![]() ![]() Therefore, we do have more panels than we need and we can run appliances that other people will tell you are impossible. We get charged by 1PM, with the charging amps dropping off because the batteries won’t accept any more. I want to make a point here, so read carefully: I experimented by leaving the TV on all day after using the coffee maker and toaster during sunny but short December days when camped out in Arizona and with only 345 watts. I may have to change it (again), which would be my third rewire. Now it needs to be replaced with #4 because the voltage drop will be excessive during high amperage summer days. It has served just fine with the 24 amps maximum that the original panels could produce. My vertical wiring run is #6 about 12ft long. I added about 250 watts of used panels in 2011 so we could buy a DC freezer. They are tilted just a bit during the summer so the rain will wash them. I have them on tilting mounts that go up to better than 45 degrees. They have been through several hail storms and have been very durable. ![]() Three are Siemens 75’s and one is a Kyocera 120 that was replaced with a rebuilt panel under warranty. Solar Panels: 345 watts of all manufactured around 2000 (old). ![]() We should get enough energy from this system on cloudy days to run the basic necessities and have over a week of backup power in the batteries. I suppose we may have to buy a generator when we are running electric refrigeration but I am not convinced yet that it is going to be needed. Light reflected from the snow on the ground will make up for what we lose by being tilted too high. Our panels will be tilted to near vertical in the winter so they will shed snow. I cannot yet tell you what brand they will be. The plan for the home is to put big panels on the roof of the shop hooked up in series with over 70 volts going down #6 cables to either two Morningstar MPPT controllers or maybe one Midnight Classic and eight L16 batteries. I have had very bad luck with Aims and I will keep this just for back up or running shop tools. I had an Aims 3000 watt inverter hooked up for a while. Still no generator to power the charger though. Currently four very old Trojan T105 batteries wired in series, two Sun 195 watt panels also in series, an old C60 controller that is going to go into the trash soon, and a Magnum MS4024-PAE 120/240V inverter/charger. It is a 24V system because that is what will be going on our shop. So far the only solar system there is a temporary one being used for construction power. I am in the process of building an off grid home, something that is going to take years with our lack of savings and being dedicated to never going into debt again. There really is no quick answer, but at least if I give a few suggestions here it might help. I am writing this in response to requests made by several readers who contacted me and were trying to sift through all of my writings and arrive at a quick answer. RV SOLAR SYSTEM RECOMMENDATIONS AS OF July 2011 ![]()
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