This means the daily power consumption used to calculate the size of motorhome solar panel should be increased by approximately 10-15%. Inverters typically work at around 85-90% peak efficiency meaning that they draw 10-15% more energy from your battery than the devices actually require. If you use 12V DC to 240V AC power inverters to run your appliances this should also be taken into consideration when calculating your usage. Using Power Inverters to Convert 12V DC to 240V AC It is therefore important to estimate the power consumption of your fridge correctly and incorporate this into your calculations when choosing the right solar panel for your caravan. This is in contrast to a gas fridge which requires much less energy to operate. Such a unit will often require a 100W-150W solar panel alone. Please note, electric fridges typically have very high power consumption. Calculating the Power Required for an Electric Fridge
For larger loads or heavier use including non-energy saving light bulbs, large TVs, frequent use of water pumps or other equipment, we would recommend a larger 80W-100W charging kit or solar panel. In the case of small loads such as energy saving lighting, a stereo, mobile phone charging and low usage of a computer (2-3 hours a day), we would recommend a 40W-50W solar panel or charging kit for your motorhome If you simply need to trickle charge your battery to compensate for self-discharge in your caravan, a small 5W-10W solar panel or charging kit should be sufficient In this case we recommend the following high-level approach: Sometimes it is difficult to estimate the daily power consumption – especially when the power rating of individual appliances is not available or have been lost. It is therefore wise to choose a solar panel for your motorhome that offers a daily power rate of approximately 20% higher than the daily power consumption you require. These are typically kept within 20% of total output. Of course, in reality there will be some losses of energy generated by the solar panel, mainly in the solar charge controller and cables, but also due to battery self-discharge.
If we have a 50W solar panel on the roof of your motorhome, it will generate approximately 50W*5 = 250W/h (watt-hours) - this is almost in line with the average daily power consumption 210W/h. The average daily power generated by your motorhome solar panel should be equal or more than the average daily power consumption of your appliances.įor example, let's assume that on a typical day we can expect 5 hours of sunshine. Once this estimate is available, it's very easy to decide on the size of 12 volt solar panel required for your caravan or motorhome. 1 x 20W 12V water pump, used not more than 30min a dayīased on the above, the average daily power consumption will be 4*10W*3 + 40W*2 + 20W/2 = 210W/h (watt-hours) 4 x 10W 12V energy saving LED lights, used 3 hours a day The average daily power consumption can be estimated individually for each device (type of load) and added together to create an overall requirement. In order to choose a motorhome solar panel, you need to know how much energy your appliances use each day in a 24 hour period.
#SOLAR PANEL TO CHARGE 12V BATTERY HOW TO#
How to Choose the Right 12V Solar Panel for Your Caravan, Motorhome or Boat 12V Leisure Battery
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