I’ve written about the hows, whys, and costs of installing solar panels on your RV or other travel trailer. I’ve had people ask my opinion about getting started with solar given my own experience, and I thought I’d share that basic opinion publicly. So, here it is: If you think you want to install solar,…
Let’s talk about costs. Self-Install vs Professional Install When I originally planned solar, I was going to have a professional do the installation. I decided not to, partially because the conversations got weird, and partially because I got a deal on the panels. At the time, AM Solar was running a sale on their 135…
Our Airstream didn’t come with an inverter installed. There is one AC panel inside the Parallax power distribution center which distributes the 30 Amps from the street connection to all internal plugs, the refrigerator, the DC power converter, and the air conditioner. Adding an inverter complicates this setup considerably, for reasons I will now attempt…
Thanks for posting this information — might be very helpful down the road. Quick question: on your diagrams, you show the line from your solar controller going to the DC bus, and then to the battery. Wouldn’t that line go to the battery first, then to the DC bus? Otherwise, you be powering your lights and fans directly from the solar panels. Thanks again.ReplyCancel
This surprised me as well during the install: The existing converter (battery charger) was also just wired to the DC Bus. But really, it does make sense. The battery doesn’t have different charging terminals than usage terminals, so connecting at the bus is nearly the same as connecting at the battery terminals themselves. Running only one set of wires from battery to Bus is actually much simpler as well, with only one set of connections to deal with at the battery.
That DOES mean that incoming solar power powers the lights and fans before charging the battery, but that is actually the desired behavior anyway. There is a loss involved charging the battery vs using the power immediately, causing immediate use to be better. The presence of the battery in the circuit means that the fluctuating voltage of the solar panels is smoothed into normal 12V ranges.
The battery will charge if the voltage on the DC Bus is higher than its internal voltage, and discharge if the voltage on the DC Bus is lower than it’s internal voltage. The Solar Panels (and also the Converter) charge the battery by raising the voltage on the Bus.
In case anybody needs proof that I love my wife, I’ll tell you about the Inverter we installed in the Airstream. You see, my wife loves her Blendtec Blender, which checks in at 1800 watts of pure blending bliss. She found a lower-wattage hair dryer for use in the Airstream, but that Blender was going…
Last spring I performed a major Solar Power upgrade on the Airstream. I added 405 watts of solar panels and a solar charge controller to recharge our batteries and extend our boondocking options. When we arrived in Idaho at my brother’s place last May, I began the second phase of that upgrade. I put in larger batteries,…
This is awesome. We car camp mostly and have been thinking about solar and getting a generator. After reading your article, I think a generator is a better option for us.
Sounds like it! They do make portable solar panels as well, we just never wanted to mess with always adjusting those to face the sun. Definitely lazy!
I appreciate this post. I feel like you’ve given me permission to just go with a generator rather than spending lots of time trying to figure out solar options. Which really makes sense given what we’d use it for (we’d like the option of staying places with no hookups for a few nights, but we probably wouldn’t do it terribly often)…but it’s hard to shake the idea that solar is just…cooler 😉
lol! You are welcome. Yes, solar is cleaner, but really we don’t think it saves us money in the long run. It just helps enable our laziness. 🙂 Go for the generator for sure!
Where did we meet yousguys to get your little card? I don’t expect you to remember. Very nice info blog!
Safe travels. If you get back through Verona , WI you are welcome to to dump, water, and stay on my business lot.
BarthZ.
Great blog, answered a lot of questions that I have had about solar panels, I also love that you have converted as I am a huge advocate for green energy, so hats off to you!
Great! Glad we could be helpful!