Pop Up Camper

A Recreational Vehicle (RV) gives you independence from hotel bookings and allows you to change your journey at will.  In theory you can go anywhere you like, but often you are limited to where to park for the night because you need a source of electricity.  Even if you use your batteries to power on-board appliances they will need recharging from time to time – usually more often than you had planned! And be warned, regularly flattening a battery will shorten its life dramatically. But there is now an attractive option that will give you the freedom of the road, and you can make it yourself easily and cheaply.

Most RVs have on-board generators, but these tend to be noisy, smelly and gas-guzzlers.  These days you can fit solar panels to your RV which will give you all or most of the power you need without hammering your battery, and literally anybody can put these together in their backyard.  Your generator, if you have one, can then become a backup – much less wearing on the ears and pocket. Keep your generator for powering the lights at your next backyard party!

Solar panels for RVs can be easily stored if foldable, and they tend to be quite lightweight so are easily moveable. One 4ft x 2 ft solar panel will generate about 75 to 100 watts, which is about the same as a pair of golf cart batteries.  A typical 24 ft RV would probably manage on this but it would depend, of course, on your personal electrical requirements. Most RVs use no more than 400 watts.  Perhaps start with a couple of solar panels, and fit some more as needed. We have some more information about this here.

If you plan to use your RV regularly in hot weather, you will have one or two other things to consider.  You will need to fit a solar-powered battery charger with battery temperature compensation to prevent overcharging of, and damage to, your batteries.  Also, solar panels on the roof of an RV can get very warm, which can lower their efficiency and can lead to a drop in voltage. Ensure that your solar panels have a rating of at least 17 volts to ofset this loss.  Just keep these thoughts in mind when planning your RV’s solar panel system.

There is a good range of RV solar panel kits on the market but these tend to be very pricey.  We thoroughly recommend making your own. You will find it very easy, a lot of fun, and literally anybody can do it.  And much cheaper than buying a kit.  It is very sensible, however, to get professional advice and guidance as you plan and build your solar panel, otherwise you could end up with a system that does not work properly or even at all.  Don’t worry, professional advice and step-by-step instructions are readily available if you know the right source, and only cost a few bucks.  We believe this is a good investment.

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This text is a small guide that will serve to acquaint you with the parts of an RV electrical system that is rigged to function on renewable energy .  The goal is that you will be comfortable enough with the parts to install your own RV solar panels.  I will give details on each part.

Battery – most   are 12 volts. They often say 12V, but in realism they are 13.8 volts.  The voltage they write on the batteries themselves has actually been rounded to a lower level.  This won’t affect you, since most  things made to use 12 volts are in fact designed for 13.8.  Note that one of the most electricity hungry devices in an RV is more often than not the microwave oven.  If you’re planning on getting one in your RV, you’ll probably need at least three batteries, as a normal estimate knowing the power requirements you’ll face for the standard microwave and battery capacities.

Battery Cables – don’t ever underestimate the importance  of good , thick battery cables.  DC electricity is infamous for requiring big cables.  This is because the resistance intrinsic in some cable you’ll use has additional loss than would happen for AC power.  Always make sure to obtain good thick cables.  See references to AWG (Wire Gauge charts) to discover how large of wire you’ll need  based on your power requirements.  OKAY!  Let’s move on.

Inverter – This machine will get the DC power supplied to it from your batteries, which came from the RV solar panels (also in DC form), and convert it to AC shape that can be used by the majority of appliances you’d bring in into your RV from your home .  A television , for example , unless specifically  designed  to run on DC power, will need AC (like you’d obtain from an electrical outlet in your home ).

AC Breaker Panel – You’ll want a panel on the AC side of the inverter that is similar or even identical to the panel in your cellar at home that is full of circuit breakers.  These will trip when power usage exceeds the ability of the breakers, just like blowing a fuse, only without the hassle of having to replace the fuse…simply reset the tripped breaker.  Note that these can be, but often aren’t wanted on the side of the inverter fed by the batteries and RV solar panels.  Protection is recommended, but usually a fuse is sufficient here.

Generator – I normally don’t like to advocate these, since I’m a gentleman who likes to play it au natural, and who relies completely on my RV solar panels, but sometimes a backup generator is nice if you’re out in the open and just plain don’t want to wait for the sun.  I apologize, Mother Earth.

Charge Controller – The electricity produced by your RV solar panels will be required to be regulated when you are charging your batteries.  The reason is that a battery is only able to fit into it a certain amount of “juice”, and your RV solar panels may make them rupture , spill or blow up with no charge controller!  Not good !  It’s sure a safety issue and can be very boring , but if you have a desire to, you can monitor the battery voltage levels by yourself.  Don’t underestimate their importance .

That’s all.  Look for future write-ups concerning the importance of additional parts, and how to install them.  For additional info on RV Solar Panels, be sure to visit newenergytips.com.

Technorati Tags: RV solar panels