Renogy 12 Volt Solar Kit efficeint and convenient? ?

[John61CT]

Talking about inverters is also not relevant, most people don't need one at all, and certainly not relevant to the energy supply and storage side.

To me the mains charger and / or a small genny is more relevant, but I agree perhaps deserving of another thread to keep things simple.

 

[John61CT]

I went for two sets of EGC2 batteries for 12V-460AH. I ended with three sets,at 12V-690AH. On the roof, I have 400 watts solar panels with a 45 amp PWM controller. So you say my system can't work.

Sorry I must have missed where someone said it wouldn't work. There's no basis for that, it's a perfectly sound setup.

A higher battery ratio is no problem, other than greater cost and weight, that buys you maybe 4-5 day charge cycles rather than most people having to try to get back to Full every day. Obviously not drawing below 50% is critical for bank longevity.

The problem would be in a solar-only setup, if insolation conditions continued to be poor for days, getting back to Full will take longer.

But solar-only is not practical for most people not camping in a desert anyway.

Access to Alt charging while driving and a good high-amp charger to take advantage of shore power when that's available are usually necessary to maintain the bank properly.

And a little genny becomes very important if the above three sourced are not available / enough, and certainly adds a lot of flexibility.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'll add my experience for another data point:

I have 200W solar and 210AH of battery (2 X GC2) running a 2.1 cu. ft. compressor refrigerator, maxxfan, LED lights, MacBook, iPhone, inReach, weBoost.  Total cost 3 years ago was less than $800 (not counting the battery monitor which IMO is important but not necessary).  I can go 2 days with little sun before my batteries are at ~60% and need to re-charge.  Alternator recharging is included in the $800.

You are going to have to determine what the CPAP adds to your energy needs and adjust accordingly.  IMO a detailed energy budget is the best place to start.

 

[Weight]

I'm so sorry. I thought i did post about my solar experience.