculation.  if you are running an AC 24/7 why do you need a heater?

highdesertranger

I'm in the VERY early stages of deciding to become a nomad at the moment. I discovered the lifestyle about 3 months ago.
I haven't even sold my house yet. I have tried to do some calculations of some of these items presuming I buy energy efficient equipment & not skimp on insulation, but a lot of things are difficult to calculate unless I already have the equipment.
Basically my goal is to build a house that I'm comfortable in & if it's not going to be possible, I either need to figure out how to make it possible, or maybe change gears and live in a tiny home. If I had a scale of my preferences, 1 is my current living situation, 5 is a tiny house, and 9 is living in a cargo truck I can quality build right off the bat.

Essentially, I'm trying to get a decent idea of if what I wanna do is even possible or overkill. am I likely to need more than the 26x8 footprint? am I likely to need only 13x8? I don't know solar capabilities or if I can find more energy efficient appliances etc...

 

[future_vandweller]

200 sq ft = 20 sq m.  Assuming 15% average panel efficiency, you can put about 3000 Watts worth of panels.  If you want to put some space between panels for access, it'll be about 2500 Watts.  You can expect to generate 7.5 kWh (winter) to 15 kWh (summer).

The AC alone will consume 7-10 kWh/day.

 

[user 423]

If I had a scale of my preferences, 1 is my current living situation, 5 is a tiny house, and 9 is living in a cargo truck I can quality build right off the bat.

A tiny house is only sorta mobile. Not practical to go down the road often.

 

[morkani]

200 sq ft = 20 sq m.  Assuming 15% average panel efficiency, you can put about 3000 Watts worth of panels.  If you want to put some space between panels for access, it'll be about 2500 Watts.  You can expect to generate 7.5 kWh (winter) to 15 kWh (summer).

The AC alone will consume 7-10 kWh/day.

Thank you so much .
That is pretty much what I "mind calculated" from my uneducated research on the internet. I had hoped the panels I saw were not as efficient as the best solar panels (however powerful they get). I'm also assuming the AC comment is presuming the AC runs all day without pausing when/if reaching target temperature correct?

 

[highdesertranger]

the energy consumption of almost any product is readily available. if it's not i wouldn't buy it.

it's not hard to do the math and it's cheaper in the long run if you go in knowing exactly what you need.

highdesertranger

 

[pure_mahem]

From what's already been said you are going to want to figure out your appliances first. Even if you have enough power to run an inefficient appliance an efficient appliance would give you a safety net. Just in air conditioners alone there is a huge difference in what it takes to run one vs another even if they put out the same BTUs.

 

[jonyjoe303]

At the hurriedyear website, there's a good article on running an AC with solar, he uses about 1000 watts of solar and 780ah of lead acid on a sprinter van. It shows the equipment he uses and real life results you can get. He doesnt run the AC all day, he mentions about 9 hours, mainly when the sun (hottest part of the day) is out, at night time he uses a fantastic fan. The more well insulated your area is, the smaller the size of your AC you need.

Myself from expierence at night time instead of an AC, you can run a swampcooler, even in high humidity conditions I've gotten good results. In the daytime it doesn't help much but at night it will keep you cool. And a swampcooler uses 2 or 3 amps.

Definitely consider lithium as a powersource, the 3 agm batteries (780ah) he uses weighs a total of 486 pounds. If you use lifepo4 you would only need 4x 100ah batteries (weight 120 pounds total) . Using the large prismatic cells will be more economical then buying drop in replacements.

Instead of a fullsize pc, use a business/gaming laptop they are as powerful as a desktop and use less power and some will run multiple monitors. They sell chest freezers designed for solar use.

As long as you can keep your batteries fully charge you can run almost anything, during cloudy/rainy conditions you might have to throttle down the power use, and on those days you probably won't even need to run an AC.

 

[LoupGarou]

I’ll let you in on a secret, for the solar panels to do their thang, you’re going to have to park out in the sun. Parking up under the shade of a tree on a HOT summer day sure is nice.

 

[maki2]

You are far from being the only person who wants more solar panels than can fit on the roof.

One solution that has been used is to have a double layer of solar panels. The bottom layer is on a full extension slide out and it get deployed out when you are at the campsite. I have even seen it managed so that the panel that pulls out can be tilted down for an optimal angle facing the sun.

Other people mount solar panels to the vertical sides of the vehicle, hinged at the top and they lift up and are held at an angle with brackets when at the camp site.

In other words if you want more solar panels you can find a way to make it work. The solutions are out there on the internet, you just need to do some more searching to find them.

 

[future_vandweller]

Thank you so much .
That is pretty much what I "mind calculated" from my uneducated research on the internet. I had hoped the panels I saw were not as efficient as the best solar panels (however powerful they get). I'm also assuming the AC comment is presuming the AC runs all day without pausing when/if reaching target temperature correct?

The AC comment is an educated guess.  I assumed a 5000 BTU/hr unit, a CoP of 10 & a duty cycle of 50%.  That gives me 500 Watts for 12 hrs or 6 kWh.  Add 20% & you get 7 kWh.

If you install the panels with a large gap (6-12") over the roof & add a good awning to the South side, you can significantly reduce radiate heat gain & reduce AC energy consumption.

 

[morkani]

You are far from being the only person who wants more solar panels than can fit on the roof.

One solution that has been used is to have a double layer of solar panels. The bottom layer is on a full extension slide out and it get deployed out when you are at the campsite. I have even seen it managed so that the panel that pulls out can be tilted down for an optimal angle facing the sun.

Other people mount solar panels to the vertical sides of the vehicle, hinged at the top and they lift up and are held at an angle with brackets when at the camp site.

In other words if you want more solar panels you can find a way to make it work. The solutions are out there on the internet, you just need to do some more searching to find them.

OMG...that's what I love about this community so much, you have the most ingenious ideas . I saw a hidden shower pan in the floor once and thought that was the best idea till now!
Thanks again!

 

[DannyB1954]

I fit 960 watts of panels on a van. during the day from about 10 am to maybe 5pm it can run a 5,000 btu air conditioner. The amount of batteries that you would need to run at night would weigh a ton. Going lithium to reduce weight, it would cost you about 10 grand, and if the sun is weak the next day forget about getting them recharged in time before you need the AC again.

I went with the widest panels that would fit on my roof, (160 watt). Solar panels are rated at what the absolute maximum is, not what the average is. So I have 960 watts of panels running a 420 watt AC. Seems like plenty but, before 10 am or after 5pm, the panels will not produce enough power. In theory I should get 80 amps of power, (960 / 12), The AC uses 35 amps through the inverter. So for half the day I get less than half the power. Even with full sun at noon I never seen my system produce over 60 amps.

You will have about twice the space that I have for panels, but you will also need a larger AC unit to cool that larger space. If what you want was possible someone would be on Youtube saying look how smart I am. I figured it out. I can use 40 amps of power 24/7.