solar panels ?? any good??

[maxtherotti]

hi all im thinking of getting a solar panel for use when no mains hook ups is available but i have no idea if these are up to what i need?

i will be using it to power the 12v battery and in the evening using lights and maybe tv/radio

will of course run the fridge on it if i run out of gas too

is this a wise choice for my needs or is a generator better??

im thinking 40w should be big enough too

rob

 

[JTQ]

Its going to be some massive solar cell to run your fridge they take 7 odd amps. If you forget the fridge they are a viable source of power during the "season" but need to be 45 plus watts unless your going to be very frugal with power use.

 

[Mikey1]

You dont say how long you will be away for?

40w will give you approx 2.5 amp an hour in good sunlight,the better quality panel the better output in low light conditions.

with this size panel you will also need a charge regulator so you dont cook the battery.

You roughly need to find out your ampage usage ie 60w tv on 12v for an hr will use approx 5 amp an hr then add up lights and pump and will give you a rough idea of power consumption.

Remember the bigger the power the bigger the panel.

 

[maxtherotti]

the fridge would be very occasionally on it (ie if i run out of gas)

will be away for a few months but prob have a proper hook up for 1 in 4 weeks

so battery will be main elec source for the other 3 weeks

was thinking of 40 or 50w panel any bigger would be getting cumbersome

rob

 

[AlanJ]

My Favourity subject!!!

On a good day in UK you can probably get around 3Amps an hour during daylight from a 70-80Watt Solar Panel. Say 6 Hours solar energy = 18 Amps Max. Put that into context of a single halogen light will use 1.5Amps an hour and a TV around 4-5Amps an hour.

Suggest do the sums and manage expectations v cost accordingly

Regards

Alan

 

[staff]

HI Rob.

Have a chat with john at detriot solar they fitted one to

my caravan and it is great did two week holiday and kept my

battery up all time and they go to most of the shows so Rob

give them a call.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Rob,

The 12V circuit on a fridge is only operational when the caravan is connected to the car when the engine runs. The reason is that the fridge draws so much current that the battery in the caravan would simply not be able to sustain the power for very long. so even with a solar panel the battery will discharge quite quickly.

To minimise the problesm of the fridge warming up to much if run out of gas, just make sure you keep it well stocked with bottle of milk or beer etc, and if you do run out of gas, just don't open the door, and the fridge will stay cool for a couple of hours, which should be long enough for you to replace the gas.