How Much Solar For 50 Amp Draw

SOLAR POWER FOR RVS: WHAT Y'all SHOULD KNOW

Solar ability is a pop subject for those hoping to save money while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. In areas with arable sunshine, information technology is non unusual to see solar panels covering the roofs of home later on dwelling. For RVers, who travel in a modest, portable abode, solar ability can be an of import part of the electrical supply. Nevertheless many people exercise not fully empathise how a solar power system works, which can lead you to waste matter money on an oversupply or notice yourself stuck without electricity when you need information technology most. Here is what you should know.

HOW SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS Work IN RVS

The most of import affair to empathize is that solar panels are only role of the equation. They are part of a larger system that works together to ability your rig.Solar panels are one of several potential free energy sources for your RV. The others include shore power (plugging in to the power box at your campsite), your vehicle'southward alternator (which builds up energy as you bulldoze), and a generator (if yous have i). Each of these sources may be "on" or "off" at any given fourth dimension. For case, shore power is only on while the rig is plugged in, and solar panels are but on when the sun is shining.Your RV has a set up of batteries, which store power from all the unlike energy sources. This allows you to use electricity when none of the energy sources are on. However, it is of import to note that once the batteries are full, they're full. You tin't store more 100% of your rig'south battery capacity. And dissimilar a domicile solar power system, you can't sell excess power to the electrical company. This means that it is very important to correctly size your RV's solar power system. Likewise small-scale, and yous may run out of power when needed. Too big, and you are simply wasting money.

UNDERSTANDING Capacity

To figure out your solar power needs, first you need to understand the output of all your available energy sources. There is a LOT of math involved, and you will demand to read up on the specifics of the power arrangement you accept. For example, your alternator may put out as piffling as 40 amps or as much as 180 amps per hr when the engine is running. Shore power comes in at 120 volts, so information technology goes through a converter or an inverter to become 12 volt storable ability for the bombardment. Inverters and converters have capacities ranging from 40 amps to 100 amps per hr. Generators run through the inverter or converter, and have chapters limits of their own.

It is important to note that solar panels are generally the to the lowest degree powerful of all available energy sources. A 100 watt console (mutual size for RVs) actually generates 100 watts only at peak efficiency (78 degrees, no clouds, solar apex, on the equator during the equinox—or, in other words, lab weather condition, not real earth conditions). In this best case scenario, it will generate just over 8 amps. If you have three of these panels, you lot can generate around 25 amps per 60 minutes at best.

This does not mean that you should forget about solar power. Instead, it ways that you need to dig deeper to figure out whether solar is right for you and, if and then, how much yous actually need. If you almost ever connect to shore ability, or you typically drive several hours every twenty-four hours, solar power may not do you much skillful. If you boondock, or military camp without hookups, for several days at a time, though, solar power may be essential, even if you have a generator.

TERMINOLOGY

You will demand to empathize some bones terminology to properly size your RV'southward solar power system:Watts vs. Amps: Electrical loads and solar panels are rated in watts. A watt is a standard unit of power. RV battery chapters is measured in amps (short for amperes), which are standard units of current. To convert between watts and amps, you also need to know the volts, or units of electrical potential. From there, information technology's easy:

Since watts are the standard unit of power, they practice not change. You can have different numbers of watts, but a watt itself is consistent. The same is not true for amps, since the amount of current can change, nor for volts, since the amount of voltage can modify. In fact, it's easy to see this voltage change in your RV, since y'all know that you can bring in 120 volt AC (alternating current) from shore power, or 12 volt DC (directly current) from the batteries.

So now the math is piece of cake to determine how many amps are generated by a 100 watt solar console feeding power to a 12 volt bombardment.

It is truthful that resistance, battery charge and blazon, etc. tin can all change the numbers a lilliputian. But for purposes of solar power adding, it is safe to presume 12 volts for a battery, 100 watts for a solar panel, and 120 volts for shore ability or generator ability.

Amp-Hours: To learn how much usable power you lot actually have, you need to understand amp-hours, or the total capacity of the battery. Amp-hours are typically based on xx hours of total available use, unless otherwise stated on the battery. To figure out how many amps per hr, simply dissever the amp-hours (AH) listed on the bombardment by xx (or another number if specified on the battery):

So the battery will deliver 5 amps (at usable electric current, defined as 10.5 volts or college) for 20 hours. Yous can draw more than amps for less time, but the capacity decreases equally the discharge rate increases. A 100 AH bombardment will only give yous virtually 40 minutes at 100 amps of usage.

You lot tin use amp-hours to figure out how fast your battery will charge likewise. For a 100 watt solar panel, we already know that it produces 8.33 amps. In this case, 1 amp of current flowing for one hour charges the bombardment by one amp-hour. And then 8.33 amps of electric current create 8.33 amp-hours of charge per hr.

TERMINOLOGY

Batteries: Lead-acid batteries are the almost usually used type in RVs. Somewhere in your rig, yous will notice a panel that shows you approximately how fully your batteries are charged. It is inexact, peculiarly if your batteries are non "at remainder" (not draining or being charged for at least thirty minutes), but it will give you a reasonable idea. It's not harmful to drain lead-acid batteries completely, simply to maximize their lifespan, try not to allow them go below fifty% without a recharge. Newer lithium-ion batteries are more user-friendly for a diversity of reasons, but due to costs, they are not notwithstanding popular in RVs.

Types of Solar Panels: Solar panels come in two types—monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Monocrystalline panels are slightly more efficient, but they are as well more than expensive. If y'all take a small RV with picayune roof space, monocrystalline panels can be physically smaller for the aforementioned output. If you accept the space, though, cheaper polycrystalline panels piece of work just fine.

Flexible vs. Flat Solar Panels : Flat solar panels are less expensive and more durable than flexible panels, and usually accept a longer warranty. Yet, flexible panels are lighter, more aerodynamic, easier to mount, and in some cases (such as on an Airstream) more artful. Choose whichever makes more sense for your rig.

Solar Accuse Controller: Solar panels typically provide 16 to twenty volts of electrical potential. An RV bombardment tin can handle 12 volts. A solar charge controller is a standard part of an RV solar installation. It regulates the voltage and electric current to preclude battery harm. The standard controller is fine unless you lot accept an unusual setup or use your RV in extremely cold conditions.

ACTUAL SOLAR Power GENERATED

So far, nosotros've been working with the assumption that a 100 watt solar console volition generate 100 watts of power. Simply every bit we noted in Agreement Capacity, it won't. There are numerous factors that bear upon the actual amount of solar ability generated, from the time of day to the ambient temperature to the cloud cover to the level of pollution.Fortunately, experts have come up upward with a dominion of thumb. On boilerplate, a 100 watt solar panel will generate xxx amp-hours per day. If you need more than specifics, you can detect quite a few complimentary solar position calculators online, or you can go with the National Renewable Energy Lab'southward gratis solar ability energy calculator at http://pvwatts.nrel.gov. Information technology isn't perfect, but it is remarkably close most of the time.

ENERGY USAGE

The next step is to figure out how much energy you lot really use per day in your RV. There are innumerable gratis energy calculators available online, so you might be tempted to start at that place. All you lot have to do is click on each listed appliance and input how many minutes or hours per solar day you lot use it. Easy, correct? But do you know exactly how long y'all use the toaster every day? Or the microwave? Or the air conditioner? The best you will get is a wild guess that could be remarkably far off from your actual energy consumption.

A far easier, more accurate, and more than fun solution is to actually take your RV out for a camping trip. Make sure your batteries are charged by nightfall, and and then remove all sources of power. Plough off the generator, unplug the shore ability, and do not turn on the engine.

Use your RV as you normally would. Go out if that'due south part of your routine. Watch Television set as usual. Run the hair dryer after your shower.

Proceed an eye on your battery as you get about your daily RV life. The goal is to drain your batteries to empty (or to l% if they are lead-acrid). When you reach your goal, calculate how much power you used.

Every bit an case with simple math, let's say that your batteries drain to twoscore% in three days. That means you used 60% of your total battery chapters. Let'due south also assume that you have a total of 200 amp-hours in bombardment capacity. So you used 60% of 200 amp-hours, or 120 amp-hours, in three days. Split by 3, and you used twoscore amp-hours per day.

200 amp-hours * 60% used = 120 amp-hours

120 amp-hours / three days = xl amp-hours per twenty-four hour period

BALANCING THE EQUATION

Now all that is left is to balance the equation. Remember, your goal is to have the power input roughly match the power output. In this hypothetical example, your power output is 40 amp-hours per day. By the dominion of thumb, a 100 watt solar panel inputs xxx amp-hours per twenty-four hours into your batteries.

forty amp-hours per day = xxx amp-hours per panel per day * Ten panels

40 amp-hours per day / 30 amp-hours per panel per day = 10 panels

Then yous would need i.33 100 watt panels, or one 133 watt panel to lucifer your solar power needs. You can't buy a third of a panel, nor can you buy a 133 watt panel. But you can buy a 160 watt panel. That will embrace your average daily needs, with a little spare energy in case the weather is atrocious or you employ a bit more ability than average on the occasional day. And since we're using the 50% battery drainage rule, there *is* actress battery ability available in an emergency.

Solar power can be an first-class way to generate electricity for your RV. To make the nigh of your investment, though, it is vital to understand exactly how information technology works and how much power y'all demand. Taking the time to get through the calculations tin save you a great deal of coin and frustration in the long run. At Auto Boss RV, we are always happy to help y'all select just the right solar power system to meet your needs.

ready to get started?

Whether you are in the market for a new RV or you need service on your current RV, Auto Dominate RV has the experience you need to solve even the most challenging bug.