How much solar do I need?

[G0ldengirl68]

Starting with your wallet is just my personal bias, lots of people will disagree, hopefully they will speak up and explain there thinking.
Bob

What a good read, thank you so much Bob, for your info.  I am hoping to see what I might do for my "Ranger Size" Mazda B3000.  I realized I need AC, and the electrical needs are adding up quickly.  I am hoping I can find Solar panels for such a small rig.  You mentioned the "I think" portable type/kit you can, I'm guessing, charge up outdoors but they don't need to be installed, another option for me Denise

 

[G0ldengirl68]

But the best way I found is to watch this video by Will Prowse and figure it out. It's not a complicated process -

Sounds good!  I get most of my info from youtube videos, should have knows Thanks Jacqueg

 

[XERTYX]

What a good read, thank you so much Bob, for your info.  I am hoping to see what I might do for my "Ranger Size" Mazda B3000.  I realized I need AC, and the electrical needs are adding up quickly.  I am hoping I can find Solar panels for such a small rig.  You mentioned the "I think" portable type/kit you can, I'm guessing, charge up outdoors but they don't need to be installed, another option for me Denise

How dearly do you "need" AC? (I assume air conditioning)

Air conditioning can be a lil in depth. Or more often very in depth. 

A/C isnt impossible of course. But very impractical to say the least.

You can run many many things of course. And I know members who run A/C units.

Or maybe you mean 120 volts AC? To this I ask why do you need 120v AC? There are legitimate talking points pro and con BTW. For myself the only 120vAC device I want to add is a 300 watt AC rice cooker. Pretty much everything else I can run far easier on DC. With less opportunity for failure.

 

[Axel]

For the DIYers out there, here's a tutorial I wrote about installing solar:

https://pdfhost.io/v/9jUEAQ4vj_Micr...ple_solar_power_system_in_a_campervandocx.pdf

 

[Jonny]

I have 100W solar power - RockPals 100W Foldable Solar Panels - https://solwiser.com/am-solar-panel-reviews/, but Renogy is good too. My big loads are refrigerator, TV, boiler and electric heater. My system hardly noticed that I was charging a mobile phone, laptop, digital camera.
It took me a long time to choose a company and which panels to choose. I chose SunPower and the experience with them has been and remains excellent.

 

[JamesAdam]

In my opinion, The Heated Renogy Batteries are the ones to buy.

https://www.renogy.com/12v-100ah-sm...te-battery-w-self-heating-function-pre-order/

12V 100Ah Smart Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery w/ Self-Heating Function
[font=Biryani, sans-serif]DESCRIPTION

[font=Biryani, sans-serif]【Uncompromising Quality】 [size=small]State-of-the-art battery cells ensure a lifespan of more than 4000 cycles, 100A continuous discharge current, and a wide range of operation temperature.
【Self-Heating Function】 The intelligent self-heating function will start operating automatically once the battery’s core temperature drops below 41°F (5°C), effortlessly keeping your battery charged in cold environments.
【Reliable BMS System】 The state-of-the-art battery management system (BMS) with high-performance dual-processors provides short circuit, over charging and over-temperature protection while maintaining a balanced voltage across all cells.
【Auto-balancing Function】 Easily connect multiple batteries in parallel with the auto-balancing function to improve the average charging efficiency for your batteries in the long term.
【Real-time monitor】 The battery features RS485 communication ports—enabling communication between batteries, external devices (BT-2 Bluetooth Module or Monitoring Screen) and host computers for you to monitor the charging status in real-time in Renogy DC Home APP.[/font]
[/font][/size]

 

[Camper]

In my opinion, they are way too expensive.... I bought a 100ah lithium for $399 on Amazon instead.

 

[ldsreliance]

In my opinion, they are way too expensive....  I bought a 100ah lithium for $399 on Amazon instead.

Not the same thing.  You purchased a Grade B battery from a Chinese company selling through Amazon.  It is a no frills battery with a low quality BMS.  The company doesn't have an 800 number, US-based support, or even a website that looks like it was designed in the last decade.  You could have gotten the same thing for less from Alibaba.

Maybe your purchase works out well and turns out to be an outstanding purchase.  But please don't insinuate that your battery is anything even close to the Renogy.  (And I don't even like Renogy)  Apples and oranges.

 

[gizmotron]

So I won't be charging my cheaper battery in ice water any time soon.

 

[gizmotron]

This is funny. I could have gotten a cheaper one from the same company.



Still, don't charge them once they drop below freezing.

 

[gizmotron]

Oh heck I might as well brake obnoxious

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Oh nice. I've been looking for a way to stop my solar panels from charging the lithium batteries when it gets too cold. I already have Viltron MPPT, so this is great! My batteries are inside, and I run heat in the winter, so it's unlikely that the batteries would ever get too cold, but ya never know...

 

[StarryNights]

Two years ago I built a 100 amp 24v battery from eight 3.2v LiFeP04 cells. Put it in a box insulated with 1/2 foam board. In bottom of box have a 7w RV elbow heater (Amazon) attached to some 3/16 aluminum (used as heat spreader). To prevent charging when too cold have 12v thermostat switch (many under $10 on Amazon). In cold weather, kept heater on 24/7 so it could build up enough heat to last through cold nights. It kept battery above freezing unless outside temp below about 10 F, but then thermostat would cut charging. Worked perfectly through whole cold NH winter. Hardly noticed impact on battery life.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[CosmickGold]

Before I owned a van, I watched a video where Bob Wells states that 400 watts are enough for most people. So I bought four 100-watt Renogy panels (which is exactly how much my roof can hold) and have been a happy camper ever since.

 

[rruff]

Before I owned a van, I watched a video where Bob Wells states that 400 watts are enough for most people.

If you have a refrigerator and lots of electronics, maybe. I did fine with 10-20W personally. That was enough to run an efficient laptop and some lights.

 

[Zerpersande]

But solar has gotten so cheap I say start with your wallet and buy all you can afford to spend right now. After all, if you can't afford it, why bother finding out what your needs are?

Well, that was pretty much my attitude. But I did push my budget to its upper limit, actually a bit beyond, to be certain that I could use a small portable AC unit at night during the summer.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

.....
Many people suggest you add up all your electrical use and get enough to meet those needs. But solar has gotten so cheap I say start with your wallet and buy all you can afford to spend right now. After all, if you can't afford it, why bother finding out what your needs are? .....

Because if you cannot meet your needs (not wants) maybe you should postpone van life until you can. Every engineering and financial problem starts with a needs analysis.

On the other side, once you have determined all your needs (not just electrical) then you can allocate the remaining funds however you wish. If you overspend on solar you might have to scrimp on some other need. You won't know that until you determine your needs.

 

[Dingfelder]

Because if you cannot meet your needs (not wants) maybe you should postpone van life until you can. Every engineering and financial problem starts with a needs analysis.

On the other side, once you have determined all your needs (not just electrical) then you can allocate the remaining funds however you wish. If you overspend on solar you might have to scrimp on some other need. You won't know that until you determine your needs.

That's a smart reply. I would only temper it with a consideration along the line of the deservedly-beloved thought that the time necessary to complete a task expands according to the time available to do it. I think we've all been there. Okay so that's an analogy it may be hard to connect to this subject, but bear with me.

I think the same sort of process happens with power. You will likely find some way to use any "extra" power you build into your system. And more -- I'd bet you have a good time doing it, running appliances or whatever that you really enjoy using, having greater peace of mind on cloudy days/seasons, etc.

I don't have a fraction of the experience you do, nor am I cheering for an unbalanced or ill-considered build. I'm just suggesting that if there's an area you can afford to overbuild, power would tempt me mightily. Beyond a great many other choices. Perhaps most. It's extremely likely you will benefit from and even enjoy having more of it than you strictly "need" whether you use it or not.

I would even add to your suggestion that maybe you shouldn't go out there if you can't meet your needs. But I'll take it further with power, in that maybe you shouldn't go out there if you can not only meet your power needs, but your power wants. And for your power safety margins.

 

[magentawave]

I have two 100 watt Renogy panels on top charging an Ecoflow Delta 1300 power station. The power station powers a big Iceco VL60 12 volt fridge / freezer. It also recharges my phone, iPad, iPod and MacBook Pro. (That stuff uses very little energy.) Obviously the majority of the power goes to the fridge/freezer. It helps that I “insulate“ the top of the fridge with a large folded in half beach towel. (Same towel I use for showers so dual purpose.) The fridge sucks up about 20% of the power station daily.

We have had a wet cloudy winter here so I was having to recharge the Delta a couple times a week or swap it out for my other Delta. Now that the sun is back and days are getting longer I am back up to 100% by about 1:00 PM.

I would get as much solar as you can for those cloudy days. I wish I had 400 to 600 watts of solar but don’t have the room on top.

 

[Zerpersande]

I would get as much solar as you can for those cloudy days. I wish I had 400 to 600 watts of solar but don’t have the room on top.

I put a Thule rack on my NV200 and then built a rack from steel U-shaped channels. The NV200 is small but that rack holds (3) 175W panels.