12 volt solar panel for caravans-realistically what wattage would I require to run lights,TV etc?
Question: I am looking to add a solar panel to my caravan for the following uses-Trickle charging of the freestyle when I am not on site and daily freestyle charging for when I am. I will be using the onboard 12volt lighting system for, I would guess a couple of hours per night. I would also similar to to run a 12v TV/DVD Combi unit and would similar to a solar Panel that could recharge the previous days usage-I appreciate that weather conditions can have an effect on recharge rates-all comments gratefully received!
Answers:
Its duly easy to work out.
First work out how long you want respectively 12v thing on for respectively day.
Then work out the watt/hours - multiply the watts by number of hours used.
Add adjectives your watt/hours together to give you total watt/hours.
In the UK we receive about 8 hours usable neutral for solar panels. so devide your total watt hours by 8, to dispense you a guide to the power of solar panel you need. Always progress up to the next nearest avaialble size.
For larger size panel you will need a regulator device. - righteous dealers make a contribution good counsel. And contary to previous answers you can charge lead sharp batteries via solar panel.
Hmm solar the world should all be that channel.
With my past experiance contained by solar they are only extraordinarily trickle.
The bigger the panel the bigger trickle.
Solar also requires dry cell batterys which can be very expensive.But it does depend on the size of the panel that your talkin going on for.
12volt lights use very terribly little but a tv is a different story maybe its 12v too ? within not you can certainly take them.Used wisely contained by could work but just remember it take a lot longer to charge than drain even if your charging from 240volts
Try discussion to someone that deals surrounded by solar panels but i surmise you will get a shock on the size you entail to do the job
As final answer you would need a VERY substantial panel, its the TV that is the problem , I hold gone for a week on justthe battery on the camper, BUT put a TV on and its gone surrounded by a few hours as will a fridge, So I have a radio and wallow in the break from TV !!,
About a 130 watt panel with a open cycle 100 amp hour battery will win you through if you're careful just about how much juice you use. If you're worried going on for rainy days, you should probably double the size of the panel and the freestyle.
Don't listen to whoever said 12 volt lights use very little. It would bring a 10 square foot panel just to run 2 60 watts bulbs, and that doesn't include recharge the battery from darkness usage. You can get a bit Sunsaver solar controller that's very comfortable to use and will keep the freestyle properly charged for about $65.
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