Putting Solar Panels on Your Camper
As ever more campers wander away from the city in their own recreational vehicle, they discover that all of their modern conveniences take a lot of electricity. This is no problem if you are plugged in at a campground, or if you move frequently and the batteries charge while you drive. For other times when you park in an out of the way locale for days, the castle lights can really grow dim as the batteries slowly wear down. Two solutions suggest themselves. The first is to bring a gas powered generator, and run it for a few hours at a time to replace the energy used up. This will cost a lot of money for fuel and will create noise pollution.
The problem with gasoline powered generators is that they tend to be darn noisy, and they cost money for fuel. Many people opt for silence, and want to use the power of the sun to charge their system. That is where RV solar panels come in. With a properly installed system of the right size, you will never run out of electricity.
The solar panels in a camper solar setup come in different sizes, like two feet by three feet or two feet by four feet. They will have a rating, such as 80 or 120 watts, which you can use to calculate how many panels you will need. These arrays of photo-voltaic cells can be wired together in series to match whatever charging requirements you have.
Quite often, the panels are mounted on the roof and attached so that they can be raised to catch the light of the sun when in use. The disadvantage to these is that the reailer needs to be properly positioned so they face the correct way, and this is not always possible. A second method is to place the solar rv panels on stands on the ground, and run the wire over to the trailer. This way, as the sun moves the panels can be repositioned.
The sunlight gets converted to DC current, which flows down the wires to the charge controller. If the batteries are full, the charge controller won’t let any more power pass through and saves the batteries from being ruined by overcharging them. AS soon as the battery level drops, the controller allows current to flow through.
The batteries need to be deep cycle rv batteries, which typically are what most motorhomes, campers and trailer already have. You may need to add more batteries for extra storage capacity, depending on how much electricity you will be using.
You might want to include an inverter, to change twelve volt direct current into one hundred ten volt alternating current. You will need one of these if you plan on making microwave popcorn or running any other normal household appliances. Some motorhomes and holiday trailers have inverters built in.
If you are buying a new RV, you can pick a model with these parts included, or have the dealership order them and get them installed professionally. If you are the handy man type, you can find all of your components yourself and do it yourself. A trip to the RV dealership might still be a good idea, since you can ask them questions and they will help you decide how big of a system to install.
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