SOLAR

Calculating your solar harvest

A 100 watt solar panel will almost never put out the 100 watts of power that the panel is advertised at. There must be some formula for working out how much power you can expect to get from a panel, both in peak solar weather and in the grey doldrums of winter, yes? You're right, there is...

Maximising your solar harvest

Your panels sit unseen on top of your RV roof and there are quite a few things that will affect how well they power your battery. We take you through some things to check and things you can do to get the most out of your panels.

Testing your solar panels

You think you may have a dead or dying solar panel, but are you sure the problem isn't cabling, your solar controller or something else? We give you an easy method of testing each individual solar panel without taking it off the roof or undoing cables, though you might need a trip to an op shop.

What to look for when buying panels

What type and size of solar panel should you buy? How do you know if a solar panel will do what it claims? Should you buy monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels? Do you need diodes?

Deciphering the back of a solar panel

Every solar panel advertisement will have information about that panel, but some things are more important than others. We've compiled a sample back-panel sticker and gone through an explanation of what it all means. 

This is particularly important if you want to add to panels you already have.

Series or parallel connection?

Just like batteries, series connection builds voltage and parallel connection builds amps, so this decision is affected by the voltage of your RV system and will also affect the size and the amount of cable you use to connect panels.

The type of connection is also governed by the type of solar controller you use - MPPT or PWM.

How much solar to recharge your battery?

If you want to spend time off the grid free camping, you need to ensure you can get power back into your battery. Yes, you can start up your generator, but it's so much friendlier if you can recharge from your solar.

We go through some calculations so you can work out how much solar you need for the size and type of battery you have.

How much solar to run an air con?

A well-made lithium battery and control system will allow you to run an air conditioner in your RV, and more and more people are asking us what they need. We take a look at a how long you could run a particular air conditioner (you can substitute our figures for the air con you have in mind) if you had 400W of solar on your RV (substitute your solar array to find out how much blissful coolness you'd get).